Town Considers Saugatuck Parking Garage

With commuters forced to wait several years for an annual parking pass at the Westport Metro-North station, a study researching the viability of a parking garage in the Saugatuck area will be conducted soon.

“That study has been in the works and is about to begin under the auspices of the Southwest Regional Planning Association (SWRPA),” said First Selectman Gordon Joseloff. “The state is going to pick up most of the tab and the [town's] railroad parking fund will pick up the balance of it.”

Joseloff announced the plans at Thursday’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

The exact costs could not be ascertained at the moment. SWRPA is a coalition of seven towns that looks at regional issues such as transportation and housing.

According to Larry Bradley, director of Planning and Zoning, the study would take up to 18 months and will research not just a parking garage, but also signage, public transportation in the area and the existing parking lots. Several public hearings are expected pertaining to the study.

Joseloff said that the challenge of doing anything to the improve the parking lots is that the state owns some of the lots, the town owns others, and some are jointly owned. Permission needs to be granted by the state for changes to take place, but Joseloff said the state has been looking to provide more parking to commuters.

“The state has over the years pushed Westport to increase parking and that’s something we’re looking at. Clearly there is an opportunity to increase the parking,” Joseloff said. “The difficulty or the challenge of course is to do it in such a matter that doesn’t overly impact the Saugatuck area.”

A lack of parking and a years-long waiting list has been a problem for years. This became official in the 2007 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, in which local government mapped out the challenges and possibilities for improving Westport in the years ahead.

In a telephone survey conducted at the time, 70 percent of the people interviewed agreed that more parking is needed at the train stations. According to the survey, 54 agreed that a parking garage was needed at the Saugatuck train station. A “comprehensive study” was recommended by the plan since there is “no clear panacea” for the problem.  

“Merely adding capacity may not solve the problem for Westport residents since many of those using the parking facilities are not residents of the town and state law does not allow Westport to restrict the parking to town residents,” said the study.

The study said that suggested were made to upgrade public transportation, but the 2011-12 budget for the Westport Transit District.

Joseloff opined to the Planning and Zoning Commission that it’s conceivable there could be commercial development on top of the parking garage – such as a movie theater.

“Is that in the cards?” asked Joseloff. “I don’t know, but I hope they look at all uses and possibilities.”

Clarification: The viability of a parking garage is merely a component of the study, which will be including various aspects of the train station.