Winter Parking Fine Fees Could Increase in Shelton

Residents could be coughing up twice as much money for parking fines if the Board of Aldermen votes in favor of tweaking Shelton's winter parking regulations at their monthly meeting, to be held Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in .

The changes, proposed by the city's Street Committee, include increasing fines from $25 to $50 (even for first time offenders) and requiring those with driveway space to utilize it in order to facilitate quicker snow removal.

The Board held a public hearing on the proposal last Thursday, Nov. 29, but "nobody spoke about it, not one person," said aldermanic president John Anglace, Jr. Since there was no dissent, the issue now goes to the Board for an up or down vote.

"Unless someone decides to send it back to the [Street] Committee, I don't foresee the new rules not being passed," Anglace said. "We are doing this to improve the parking and cleaning situation and it's meant to benefit all of us."

, Public Works Director Paul DiMauro said the department already has salt, sand and plowing equipment on hand should we see snow any time soon. He added that public cooperation is crucial in ensuring snow removal is as quick and efficient as possible.

"People get impatient and sometimes shovel snow into the street, which doesn't help anything," DiMauro said. That, combined with cars crowding the space snow plows need to clear the area, creates a problem for workers.

Current winter parking regulations dictate that residents park on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd-numbered calendar days, and the even-numbered side of the street on even-numbered days. The new rules would still adhere to this, but also require residents to park in their driveways during storms. Violators are subject to city fines as well as the cost of towing, which may also be subject to increase under the Street Committee's proposal.