Only 30 Minute Parking on Main Street?

Some eagle-eyed Manchester residents have spotted several signs along Main Street recently that advertise a 30-minute parking limit during business hours. 

The signs, according to Downtown Manager Tana Parseliti, are part of a trial program the Downtown Manchester Special Services District is attempting in the area in an effort to free up several parking spaces for people who only want to make short, quick trips to the businesses along Main Street during the day.

"We really wanted to try this and see if it might loosen up some parking for the benefit of customers," Parseliti said, noting that she receives numerous complaints from people about the difficulty of finding a parking space along certain sections of Main Street during the weekday. 

Currently, the temporary signs advertising a 30-minute parking limit between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. exist in only three locations in the downtown area: two in front of Manchester Hardware at 877 Main St. and one directly across the street near the intersection of Park Street. Parseliti said the signs only apply to those three spaces; the normal parking limit downtown during those hours is two hours. 

"We're testing it," Parseliti said. "We're not going to drill the holes in the ground and say, 'this is great, we're going to keep it.'" 

Parseliti told Patch that she has already received positive feedback from people in the downtown area about the new signs, which were installed last week, and that the downtown district followed all the necessary rules and protocols to have the time limit for the three spaces shortened. In this instance, that meant securing approval from the Legal Traffic Authority for the town of Manchester, who happens to be Police Chief Marc Montminy. 

"It is totally proper and appropriate and has been properly sectioned," Parseliti said, including the authorization for the parking regulation change, which has been attached to this article as  PDF.