Lime Scooters And No Parking Zones For BOA

The Board of Alderman meeting for the month of May had quite a full plate of issues. Besides the city’s usual consent agenda, the first item up for review was the Lime electric scooter proposal. The board voted to allow Lime to place their scooters at various locations around New Haven. There was a bit of skepticism concerning the scooters and operating on hills and other places around town that might pose hazards to riders. Since Lime’s electric scooters have done well with their placement in Washington, it was thought that New Haven might also be a good locale for the scooters. The Lime scooters might be available as soon as Miller’s Landing day on May 29.

The next big issue for discussion was to instate No Parking Zones on two different areas on Maupin Street. The first area is from Arizona Street South to Highway 100. It has been noticed by the New Haven Police Department that there have been several potential pedestrian and vehicle problems with cars weaving in between the parked cars on both sides of the street. The board voted unanimously to ban parking on the west side of Maupin, which is consistent with the side of Maupin north of Arizona Street. The other area on Maupin that will also have a No Parking Zone is the curve just north of the UCC and heading downhill towards Wall Street. Peter Otten had remarked that this was an area that posed problems for snow removal.

There is also a parking problem by the elementary school on the west side of Miller Street from the school entrance going north to the residential area. Parents tend to line up their cars, waiting to pick up their kids sometimes as much as an hour or more before school lets out. This has posed some concerns for Principal Meyers and the New Haven Police Department.

City administrator, Kathy Trentmann, has been working with the Alderman on the draft budget for the city. Several items have been recommended to be eliminated or pushed back to have a more frugal budget. It was recommended that the program known as Code Red be discontinued. It was also discussed that the new city website be postponed for a year. The EMA position was also offered up for elimination. The police department also amended a request for two new SUVs, instead asking for a sedan with a half-cage configuration in the rear.