Downtown Parking Management Updates

This is the wrong time to charge for on the street parking. We can’t afford to discourage our customers from visiting our businesses. The rents downtown are squeezing many to close down. We need all the help we can get to keep customers flowing freely into our shops.this is not a good idea, especially now.

Why limit our ability to access Old Town when our public transportation systems aren't robust enough to encourage other modes of transportation? We need buses that make stops more than once an hour, run later than 7pm, and work on Sundays. We need sustainable long-term solutions. Not to just keep raising the cost of living here. What about residents who live in Old Town West and rely on those free parking spaces? The garages in Old Town work great - they're cheap and I've never had a problem finding a spot. Now let's please expand our bus routes and protected bike lanes so we can stop being so dependent on parking and vehicle ownership.

Paid parking will take away from the wonderful open friendly and vibrant downtown. We have wonderful small business and restaurants downtown that will go out of business with this plan. This is just another tax to utilize downtown. I always try to support small business. This plan will force me to discontinue going downtown. It is sad that our friendly town sees our downtown as a cash cow. Times are hard enough without having to pay for parking.

I would be in favor of increased paid parking spaces as a way to at least help offset the cost of maintenance for parking areas, and potentially limit traffic through Old Town if there was more reliable parking nearby. I tend to avoid driving or parking near Old Town as much as I can in general because of higher traffic, people pulling in/out of spots, pedestrians crossing, etc., but do bike and walk there frequently, usually parking a ways off if I have to drive (grew up here but haven't tried the garages yet). Making it easy to pay fees (e.g. avoiding specialized apps if possible) would be necessary, as would considering accommodations for people with limited mobility (at least handicap stickers) in the implementation if the alternative is walking a longer distance. One idea could be to expand park-and-ride style transport with shuttles from larger nearby parking lots.

I do not support paid parking in downtown Fort Collins. If loss of revenue from the parking garages is a concern, then maybe gates would be a good way to navigate that loss. Rather than charging for parking throughout downtown.

No. Don't do this. This doesn't support the local business or favor all citizens. It's another tax, only viable for those with expendable income. This adds a new barrier to visiting Old Town for the sake of profit to the city.

Don't do this. Stop taking away the nice thing about our city.

I enjoy that these spots downtown are free 2 hour parking. I always really appreciate whenever I see an open spot for a quick park, but I don’t mind using the garage if I see that all spots are full. The garages are so cheap, that I don’t feel the need to crawl through the streets for an empty spot. The way the spots are arranged make it easier to get in and out without causing much of a traffic issue. It would be more inconvenient to have to street park and pay via meter, app, etc. on the street.

I work for Larimer County at 200 W. Oak Street. I tend to park by Otter, usually somewhere near the intersection of Oak and Meldrum.

My main issue with the new parking proposal is it extends 2 hour parking limits across this entire area. This particular intersection is not residential nor is there retail, so I don't understand the making this paid parking for employees that work around there (County, bank, Otter, etc. employees). While I do pay for a permit to the garage on Main I tend to feel safer parking by Oak/Meldrum than using the garage.

I urge to you reconsider rezoning this area. If you do move forward then I urge you to allow employees of nearby businesses an exemption or access to a permit. Thank you for your consideration.

One of the features of Ft. Collins that attracts the community downtown is free street parking. Charging for parking will deter people from coming downtown and businesses will suffer. As part of a large senior citizen population, know that many are not able to bike downtown, nor willing to walk from the parking garage to businesses. Do not impose parking fees for street parking. Keep our "Choice City" amazing!

One of the features that makes Ft. Collins a unique "Choice City" is free street parking. The community loves coming downtown because of it. Imposing charges will deter people from coming downtown and businesses will suffer. As part of a large population of senior citizens, know that many of us are not able to bike downtown nor willing to walk the distance from parking garage to businesses. Please reconsider and keep our amazing downtown welcoming. Thank you!

This is starting to become a bit much. Born and raised here and I'm sick of the ways our government is making it impossible to live here. Sure parking only costs a few bucks but I'm tired of being nickel and dimed for everything. I already rarely go downtown anymore because inflation and prices are out of hand... businesses are already having a hard time in old Town...why make it worse?

Our City has grown a lot since the age of horse and wagon. It will continue to grow, especially with Jeni Arndt, Chris Conway, Emily Francis, and other city council candidates, all pushing for more density and increased housing, over 45,000 to start.
Looking for free street parking is difficult at best, with many playing the musical parking space game of slow roll and wait, or drive in circles 5 times, which bogs down traffic. Workers take up patron spaces since they are the only free ones. Put workers and those who don't want to pay in the garages for free or very cheap rates. Street parking convenience should come with a nominal fee. Patrons will be more likely to consider time, freeing up parking spaces more frequently. Maybe public transportation will become a more favorable option?
We also need a lot more handicap parking spaces.
We really need numerous secure bicycle parking lots with plenty of room and good racks for e-bikes (secure being the operative word!).

I'm excited to see this proposal. It looks very comprehensive and well thought out.

I think this proposal will not discourage people from coming to old town. It will hopefully encourage other forms of transportation to old town instead. And drivers should benefit from more open / convenient parking options and less circling the block as long as the system for paying to park is easy and accessible, as to not counter the benefits of convenient close parking.

The cost of parking in down town is too great and it shouldn't be subsidized by people who dont use it.

Congestion priced parking will make finding the best spot much more convenient for those who need it.

This is a great step to making old town a place for people instead of cars.

I hope the city has follow up plans to expand alternatives transit options to old town. More public transit please!!

I'm excited to see this proposal. It looks very comprehensive and well thought out.

I think this proposal will not discourage people from coming to old town. It will hopefully encourage other forms of transportation to old town instead. And drivers should benefit from more open / convenient parking options and less circling the block as long as the system for paying to park is easy and accessible, as to not counter the benefits of convenient close parking.

The cost of parking in down town is too great and it shouldn't be subsidized by people who dont use it.

Congestion priced parking will make finding the best spot much more convenient for those who need it.

This is a great step to making old town a place for people instead of cars.

I hope the city has follow up plans to expand alternatives transit options to old town. More public transit please!!

I believe that on street parking in old town should be eliminated entirely and traffic be diverted to garages.

Overall I think it's sad that utilizing our downtown will come with yet another fee. That being said, our garages downtown are excellent. The page suggests that our parking model is "upside down", with prime parking being free and garage parking being paid. Perhaps instead of charging everyone always, we truly turn this "right side up" and make the first two hours of parking in the garages free?

Personally I bike downtown as much as I can, since it is a far more pleasant experience. However not everyone has the privilege of good health and cannot do this. The Max is also great, but unfortunately it directly services very little housing so it's not a very convenient option for most to get downtown. For those who can't use public transit or bicycles, this seems like a downtown usage tax, more or less.

One final non-sequitur if we want to improve the downtown experience: we desperately need enforcement of the noise ordinance and Colorado's anti coal-rolling law downtown.

This is a great idea I really hope it cuts down on the number of cruisers looking for a spot

Finally. Even making garages dirt cheap compared to street parking would solve so many issues.

I'd wager that the estimate on how much traffic is just people circling for a good spot is a gross understatement.

As a fully remote worker, I use a coworking space in Old Town a few times a week. Personally, this gives me access to community, but perhaps more importantly, I'm much more likely to buy a coffee, eat out for lunch, and do a little shopping in Old Town on my break than I would be if I was at home. If the 2 hour parking zone is extended, I will no longer be able to use the coworking space. There's a waitlist for monthly parking permits in the garages and there won't be a place I can park for more than 2 hours during the day. The current Transfort schedule doesn't make it possible for me to use public transit and as a parent, I need access to a vehicle for emergencies during the day. It wouldn't be comfortable for me to have to wait up to an hour for a bus home to get a car to get my child from school if he was ill.

I fully support a more logical parking plan that takes into account workers as well as shoppers and gives people options to spend time (and money) in Old Town.

Definitely charge for parking. But more than that, the downtown has become completely unusable for outdoor dining and other activities due to the amount of large pickup trucks and motorcycles speeding down college. Prioritize transit and traffic enforcement! Never seen FC Police actually care about violators.