Tiilton parking ordiance set to go

Following a second public hearing on the downtown parking ordinance this week the Board of Selectmen told Public Works Director Dennis Allen to begin striping the pavement in anticipation of adopting the measure next week.

The plan is intended to assist downtown businesses by reserving parking spaces on Main Street for shoppers. On Main Street a two-hour parking limit between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays will be strictly enforced and overnight parking from midnight to 5 a.m. would be prohibited. Long-term and overnight parking will be provided in off-street municipal lots for residents, merchants and employees whose vehicles display a sticker or placard purchased from the Police Department. Likewise, parking permits for guests of downtown residents will be issued by the police.

In addition, the parking spaces on Main Street will be reconfigured to provide more angled and handicapped spaces. Altogether nine handicapped spaces, four of them van accessible, will be provided on Main Street and in municipal lots.

The plan hinges in part on reaching an arrangement with Carmine Sarno, whose property will be leased to augment the municipal lot on the north side of Main Street. Selectman Pat Consentino told the board that she expected to conclude the agreement early next week. The Tilton-Northfield Fire Commission agreed to provide another six parking spaces in the municipal lot adjacent to the Center Fire Station, on the condition that the area is excavated, graded and paved. The Tilton Main Street Program, which was among the architects of the parking plan, has offered to fund the paving. There will be 40 long-term parking spaces in the municipal lot.

At the sparsely attended public hearings some residents and storekeepers questioned how the ordinance would be enforced while generally welcoming the effort to increase the circulation of on-street parking downtown. "It's not a perfect plan, but a work in progress" remarked Consentino. "I'm sure we'll revisit it and change it where we have to change it." However, she stressed that after struggling with the parking issue for several issues, the ordinance reflected a consensus among downtown business and property owners.

Consentino anticipated that the ordinance could take effect as early as September 15 or October 1.