Paid Parking Makes Sense for Old Town [VIDEO, POLL]

We headed into Old Town for some food and holiday shopping on Saturday.

Parking was challenging.

Like a meme I once saw said,

I don't always park in Old Town, but when I do, I drive around the block ten times before pulling into a parking garage.

It was a beautiful and busy holiday Saturday, so the crowd didn't surprise me. The lack of spaces in my favorite stash spots did.

Normally I can find something on Mountain just east of Mathews. Or, if there is nothing there, I pull onto Chestnut, that street that is off Jefferson/Riverside behind the old Armadillo. That was full, and there were even three other cars that had the same idea as me. When those failed, I turned to my old standby--College Avenue north of Laporte. There is almost always space there. Luckily, this time, there was one space left.

According to the Coloradoan, Fort Collins will need 1,000 to 1,500 more parking spaces over the next ten years with nary a way to fund them. Parking meters or some other form of paid parking are one idea for a revenue source to create more parking.

There used to be parking meters in Old Town. They were pulled  more than 20 years ago and replaced by the 2 hour time limited free parking that exists all over downtown. But with the mass migration of people to Fort Collins, parking nightmares are beginning to occur, especially at busy times. This problem is only expected to get worse.

Old Town is such a gem that paying for parking, at least in some areas, really makes sense. Especially if it is done in a consumer friendly way, paid parking could work. There are already stations that accept cash or credit cards (see the parking lot behind the Rio). Make it easy, make it cheap, and it will help to take care of the costs of building new parking spaces.

Some areas should have paid parking, and others could be free. Here are the streets where paid parking makes sense.

• From Mason to Mathews on Mountain
• From Laporte to Olive on College
• Oak St. from Mason to Oak St. Plaza
• The parking lot behind the Aggie
• Walnut St.
• Linden St. from Old Town Square to Jefferson

Then, in areas that are further from the epicenter of Old Town, offer some free spots, so if people really don't want to pay, they can take a shot at finding a free spot, and walk a few blocks.

The free parking is a real incentive for people to visit Old Town more often, and I think with the right approach paid parking wouldn't interrupt that. If it isn't too expensive, if there are numerous ways to pay, and if there are some places that are still free, Fort Collins could strike the balance between providing enough parking and generating the revenue needed to handle a growing population that loves their downtown.