Northern Colorado city puts brakes on plans to charge for parking- for now
The City of Fort Collins has put the brakes on plans to charge for street parking downtown- at least for now. The city has been studying and planning for a possible paid parking concept for street parking on College Avenue for years.
Now, according to the city's Downtown Parking Management Updates project, more paid parking will be introduced to the community sometime after the completion of the city's College Avenue Waterline Project in 2028. City transportation officials said that waterline project will be disruptive to traffic downtown.
They will continue to work with the community on "its rollout of paid parking as a solution to parking management downtown."
The future of parking in downtown Fort Collins was discussed during Tuesday's work session with the city council, with a focus on a proposed pilot program to bring paid parking to the Oak and Remington Surface Lot downtown ahead of other changes slated for 2028.
The city council decided to revisit potential pilots of paid parking in December of this year.
In January, the city told CBS News Colorado they were hoping to introduce a $2-an-hour fee to address what it called an "upside-down" parking model, while also helping offset the cost of operating parking in Fort Collins.
In the parking structures, the first hour is free with payment at stationary pay stations or via a mobile app.
The city said that from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, there will be free parking in all three downtown parking structures on Saturdays and holidays. Parking in the structures is always free on Sundays.
The City of Fort Collins Parking Services Director Eric Keselburg released this statement to CBS Colorado regarding the Fort Collins City Council work session on Tuesday: City of Fort Collins City Council discussed the future of parking and ways to support a vibrant downtown during Work Session Tuesday, Aug. 11, including early piloting of paid parking as a part of the City's Downtown Parking Management Updates project. Councilmembers did not reach agreement on a recommended pilot to make the Oak and Remington parking lot paid. Other pilot ideas—including on-street paid parking—were also discussed. Councilmembers agreed that large-scale changes to the City's parking system will not take effect until after the College Avenue Waterline Project is completed in 2028, giving the City more time to consider options for employee parking, parking demand and other ways to get downtown. Staff will work with the Downtown Development Authority, businesses and other stakeholders to develop revised pilot options, with a goal of bringing them back to Council for discussion in December.
