Paid Parking

[Brian's Protonmail]

Dear Mayor and Trustees of Estes Park,

As we transition into late summer and early fall, I would like to propose an idea for your consideration: suspending paid parking on certain weekdays. This initiative could demonstrate Estes Park's adaptability to visitor patterns during slower days and show support for our local businesses downtown.

Currently, there appear to be many empty parking spots during the weekdays, and offering free parking could encourage more visitors to explore our town. For example, we could promote:

• Free Parking in Downtown Estes Park, Monday-Friday!
• Free Parking in Downtown Estes Park on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Such promotions could be effectively highlighted by Visit Estes Park, potentially attracting more weekday visitors and boosting local commerce.

Additionally, I believe it would be beneficial for Rocky Mountain National Park to consider some flexibility in its reservation system on weekdays, allowing for increased access to the park. While I understand this may be a challenging request, it could enhance the overall visitor experience.

Thank you for considering these suggestions. I look forward to seeing how Estes Park continues to evolve and support both residents and visitors alike.

Sincerely,
Brian Denning

[Gary Hall]

Brian, thanks, as always, for your thoughtful notes. I'm sure the other trustees have their opinions. I'm not quite ready to go down the road to modifications to the paid parking policy. I'd be interested to see data that actually proved the connection between paid parking = empty weekday parking place. I think there's a lot of broad economic and cultural factors at play in America these days impacting when people travel, how long they stay, what they do, etc. And, of course, there are local factors, but I'm not convinced that paid parking is the deciding factor for coming to Estes on a late summer weekday. I think there are several factors much higher on the priority scale for most people as to whether they come up here or not. 

If one of the trustees wants to ask the board to consider this type of change, they can do so, but I'd still request data that supported the change. 

Again, though, your reasonable method of presenting these ideas is appreciated. 

Timed entry: I've gone on record many times as supporting Superintendent Ingram for the decisions he makes regarding the timed entry system. Those types of significant changes can take a while to find the right balance, and I trust him and his staff to find that balance. I still believe that the draw of visiting a national park is still the overriding factor, and society finds a way to adapt to timed entry or other changes. 

Thanks again. Onward. 

Gary M. Hall

Mayor of the Town of Estes Park

Office phone: 970-577-3706

Email: gh...@estes.org

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