Keep Talking

Talk is not a solution, but solutions won’t be found without a great deal of interplay between the officials making the decisions and the public that will be affected by them. So The Express Sessions event last week in Sag Harbor, which focused on the village’s parking woes, was, along with future public hearings before the Village Board, necessary for there to be any traction on the subject.

In fact, one clear message at Thursday’s session, delivered by those in attendance: Communication is absolutely crucial. And it has been one area where the village can improve.

Restaurateur Jesse Matsuoka, who was on the panel, noted that the existing efforts to introduce paid parking, via an app, brought a great deal of frustration. “I think one of the concerns that has been coming up consistently is when things get implemented, the communication to the general public — and also to our day trippers, weekenders, renters, whatever it may be — the information to them, that is what is lacking. And too many times, people are still getting tickets on the wharf because they don’t realize the new app, they don’t see the signs.”

Village officials should hear this: The parking app could be an effective strategy, but more thought must be given to clearly explaining how it operates. Also, as noted by Village Board members Aidan Corish and Ed Haye, both on the panel with Matsuoka, plans are advancing to improve cellphone reception in the downtown business district, a necessary element as well.

The second takeaway, also courtesy of Matsuoka, was that the village should prioritize one aspect of the parking dilemma: parking for village residents and employees.

Currently, workers are forced to leave work several times during an eight-hour shift to move their vehicles, or risk a ticket (often paid by their employers). So, built into summer days is a steady stream of vehicles simply moving around the village in search of valuable parking spaces, worsening both the traffic and parking snarl, and costing employers valuable time. It’s simply untenable.

The use of longer-term lots — perhaps schools and churches — for employees and residents, with some type of regular shuttle service to the heart of the village, is now on the table. And, as Matsuoka noted, that will free up hundreds of parking spaces for diners and shoppers, and perhaps in some small way reduce the number of vehicles searching for that elusive place to park.

Credit village officials: They clearly recognize the challenge they face, and they’re willing to take it on. Conversations with visitors, residents, workers and employers will be necessary to make sure the experiments to try to address the problem have a greater level of success, and create less frustration.