Parking in Downtown Port Chester: Watch Your Back (End)

At 2.4 square miles, Port Chester is a small village. But when you're parking, it's a whole different story — you may as well be trying to maneuver your car around a 2.4 inch square.

Here are a few toughies we found while driving downtown. Take this advice — or make a friend drive instead next time.

•1.       Cross Section between Adee Street and King Street

For this area off N. Main Street, where Cousin Frankie's Restaurant and International Café is situated, there certainly is a lot of congestion when looking for parking. For one, you have the back end of the train station located on King Street right smack in the middle of that vicinity, and cabs are constantly perched there. For people making their way down King Street from either direction, this is also a problem because cars are always attempting to inch out from the other small side-roads.

And, if you've found yourself attempting to back out from that area of the train station, I wish you the best of luck because there isn't a lot of space between the lot and the street, so you may have to kiss your tail-lights goodbye. When I was there, I wanted to shake the hand of all of those seasoned cab drivers that eased out without breaking a sweat.

•2.       Corner of Mill/Abendroth

Located right by the Tarry Lodge, parking seems to get pretty sticky around here. Mill Street is a bit narrow to begin with, and restaurant-goers heading toward Tarry Lodge might be unsure of where to park. While there is designated parking for the restaurant on Mill Street, it might not be obvious to visitors. Some hungry out-of-towners probably find themselves parking in the area by Byram Self Storage – or resort to street-side parallel parking.

•3.       North Main Street/Highland Street

Making a left out of North Main Street onto Highland takes you past the Uceda Institute and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Both places have their own parking areas, but what about parking for nearby restaurants like Tandoori? Tandoori's not a small restaurant, and other eateries line the same section of the street. If there aren't spaces on North Main Street, your next best bet is parking in the lot behind Polla ala Brasa.

•4.       North Main Street, by Hubba (around 60 N. Main)

During the day, parking would not be an impossible feat, since the decent-sized parking lot facing Buffalo Wild Wings is not very far from this spot, but at night it is whole new ball of wax. When I visited, that parking lot was filled around 9 p.m., and it's slim pickings on almost any night, so your options are North Main or the Waterfront parking lot. The problem is, this section of street is crowded and narrow — not the best scenario when you're trying to muster up the confidence to handle a difficult parallel parking job.

*5.       Entering any main road downtown from a side-street or business lot: Proceed with caution

Although this is not a specific location where parking is tight, it is important to mention because it's an issue on virtually any road nearby. It is absolutely imperative that when you are attempting to come out of a parking area that is off a road like King Street or North Main Street, keep a watchful eye in looking both ways before you take the plunge outward.

A good example of this is the parking lot outside Café Mirage. When I tried to back out onto North Main Street, there was a food truck parked right smack in the middle of the main exit, so I had to take a side exit. Turning onto a small street dotted with parked SUVs, it was nearly impossible to see cars coming at me. Cars tend to zoom around these main roads like they're on I-287, so make sure to pay attention.

*6.      Costco/Loews Movie Theater Lot: A Shining Beacon of Hope

Possibly the most vast outdoor facility in all of Port Chester, there are what seem like miles and miles of free parking here. As I pulled into one of the spots, I was in awe at the sea of vacancy – I had nothing but empty space at my disposal! How refreshing. Even the people coming out of Costco and the surrounding businesses seemed to be in a better mood than the ones driving around North Main Street.