I can’t say it better than this article from the "Aspen Times"
C’dale
parking enforcement lax?
By John Stroud
Carbondale
correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado
August 9, 2007
CARBONDALE — Carbondale’s Downtown Preservation Association wants the
town to enforce and even expand its two-hour parking limit downtown, for fear of
lost business if people can’t find a place to park.“The Historic
Downtown Preservation Association has been noticing a decline in store traffic
in direct correlation to parking availability,” DPA co-chairs Chris Chacos and
Ron Robertson wrote in a July 30 letter to Town Manager Tom Baker and the Town
Council.“We feel this adversely affects the amount of sales tax revenues
collected for our community, and to ignore this is unwise for the town,” they
wrote.The problem seems to be stemming from two regular offenders, the
letter points out.First is the number of construction workers working on
downtown area construction projects, who are taking up some of the town’s
two-hour parking spots all day long.“The two-hour parking signs mean
nothing to them,” the DPA’s letter states.The second routine offender,
“we are sorry to have to report … are some of our own business owners and their
employees abusing those unenforced posted two-hour parking signs
…”Chacos and other DPA members will be at the Aug. 14 Town Council
meeting to discuss the matter. But the problem, Chacos said he’s been told, is
there’s no money budgeted for regular parking enforcement.So, he’ll be
asking for the town to allow downtown business owners to take matters into their
own hands to advise people who are seen to be parked downtown for more than two
hours at a time.The DPA has come up with a courtesy card to place on the
windshields of offending vehicles, reading: “We noted that you’ve been parking
here over two hours, and we’re hoping you won’t receive a ticket … this
time!“By shopping in Carbondale your sales tax helps to fund our town’s
services … parks … police … upgrading our streets … snow removal … and many
other services,” it continues. “So, we are kindly asking you to please restrict
your parking to two hours at a time so that others, too, may enjoy the
convenience of in-and-out shopping.”The card goes on to point out that
there are three free parking areas that long-term parkers can use, including the
public parking near Town Hall along Fourth and Colorado, and the parking lot
next to the Centennial Building on Main, which the private owners of the Crystal
Theatre lease to the town for public parking.The DPA would also like the
town to consider expanding the two-hour restriction to the street parking along
Fourth Street between Main and Colorado Avenue. And some “quick-service” types
of businesses would like for the town to establish some half-hour
spaces.
They get it. Go Carbondale…Carbondale rules….Carbondale rocks!!!
JVH
