The New Canaan Planning and Zoning Commission has instituted a six-month moratorium on the construction of new banks in the downtown area.

The move, approved by the commission 8-1 last week, comes after business owners complained about a lack of foot traffic in the area. Storeowners say banks are gobbling up real estate, but the nature of the banking business doesn't draw a lot of customers to the area.

The planning and zoning commission is going to use the six-month timeout to study better zoning locations for banks. There are currently about 10 banks in the downtown area.

The moratorium goes into effect Thursday.