Get a Parking Permit, Save a Pretty Penny

Good news and better news for Darien commuters: your chances of getting a parking permit just got better, and you may well save money in the process.

At Monday night’s meeting, the Board of Selectmen unanimously approved an amendment to parking regulation, allowing for the creation of incentive parking at Darien rail stations.

Parking at the stations is a longstanding problem. Put simply, the demand for parking permits cannot be met. An annual parking permit in Darien is $315; that’s over $500 cheaper than parking permits in neighboring towns. Pay with daily tickets at Darien station, and you could spend upwards of $1000 per year. It should come as no surprise that a Darien parking permit is a hot commodity. So hot, in fact, that there is a six-year waiting list for some lots.

Few would disagree that the permit situation is difficult, expensive—an overall mess. For a town of commuters, that’s a problem; but the Board of Selectmen have approved a plan that may help.  The idea is to boost the ratio of permit-to-voucher parking, and encourage greater use of some under-utilized lots through an incentive parking option.

The plan will affect three lots: the Leroy West and Tokeneke lots near Darien station, and the Post 53 lot at Noroton Heights.

The Noroton Heights area near Post 53 is currently a large voucher parking lot, regularly used by about 24 commuters. The reason it's under utilized is the distance from the lot to the station.

“I can tell you that having tried to run that, it’s not insignificant,” said Selectman Seth Morton at the board's August 24 meeting.

Under the new plan, half the lot will remain voucher spaces, and up to 40 spaces will be converted to discount permit spaces. The incentive parking program would offer $200 permits—regular permits are $315 per year—to those willing to walk: an option which the Board said may appeal to residents looking to save money and also to those permit-holders who don’t commute that often.

“What we’re looking to do is add value for our residents by giving them the opportunity to spend less money and commute. What they’re substituting is they’re going to be walking a bit more. I think we will see an increase in permit numbers, and we’ll be utilizing our lots. It’s a win-win situation,” said Selectwoman Callie Sullivan at a meeting August 24.

A similar incentive parking program will be offered at the Leroy West and Tokeneke Road lots at Darien Station. At Leroy West, 20 under-utilized voucher spaces at the rear of the lot will be converted to incentive permit spaces; 15 voucher and unsigned parking spaces along Tokeneke road across from the shopping strip will be converted.

The board decided on a tentative incentive-permit price of $200. That's an over $100 discount from the regular $315-a-year permits. Regular commuters who currently use vouchers could save over $500 through the new program. That's good news for residents, but may not be so good news for the town, as it will likely result in a revenue loss.

Still, as First Selectwoman Evonne Klein and Jim Cameron, Chairman of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council have said on numerous occasion since discussions began during buget season, all permit profits go directly to rail station improvement.

“The goal is not to raise more revenue; it's to draw down the number of people on that waiting list who want to park in Darien,” said Cameron at a public hearing held Sept. 7.

The board will first offer the incentive fee option to current permit holders, and then extend the offer to wait-listed residents. Only Darien residents, taxpayers or local employees are eligible for the permits, with the exception that nonresidents are eligible for spaces at Noroton Heights to the extent that spaces remain available.

Introduction of the new parking option will take place before reapplication for annual permits in January of 2010.