Downtown Parking Management Updates

I will not frequent the Old Town area if I have to pay to park.
As an example, I used to enjoy stopping by Idaho Springs on the way home from skiing, but since they put in parking meters, I just skip it.

I have lived in fort collins for 23 years. I currently attend CSU. Downtown is a place i love to frequent, but if I have to pay for parking ill rarely if ever come to old town. It would ruin the community and would be a detriment to all the businesses that have made old town what it is.

As we tell our children, “ actions have consequences.” Paid parking is a poor plan for generating income. At what expense will this occur? I foresee further loss to downtown businesses which make up the lively character of Old Town. No one wants to see another bank or corporate business going up. How utterly boring for Old Town. Keep the restaurants, shops, boutiques, curio stores which make it desirable. Don’t make Amazon and big box stores more enticing for people; keep the foot traffic in downtown and keep the 2 hour free parking.

Please do not make this change! Old Town has always had free parking and it makes it more inviting to go there. If I have to pay for parking to go to a coffee shop downtown, I'm less likely to go downtown and more likely to choose a coffee shop elsewhere. Fort Collins is already a difficult place for small businesses to be financially, especially Old Town. Please don't add another tax on our people.

Please maintain free 2-hr parking in Old Town! I drive from Berthoud to shop in a couple specialty shops, but if I have to navigate parking kiosks every time I go, I will be motivated to find something closer to home.

Please let parking in Old Town remain free! I am far more likely to visit and shop in Old Town when I don’t also have to pay for parking. If paid parking is implemented, I will be much more likely to just shop and dine elsewhere in town.

Going downtown is getting so expensive already please leave it be as it is and keep it affordable. Since when have we aspired to be stuck up like Boulder? The units themselves are extremely expensive like what the hell is up with that …?!! And let’s face it technology only works when it works so what will happen when these insanely expensive units don’t work? Will there be people walking around to help ( who will need to get paid) or a kiosk somewhere we can go to for issues (again something else to have to pay for) no we will get a ticket which the city will love so they get even more money.

As a graduate student at CSU, cost of living in Fort Collins already makes things difficult. Although the costs may be “low,” the difference of a few dollars for parking will add up, especially when I want to run into Old Town for a quick lunch or to stop by one of the shops. I don’t live close enough to the MAX line to ride it into Old Town easily, and biking would turn a 30minute quick trip into over an hour trip. Paid parking would be enough of a barrier to send me somewhere else, where I can park for free, which is sad because that likely means I wouldn’t be going to the small businesses in old town as much.

As a city resident I do not want metered parking in Old Town. As a busy mom that frequently visits Old Town these changes will make my ability to get in and out of Old Town quickly and efficiently a complete nightmare. It will steer people away from Old Town making them take business elsewhere. We need to stand by small businesses and our community during these challenging financial times. This is a terrible idea all around. City Council, please reconsider. Our community, small businesses and families will all be affected negatively if you guys follow through with these plans.

Why don't you post that the 2 hour limit is strictly enforced and put up signs with maps that show where the parking garages. There is plenty of parking in the garages.

I do NOT want metered parking in Old Town. I live in a neighborhood surrounding Old Town. Paid parking will shift drivers into parking in our neighborhoods crowding our streets. Think about further consequences before acting city council.

Removed by moderator.

I’m a Fort Collins resident who shops and dines downtown regularly. I’m in favor of paid parking - pedestrianizing our streets and reducing traffic will benefit downtown business and people. Downtown is easy to access by bike or by parking a bit further away and walking or taking MAX. There will still be accessible parking for those who need it. And for those who want to pay to park, the rate will not be excessive and parking will become easier to find! Let’s build our cities for people, not for storage of 2-ton metal cages.

We frequent the downtown, small businesses, and totally oppose the "paid parking" proposal. This will make it inconvenient for elderly, such as me, to afford to support them. It will hurt locally owned and operated small businesses. You must understand that we know the way to Laramie and Cheyenne if Fort Collins City Council wants to lose our business.

Paid parking creates a barrier to the ease of visiting local spots quickly. It puts an unnecessary financial burden on services that need quick in out access like door dash and Uber eats.

Please do not change to paid on-street parking in downtown Fort Collins. Charging to park on-street is going to significantly burden our downtown businesses in the form of decreased visitor traffic. This will impair the downtown business district's viability, and with it, the overall quality of life in Fort Collins.

I care about our downtown businesses. I feel that charging to park on-street is going to result in a significant burden on downtown businesses in the form of decreased visitor traffic. This will significantly impair the downtown business district's viability, and with it, the overall quality of life in Fort Collins.

I also believe in the current economy it is somewhat outrageous to consider such a proposal, a regressive tax, which will limit the ability of low income families, elderly, and students to enjoy the historic downtown. I also would like the city take into account how this may affect numerous old town employees peace of mind in knowing their your daily commute to work will not also include fees or the possibility of towing. Most importantly, I do not believe that there is a current issue that warrants the need for paid parking. I do not find difficulty in getting parking in downtown even on Friday and Saturday nights, there’s an abundance of street parking that remains available with the current two hour free parking limit. As a result, my only conclusion is that this is an unnecessary regressive tax, which will negatively impact the downtown leading to a negative financial burden in the future. It seems like a very short term profit for a long-term negative impact.

I have not lived in Fort Collins my entire life, I’m actually a fairly new resident. One of my favorite things about living in Fort Collins as opposed to where I used to live in Florida is that there is free two hour parking. I strongly believe that if paid parking is enacted it will negatively affect the businesses as I’ve seen the same thing occur where I used to live. Paid parking discourages people from spontaneous shopping or dining, which is essential to many of the small businesses in old town. The effect being that less consumers choose to participate in small businesses and will drive to big box stores. This would lead to the city losing sales tax and possibly negating any profits from paid parking, which is counterproductive to the city’s goal.

Paid parking would deter me, and many others, from going into Old Town and patronizing the businesses there. My monthly expenses have increased dramatically since 2020, so I need to save money where possible in order to live. With all the increased revenue for the city from things like property taxes from new homes/condos being built and speeding tickets auto-generated by cameras, is more revenue from paid parking really necessary? Or would cutting unnecessary spending and making processes more efficient suffice?