Farmers Market to Stay Put During Sidewalk Sale

It was a nice idea while it lasted, but New Canaan won't be experimenting with putting the Saturday farmers market downtown on Sidewalk Sale day. The Board of Selectmen today unanimously voted down a proposal to move the market from the Center School Lot to Morse Court on July 17 due to concerns over how that would impact parking and access to shops on that block on what is the busiest shopping day of the year.

Chamber of Commerce Director Tucker Murphy told the selectmen that when she polled the merchants along Morse Court, four were in favor of the idea and two—Spectacles and Healthfare—were not. The dissenting retailers had said they might as well not even bother to open that Saturday if no parking would be available on the block.

Murphy suggested moving the market would open up even more parking in the Center School Lot—which has 180 spaces compared to the 96 in Morse Court—and the Getabout had agreed to operate a shuttle service from there to Elm Street. But even so, Selectman Rob Mallozzi (who also owns Bob's Sports) speculated more than just Spectacles and Healthfare customers would be put off if they couldn't park closer to downtown.

"There would have been not just two people, coming to us frustrated about parking, saying they don't want to get into a Getabout," Mallozzi said in explaining his "no" vote.

So it's back to the drawing board for Murphy and the rest of the ad hoc group trying to figure out how to integrate the farmers market with downtown retailers for their mutual benefit.

"There's going to be a day that we're going to have to try it out," she said of a market move, "and somebody's not going to be happy."