New Rochelle Downtown Parking to Be Studied

New Rochelle will likely undertake another parking study—this time in the core restaurant district in the downtown.

The idea for the study, according to City Manager Charles Strome III, came about because of the opening of several new restaurants.

"We have no recommendation for valet parking," he said. "We need to come up with a way to do this."

The study, to be conducted by Tim Haahs and Associates, will cost $10,000, with the city and the New Rochelle Downtown Business Improvement District each paying half.

The City Council discussed the study at its meeting Tuesday and will likely vote on it Feb. 19.

Strome said the study would take about a month to complete.

Councilman Ivar Hyden, D-District 4, suggested that the city take a look at making some of the one-way streets two-way to ease the flow of traffic.

A memorandum from Strome to the mayor and council discussed possible fixes.

"These solutions could include the use of additional public and private parking facilities, the implementation of a valet parking program that would allow for the use of public right of way and on-street parking spaces for the valet program and possible strategies to improve access to and from downtown parking facilities," the memorandum said.

The area to be analyzed is bounded by Division Street, Main Street, Memorial Highway and Huguenot Street, according to a letter from Haahs to the BID's Executive Director Ralph DiBart.