WILTON – A proposal to ban parking on part of Lake Road died Tuesday night when selectmen voted 4 to 1 to oppose it, after heated discussion at a public hearing.

About a dozen people attended the hearing, most to protest the proposal to create a no parking area between Preston Street and Lakeview Cemetery on Lake Road.

Selectman Terry Brann was the only board member to vote for the parking ban, saying he felt Lake Road is narrow without cars parked along it, and that when people park there it becomes unsafe.

Lake Road resident Nancy Merrill also spoke in favor of the ban, explaining she lives along a blind curve, and believes it’s unsafe for pedestrians to cross the road when cars are parked there. “It’s a safety issue,” she said.

But a number of other Lake Road residents opposed the ban, from a Melissa Ellis, who wrote in with her opinion, to Richard Gyory, who attended the meeting along with at least four others who live nearby.

“Let’s not create a problem where there is none,” Gyory said.

A few people mentioned having cars parked along the road has actually served to slow traffic. Officially, the speed limit there is 25 miles per hour, but most drivers go much faster when there are no cars parked there, Kathleen Danforth said.

Many Lake Road residents also enjoy having friends and family visit, and when driveways are full guests’ cars often line up along the road, and swimmers and fishermen occasionally leave their cars there, too.

Why make additional rules and regulations, rather than simply rely on common sense and civility, Gyory asked.

The board briefly discussed banning parking on only part of the road – along the blind curve near Nancy Merrill’s house – but that motion was defeated 4 to 1.

In other matters, selectmen voted to consider placing a fish screen in Wilson Lake to keep fish in once it’s been stocked.

The board also voted to hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 16, to discuss a letter from the district attorney transferring child sex abuse and other cases to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. Town Manager Peter Nielsen suggested inviting DA Norman Croteau and his assistants, members of the police department, a labor relations representative, and the town lawyer to the meeting. Selectmen may vote to hold it in executive session.

No one on the board would comment on the letter or its ramifications during Tuesday’s meeting.