Fort Collins steers away from metered Old Town parking

A new plan for downtown Fort Collins steers clear of one of the area’s most contentious topics; paid on-street parking.

The latest draft of the Downtown Plan, which has been in the works for two years, does not recommend establishing a system for metered street parking in the near future.

Instead, it calls for the city to explore staffing and technical needs to extend enforcement of existing time limits on street parking during weekdays. It also calls for examining what would be involved in enforcing parking time limits on weekends.

The draft plan’s “immediate” action items — steps that should be pursued within 120 days of the plan’s adoption — also include researching technology that would allow motorists to pay for parking through their smartphones. The City Council is expected to consider adopting the plan in March.

Taking a cautious approach toward changing downtown parking policies was the direction set by council, said city Planning Manager Cameron Gloss, in response to concerns raised by downtown business owners and others involved in crafting the Downtown Plan.

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The council wants to see more information on how parking is currently used before making a decision, he said.

“We just need more data to assess whether we truly have a problem, as in not getting the right amount of turnover,” Gloss said. “We want to see more turnover with on-street parking and more people parking in the structures.”

Taking a cautious approach toward parking is fine with many merchants in the area, said Carey Hewitt, founder of The Cupboard, 152 S. College Ave.

Hewitt, a member of the city’s Parking Advisory Board, said several steps should be taken before going to metered street parking, including increased enforcement of parking regulations and better utilization of existing parking lots and garages.

“You should do everything possible before instituting on-street paid parking …,” he said. “Right now, I feel it would adversely affect retail if it were to happen.”

Some people would not come downtown because they are used to free parking and don’t want to start paying for it, he said. Restaurants and bars likely would see less impact from metered parking because they are busiest after parking time limits expire for the day.

If retail stores suffer and have to leave downtown for lack of business, the area could turn in an “entertainment district” with nothing but bars and restaurants for entire blocks, Hewitt said.

“It would be dead by day and drunk by night.”

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Parking demand to increase

The draft Downtown Plan takes a deep look at transportation and parking issues, along with other aspects of the city’s historic commercial core. Topic areas in the weighty document include urban design, market and economy, arts and culture, energy and environment, and management and maintenance.

The long-range vision for downtown is shaped through the principal, policies and action items spelled out for each topic area.

Parking plays a role in each area, as does the concept of encouraging people to use alternative forms of transportation to get downtown.

About 90 percent of visitors drive downtown, according to the plan. About 6 percent walk or ride bikes and 4 percent use public transportation.

Commercial and residential development expected to come to the downtown area will require the addition of about 1,500 parking spaces in the coming years, according to other planning documents.

The city's Parking Plan calls for building five parking garages to help meet the demand. Revenue from paid on-street parking could be a way to fund the structures.

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The city should look at other ways to fund parking structures, said Ted Zibell, co-owner of the Perennial Gardener, 154 N. College Ave.

A sales tax charged through a public improvement district, such as those paid at the Foothills and Front Range Village malls, to pay for infrastructure improvements would be an option, he said. The malls are competition for downtown stores.

“It should be a level playing field,” Zibell said. “If they don’t have parking meters and we do, that puts us at a disadvantage.”

City residents and visitors enjoy coming downtown to shop because of its vibrant and unique atmosphere, he said. It’s friendly and relatively simple to park, despite the perception that parking is a problem.

A small change in the area’s dynamics — such as requiring people to pay for parking — could have major consequences, Zibell said.

Addressing 'upside-down' pricing

City officials have said for years the current downtown parking system has an “upside-down” pricing structure.

The most valued parking is on the street and free, although with time limits during weekday business hours. Parking at the Civic Center and Old Town parking structures is free for the first hour. The fee is $1 an hour after that.

Longer-term action items in the draft Downtown Plan, as in those targeted to happen between 2019 and 2026, include developing a threshold for when paid on-street parking might be implemented and how. The plan calls for investing what type of metering system could be used.

A new parking structure at the Elizabeth Hotel, which is under construction on Walnut Street, will have 300 spaces. A third of the spaces will be dedicated to the hotel; the rest will be open to the public.

The parking structure is expected to open in August. Its stalls will have sensors that will monitor when they are in use and for how long, said Seth Lorson, a city transit planner.

Users of the structure will pay in advance at an automated kiosk. If they need to pay for additional time, they would be able to do so through a smartphone app.

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That technology could be extended to on-street parking and paying for additional time if needed. The systems would include an app function through which drivers could find out where spaces are available on the streets and in structures.

If paid on-street parking ever comes to downtown, drivers could make a choice between paying a premium for on-street parking or less by going to a parking structure, Lorson said. Any system would be intended to create availability.

“The idea is to get less queuing out in streets, less idling, less congestion downtown and more predictability for users,” he said.

City officials plan to weigh a variety of options in developing strategies for dealing with parking issues downtown and across the city, Gloss said.

Parking is a challenge for municipalities across the country, Gloss said, especially in midsized to large cities that have experienced revivals of their downtown areas. With increased activity and vibrancy comes more vehicles that need to be parked.

“Communities struggle with this,” Gloss said. “In some ways, we are a victim of our own success.”

Kevin Duggan is a Coloradoan senior reporter covering local government. Follow him on Twitter, @coloradoan_dugg, and on Facebook at Coloradoan Kevin Duggan.

Review the plan

The Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board is scheduled to review the Downtown Plan March 16. City Council is tentatively scheduled to consider adoption of the plan March 21.

Information, including draft plan materials, is available at fcgov.com/planning/downtown.

By the numbers: Old Town parking

90: Percentage of Old Town visitors who arrive by car

6: Percentage of visitors who walk or bike

4: Percentage of visitors who use public transportation

1,500: Estimated additional parking spaces necessitated by commercial and residential growth in coming years

418: Times the word "parking" is used in the city's draft Downtown Plan