Groton — About five years ago, Groton officials were getting calls from people upset about vacant storefronts and shops closing in downtown Mystic.

Now, they’re hearing from people concerned about the opposite situation: Downtown Mystic is bustling and the lack of parking is a problem, said Jon Reiner, Groton’s director of planning and development services.

The Groton Town Council this week began discussing implementation steps, including pursuing parking agreements and conversations about expanding public transit, after hearing a presentation on a parking study of downtown Mystic that Groton and Stonington jointly commissioned.

“We are still getting calls and emails on a weekly basis from people concerned about parking and traffic in downtown Mystic, and just between our year-round residents down there, all the tourists and our business expansion, it’s definitely created some problems,” Reiner said at the council's Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday. “Again, a parking problem is a good thing to have. It means you have a thriving area but it’s something that we certainly want to discuss and figure out how we can best move forward with that.”

Under the Town Council's direction, Groton will begin seeking agreements with entities, such as churches, marinas and offices that have underutilized parking lots on the weekends, pursue discussions with Southeast Area Transit District on options for expanding bus service to downtown Mystic, and step up enforcement of existing two-hour parking rules, Town Manager John Burt said Wednesday.

Councilors indicated they would not want to pursue metered parking without first trying other options but directed staff to research meter options, Burt said. "It can take a while to put together a parking meter plan along with eventually pursuing funding," he explained.

The next step will be for Groton and Stonington officials to meet to further discuss options and ensure they are working in collaboration, he said.

Ideas about shuttles, public transit

The parking study recommends expanding the two-hour parking zone and metering it year-round. During the presentation at Tuesday's meeting, traffic and parking consultant John Burke said it's important to have turnover to boost sales for local businesses and alleviate traffic congestion from drivers circling the area to find a parking spot.

Other recommendations include stepping up parking enforcement, expanding off-street parking by reconfiguring existing lots and creating shared parking agreements with churches and other entities, exploring shuttle buses, starting valet parking, implementing off-street permit parking for downtown employees — many currently appear to park in the two-hour zone — and exploring shuttle buses, according to the study.

Town Mayor Patrice Granatosky said during Tuesday's discussion that her big concern is for businesses, of course, but also for residents who live off West Main Street and have expressed concerns regarding their ability to park in front of their homes, get out of their driveways and even drive through the area when businesses are receiving deliveries. She said the town has received two or three emails from people showing photos of trucks blocking their roads.

She said she also liked the idea of having shuttles from hotels.

Councilors Lian Obrey, Aundré Bumgardner and Portia Bordelon spoke in support of conversations with Southeast Area Transit District about expanding bus service to downtown Mystic.

Bordelon said she feels that before the town starts putting in meters, it's important to expand public transportation. That step also would bring a diverse community to downtown Mystic and allow people from different parts of the community, who may not have access to transportation, to partake in downtown Mystic's amenities, she added. She also spoke in favor of shuttles.

Councilor Juliette Parker said safety is a priority of everybody in downtown Mystic. When considering shuttle buses and people walking to catch a bus, it's important to take into consideration the safety of people getting off work late at night.

Enforcement, costs for potential parking meters

Burt said Groton budgeted funds this year for community service officers to help with tasks, such as parking enforcement, this summer. He said the officers should be coming on board soon.

As far as the discussions on metered parking, Reiner said a benefit of the town potentially moving to metered parking would be the elimination of the current parking striping, which would result in about a 10% increase in parking spaces.

Reiner noted that, unless the town did an emergency appropriation, the earliest it would be able to install parking meters would be in two years. He also pointed out that the town should consider that until the area has meters, revenue to invest in Mystic would have to come from taxpayer dollars.

Burke said a lot of communities typically are able to pay off the debt associated with meter equipment in a year or two and then have a profit. The revenue could be used toward improvements such as better lighting and sidewalks.

Councilors discussed getting more information on the cost of parking meters and then it would be a later decision for the council about whether or not to move forward with them.

k.drelich@theday.com