Downtown Parking Management Updates

As a previous manager of a local business for the last four years, a supporter of the DDA and outreach, and a community member who lives in old town, downtown, I can say with confidence that I do not see how paid street parking and making parking less accessible to people will help downtown businesses. Downtown is in desperate need of employee parking and making that more accessible. And downtown is in desperate need of an update to the payment systems to make the garages easier to pay at the kiosks. But downtown parking is already a turn off to customers, and paid parking would make that even more so.

I’m going to be a lone voice and advocate for adding paid parking on downtown streets. The current arrangement where the most convenient parking is free and the less (although only slightly so) convenient garages cost a very tiny amount is backwards. I would suggest keeping the fees low in the garages and add a larger cost for street parking.

It is an excellent idea to charge for the most in-demand parking spots (the on-street spots). This change will benefit drivers by increasing availability of on-street parking for those who need it, and will encourage more sustainable modes of travel by reducing the subsidies (free use of public space) given to cars. Thank you for making this effort!

Paid parking would make it hard for many foco residents to enjoy downtown. I've lived here for my entire life and have been meeting friends downtown for nearly all that time - as a teenager I wouldn't have been able to enjoy downtown if i had to pay for parking. Making sure that all residents can enjoy downtown is what keeps the fun community spirit alive. Even if the cost wasn't prohibitive I'd be likely to choose another option for a meal or shopping or to meet with friends if I knew I had to pay for parking. In addition, paid parking downtown would mean that nearby neighborhoods would be crowded with people street parking which would further inconvenience these residents.

I really hope this change does not happen. The free parking is amazing!

You fools who run the city continue to make decisions that hurt the city. Paid parking is detrimental to the struggling downtown. For once help the businesses down there.
Fort Collins doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.
Don't be stupid, no paid parking additions.

The local businesses in Fort Collins are what make it such a great town. I have a lot of concerns that the introduction of paid parking will reduce their incomes in a way that chains would be able to withstand but small business cannot, and Old Town will become just another strip mall. Don't deter people from coming to Old Town and supporting the businesses here—this proposal actively works against your stated goal of "supporting a vibrant downtown." If you want to reduce congestion and free up street parking, invest in public transit instead. I would be much more inclined to take the bus downtown if I didn't have to transfer, or if there were more buses with stops near the Max line.

Here's a couple of thoughts: 1. Make parking garage rules apply to on the street parking so the first hour is free and the second hour is a $1 - make it mandatory that in order to park, $1 must be paid even if they don't use the full second hour 2. Make all the parking spots directly in front of downtown shops/restaurants 20-minute loading/offloading parking and FREE. This leaves all the center college road spots available for extended paid parking like the garages. Hire part time meter-maids to vigorously enforce the 20-minute loading/offloading spots with tickets. 3. Mark the paid parking enforceable only between 7am and 7pm, peak hours when people are going to be downtown Mon-Sat; give everyone a reprieve on Sundays 4. Provide discounts or limited exemptions for business owners or residents who live/work downtown.

Not everyone is going to like this and there could be a negative impact on businesses...but I'd to think that with the implementation of these ideas above, it can work

This is a great idea and I hope it gets implement soon!

In a world where everything is costing more and more money every day, making parking cost money is the final straw that will shatter the back of the camel of my sanity. I, like many people in Fort Collins, am a grad student. I don't make much, and what little extra cash I have each month I love to use supporting local businesses in Old Town. If there's an additional parking fee, a cost just for existing in our town, that will have a detrimental impact on the culture and more importantly, the individuals looking for community.
Don't be the landlords of parking. Everyone here is already so mentally ill.

The plan to add paid parking will dis-incentivize going to old town specifically for low income individuals and families. Fort Collins is already an incredibly expensive place to live, taking away free parking is a real slap in the face to people who are just trying to enjoy living here. Fort Collins Old Town should be a place where everyone can access and enjoy, paid parking will ultimately make it more inaccessible and decrease foot traffic.

Strictly a money grab by the city. Raising taxes by less money from general fund. More parking tickets too. Be honest about your reason. Another reason for me to avoid old town. You will learn the amount of people going down there hurting the businesses there.

Paid parking works in so many downtowns similar to Fort Collins. Seems time to move forward with it. Two hours is often not enough time to shop, dine and visit. Be a good revenue source for city.

I do not support this either. What makes Old Town vibrant and accessible is the free parking--not just for people shopping, picking up errands, but also dinners etc. What FC should put money into is expanding the bus service to cover more areas (than just campus) and more. frequent pick up/drop off. I would certainly use public transportation more often if we expanded the service (I live in midtown. Lemay/Horsetooth) and to get to Old Town requires transfers and over an hour of transit time. I would support my tax dollars going to expanding public transportation over metered parking in Old Town. I've seen what parking meters did in other smaller sized towns (like Bozeman MT) and it's made things much worse for folks who live in nearby neighborhoods.

Finding parking in Old Town on weekend afternoon/evenings (including Fridays) is next to impossible. Our own solution is to take the MAX, No. 6 Bus or our bikes to Old Town. (Functional/ample bike parking is also an issue). The better question you should be asking, since Fort Collins has done a reasonably good job of building a public transit system, is how to wean people of the "car culture" mentality. (That is the biggest challenge, not only here, but in all the US). People in Fort Colins will line up in droves to ride a pseudo electric rail car, run on a gas motor from City Park to the Avery House, yet will not utilize the public transport system here and both cost nothing. The major consensus is that businesses will suffer. I don't think that will be the case. We ride the FX3 Bus to Boulder. Boulder has paid parking on Pearl Street, which never seems to lack a large volume of parked cars. It will generate additional revenue for the city, possibly get the public using busses more.

Street parking should be free for 15-30 minutes and then you start getting charged. Parking garages should be free and clearly marked as such.

The reason people think it's too hard to go downtown is because there's never any parking. Imagine if you could reliably park right in front of the store you wanted to visit. In and out without having to drive around looking for a spot. Now people park wherever and their car sits there for hours while potential customers can't get to the store easily and give up and go somewhere else. The current system is hurting downtown businesses!

People who want to walk around can park in the garages. They'll be walking anyway, who cares if it's another few steps.

I don't necessarily see a problem with charging to park in Old Town as long as it's implemented in a way that's accessible for all people to pay (not app-based).

My concern is with the expansion of 2-hour parking to ridiculous levels around the Old Town area. By turning all the long term parking on surrounding streets into 2-hour, you will be creating massive issues for workers (county facilities and local businesses) because let's be honest, if you force us all to park in the garage there won't be any room for visitors to downtown, or we're going to be pushed out into residential areas, if there are even any streets that aren't permit-only. No one visiting Old Town is going to park out on Meldrum or Canyon to do their shopping, and the two-hour parking that already exists on surrounding streets is never full. If you need to add *some* extra 2-hour parking adjacent to Old Town, fine, but converting everything will end up hurting all of the people that make Old Town function.

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.