Kings Park Residents Petition Town for More Parking

Kings Park residents have started a grassroots effort to get Town of Smithtown officials to create more parking in the downtown area. 

Councilman Bob Creighton said he has received a petition with the signatures of more than 600 residents asking the town board to consider purchasing land along Pulaski Road to create an additional municipal parking lot at the Nov. 21 town board work session. 

"The <downtown. parking area which is rather small, it has been exacerbated by the construction that occurred on Pulaski Road, but there is still a problem as far as parking goes," Creighton said. 

There is a small wooded lot currently available for sale along Pulaski Road, behind Park Bake Shop in Kings Park. If the lot was paved and lined, Smithtown Planning Department estimated the town would be able to get make 21-22 parking spots, according to Creighton. 

"I think it’s a good suggestion too. The complaint most of parking is taken up by employees and people stay there a long time," Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said. "If we are going to consider that - and I think it s a good idea - you must have a means of restricting parking for an hour so." 

Tony Tanzi, president of Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, said he supports the town board looking into possibly purchasing the wooded lot to create additional municipal parking. 

"It’s like anything is better than what we have," Tanzi said. There is at time parking issues on that end of town, there are some successful businesses that need the parking." 

He also encouraged the town and state to possible work together to help bring back some of the on-street parking Kings Park used to have, saying that often on-street parking have a higher turnover as its frequently used by customers making quick stop to pick up goods. 

Creighton also suggested the additional parking would improve the safety of the intersection between Pulaski Road and Main Street, by reducing the number of cars parking and pulling over in front of Park Ave Bakery interfering with the regular traffic flow. 

He hopes to pursue the idea of creating additional municipal parking across the Town of Smithtown.

"We need parking all over the Town of Smithtown, in my point of view, any opportunity we have to get additional parking to benefit the stores in the area," Creighton said. " It would be helpful in other parts of town."

The town board agreed to get in touch with the property owners and see what price they were asking for the property.