By Michelle Moskowitz
Sentinel Contributor
On your mark, get set, shop!
Greenwich residents are gearing up for the annual Sidewalk Sales days, when high-end retailers slash prices on their luxury goods for the best prices of the season.
This summer’s sidewalk sale dates are Thursday, July 14, Friday, July 15, Saturday, July 16 and Sunday, July 17.
Bustling crowds consisting of both residents and out-of-town visitors, baby strollers in tow, and potentially soaring temperatures won’t deter shoppers from securing their sensational markdowns.
But one recurring issue of summers’ past is that of parking, and retailers simply don’t want to lose potential customers because they can’t find a place to park, not to mention the frustration that patrons experience.
The Sentinel spoke with Rita Azrelyant, director of Parking Services of Greenwich, to get some tips and tools to ensure a hassle-free shopping experience for all.
“We want people to have a good, safe shopping experience in Greenwich, but that entails parking smartly.”
Azrelyant encourages people to use the long-term municipal parking lots in town (such as the Lafayette Lot off the top of the avenue and the East Elm Lot; see map for details) and walk to the Avenue, which will provide more shopping time, while also keep traffic light on the Avenue.
Azrelyant also emphasized the importance of being considerate by not blocking people’s driveways on the side streets and not parking in fire zones or other restricted areas.
In order to help further alleviate the traffic congestion, The Chamber of Commerce is doing a special promotion with Greenwich Taxi during the sidewalk sale days by offering reduced fares to be dropped off at certain locations on the avenue, not to mention a stress-free ride for customers.
For people coming from out of town, Azrelyant suggests using mass transit.
In addition to streamlining parking options, the town of Greenwich also has two new mobile apps in which residents, shoppers, merchants and employees can benefit from.
The first is ParkMobile, a mobile app that allows users to use their phone to effortlessly pay for parking transactions for both on-and-off-street parking.
Another new app is Access Greenwich, which allows users to report an issue in town such as a broken meter or a repair issue.
These apps can be found at the Apple App Store or at Google Play.
For a complete list of vendors participating in the Sidewalk Sales, visit www.greenwichchamber.com.
