Community Corner

Parking Mishap: Two Hour Sign on Main Street Restored

An attempt to please one business owner combined with a mistake created tension for another business owner and local patrons.

This past spring, Wilson Jara, the owner of and , was suprpirised to find the two-hour parking signs in front of his café at 1247 Main St., changed to 45-minute signs. In total, four parking spaces were affected.

In favor of longer parking, Jara commented, “People were getting tickets all the time. Who can eat in 45 minutes?”

The Branford Board of Police Commissioners agrees with Jara’s opinion and notes that the change of both signs near his business was, in part, a mistake. They voted to restore one sign back to two hours at last week's Commission meeting.

Find out what's happening in Branfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Back in the spring, the owner of at 1237 Main St., contacted the Police Commission to request one two-hour sign become a 45-minute sign, the Commission said at last week’s meeting. The owner who lives up to his nickname Fast Freddy, said he wanted shorter parking for his customers who come and go very quickly.

The Commission approved the change of one sign around April, Branford Public Works Department Head Art Baker said, and the sign swap was done. The glitch, however, was that public works changed both two-hour signs to 45-minute signs by accident. There was a miscommunication between the Commission and PWD the commission members stated.

Find out what's happening in Branfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jara and his wife Deena, who also owns the businesses, contacted the Branford Police after realizing both signs had been changed and requested something be done. While the department was sorting out the mistake, Jara said he had to contend with unhappy customers. During dining, he said of his customers, “they were always running to their cars and that’s an interruption.”

The members of the Police Commission said when they realized a mistake had been made, the Community Service Officers who patrol downtown and issue parking tickets were advised to treat the one 45-minute sign in front of Shoreline Café as if it was a two-hour sign.

On Wednesday, Captain Geoffrey Morgan of the Branford Police Department and PWD Highway Supervisor Jack Kerpen met at Shoreline Café to remove one 45-minute sign. Morgan, said Jara, had his own tools. “He made it happen."

“I think there’s always a gentle balance between the traffic committee and economic development,” said Morgan. “Really, it’s a concerted effort from everyone.”

Baker reported that a new two-hour sign was put back infront of the cafe on Thursday. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here