To Keep the Masses Away from Stamford's Beaches, Be Dictatorial

Stamford is thinking of lowering parking fees at its beaches for non-residents, from $30 to $20 a day. Mayor Dannel Malloy supports it as a way to encourage visitors to use the parking lots instead of parking on local streets and walking to the beaches.

A local politician named Patrick White (the Advocate identifies him as “city Rep. Patrick White, D-1,” but I’m not sure what that means; is he a city councilman?) thinks the lower fee will not work because if people don’t want to pay $30 they won’t want to pay $20 either. Here’s White’s heavy-handed solution:

"I think the way to solve it is to be dictatorial. If they knew they were going to be pounded -- that the city was going to tow the car, that you would have to pay $500 to get it out -- that would solve it."