\nMystic\nneeds to embark on a dedicated planning effort to address traffic and\nparking issues raised during the Smiler’s Wharf zoning meetings. Some\ncreative changes to the status quo will help reduce Mystic residents\nconcerns on these issues. The following ideas are offered to start\nthe conversation with the expectation that better ideas will come to\nlight as part of the discussion.
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nFor\nstarters, changing the traffic flow into Mystic could help reduce the\ncongestion. Making Holmes Street and Cottrell Street one way from\nGreenmanville Avenue to downtown Mystic and all of Willow Street one\nway leaving downtown Mystic could reduce the traffic back ups at the\nflagpole in Mystic and taking a left on Greenmanville from Holmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIn\naddition, adjusting the timing of the lights at the south end of\nGreenmanville where it connects to Route 1 and at the corner of\nGreenmanville and Coogan Boulevard would also reduces some backups.\nCurrently on a busy weekend day, long lines of traffic build up\nnorthbound on Greenmanville due to the short duration of the\nnorthbound green light. The Greenmanville\/Route 1 green light also\ncycles very quickly and results in frequent occasions where only part\nof the southbound traffic can get through the light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMystic\nshould also improve the parking options. The idea for Holmes Street\nbecoming one way would also create space on the street to add\nparking. Adding parallel parking (or diagonal parking if it fits)\ncould add an additional 10-15 parking spaces in close proximity to\ndowntown. In addition, clearly marking the acceptable parking\nlocations on all Mystic streets would help to curb some of the more\ncreative parking spots used during the particularly high congestion\ndays of the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMystic\nshould also charge for on street parking. Clearly marking the parking\nspots and implementing one of many options to charge for parking\ncould become a significant revenue generator for the town. We could\naccomplish parking enforcement using high school or college students\ninterested in policing during the summer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nFinally,\nestablishing a shuttle service to run between downtown Mystic, Mystic\nSeaport, and the Mystic Aquarium\/Olde Mystick Village area will allow\nvisitors to move between the major attractions without driving\nthemselves. One option would be to use the school buses for this\nshuttle during the summer when they are not needed for student\ntransportation. A free shuttle could be partially funded by donations\nfrom riders and the revenue generated from the parking fees. This\ntype of shuttle service would reduce the traffic and parking issues\nduring the busy summer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nI\nrecently returned from a vacation at Bar Harbor Maine situated next\nto Acadia National Park. Bar Harbor face similar traffic and parking\nissues. With generous donations from L.L. Bean, Bar Harbor has set up\nan extensive free shuttle service to bring tourists into and out of\nAcadia. Bar Harbor also recently implemented a pay to park system\nusing kiosks where parkers pay with credit cards or cash to get a\nticket to put in their car to show they paid. One of the Bar Harbor\nmerchants mentioned that the revenue from the parking was $10,000 a\nday during the peak summer season. This seems like a significant\nrevenue opportunity for Mystic that should be investigated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe\nclear public distaste for the traffic and parking situation in Mystic\nwarrants action to help improve this situation. The Stonington\nPlanning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Police Commissioners\nshould take this opportunity to discuss and take actions on methods\nto alleviate the traffic and parking issues before the next major\ndevelopment request gets submitted in Mystic. The ideas discussed\nabove are a starting point, we need to solicit modifications or\ncompletely new ideas on the subject. This effort needs to be a\ncommunity discussion and not a final plan thrown out for public\napproval.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mystic needs to embark on a dedicated planning effort to address traffic and parking issues raised during the Smiler’s Wharf zoning meetings. Some creative changes to the status quo will help reduce Mystic residents concerns on these issues. The following ideas are offered to start the conversation with the expectation that better ideas will come … Continue reading “Mystic, CT Traffic & Parking”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.informationoutpost.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}