Parking

Riverhead plans to step up downtown parking enforcement using handheld ticketing devices that will allow motorists to respond online.

Riverhead officials are considering a ban on commercial vehicles and trailers parking overnight on residential streets.

A proposal to restrict parking on Northern Parkway off Roanoke Avenue in downtown Riverhead drew criticism from some neighboring residents who said parking restrictions alone would not address the source of the problem.

The Town Board last week ratified a $30,000 consulting contract that was signed by the deputy supervisor nearly four months ago hiring National Development Council to lead the town's review of the downtown parking garage project on First Street. Plus: rundown of actions at July 6 meeting.

Urban Design Associates will develop a “Riverfront Activation Plan”and Sam Schwartz Consulting will update the strategic parking plan it did for downtown Riverhead in 2019-2020.

A ban on parking along the length of both sides of Sound Avenue will again be the subject of a Riverhead Town Board public hearing next month.

Highlights of the March 20 Riverhead Town Board meeting, which included a visit from two Girl Scout troops.

Two more apartment proposals now under review would essentially double the number of apartments already built or under construction on Main Street. The two new projects would require 293 parking spaces, which downtown cannot absorb, according to the town's head planner, who urged the board to act on a proposed code change requiring developers to provide on-site parking.

The town needs a study specific enough to use in decision-making to alleviate parking problems in the downtown business district, according to parking district liaison Councilman Tim Hubbard.

At a time when downtown businesses are concerned about the supply of available parking spaces, the erection of a fence in a downtown Riverhead parking lot has stirred controversy.