WILTON — Before making any decisions on proposed changes to the Parking and Traffic Ordinance, selectmen chose to hear from residents and set a public hearing for their next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, at the town office.

A committee has been working on an update of the ordinance and Chairman Doug Hiltz brought some of their suggestions to the board Tuesday.

There’s a fine line between addressing the parking concerns and needs downtown as requested by some residents without affecting people who come downtown to do business, he explained to the board. He suggested that many people just aren’t aware of the town’s ordinance or rules on parking.

One proposed Main Street parking change would extend limited parking Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from two hours to three hours. The intent is to provide ample time for appointments and shopping while limiting employee and apartment dwellers from all-day parking. There would be no limit from 6 p.m. to midnight and no limit on Sunday, Hiltz explained.

This raised concerns for employees of Wilton Free Public Library and attorney Ronald Aseltine. Aseltine’s office and the library located across Wilson Stream on Goodspeed Street have very limited parking with a difficult access to a handicap parking space.

Responding to the suggestion that the town’s High Street and Wilson Stream parking lots could provide employee parking, Library Director David Olson provided the board with photographs highlighting the trek, one that is dark and has an alley access during the winter, he said.

A suggestion to use two parking spaces at the end of Goodspeed Street has not worked well, he told the board. There’s really only room for one car, Asseltine has questioned ownership of the space and snow has piled up there, Olson said.

A library board member, Cameron Henkel, suggested that eight-hour stickers be provided for employees to use two spaces on Main Street.

But Selectman Irv Faunce said that would be difficult to administer because lots of people work downtown and choosing who to give a sticker to would be a challenge.

Other proposed changes to the ordinance include no overnight parking year-round on any roads in Wilton. Selectmen discussed the need for some Weld Road residents, who lack driveway space, to use the wide street for parking but felt the ordinance should include language that prohibits automotive work, including oil changes done on the street.

Two spaces in front of the Civil War memorial monument would be eliminated and no U-turns would be allowed in Wilton. The proposed changes also include no parking on either side of Depot Street from the Academy to Routes 2 and 4, hours set for parking in municipal lots, and a parking infraction fees increase from the $3-to-$10 range to $20 or $50.

The Police Department has increased parking enforcement as time allows, police Chief Dennis Brown said. It has recently given 18 warnings and issued 12 summonses for various parking issues, he reported.

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