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

The Town of Estes Park is committed to providing accessible information and services. If you need any accommodations to view or interact with this email, please reply with your request or contact me at the phone number listed above.

[Mark Igel]

Brian,

Thanks for this input. I have a sense that you are persistently focused on opportunities to overcome challenges in business, and I appreciate that you communicate with your perspective.

To your suggestion about eliminating (and then promoting) charging visitors for public parking during certain days of the week, I agree that it would have a positive impact. I do hear regular concerns from visitors about the numerous challenges that have come up over the last few years in our community and across the state including Estes Park charging visitors to park. We can not control all of those challenges- but this is an issue we could "pivot" on to provide an opportunity for a positive, welcoming marketing message. I will try to gather some logistical info and bring forth a discussion about this topic. Of course, there are many layers to the issue of paid parking, but when we examine the basic reason for parking management and potential benefits, I think that this idea would be worthy of a quick change. Now the bad news, the government doesn't move quickly and we don't make decisions that govern the community as you and I might in our businesses. Please stay engaged on this issue and in touch with all trustees as you see fit.

Mark Igel, Trustee

Town of Estes Park  |  PO Box 1200  |  Estes Park, Colorado 80517

www.estes.org
Direct voice mail: 970-577-3713

Notice: This email and your reply may be subject to inspection by the public under CORA, the Colorado Open Records Act. Include the word PRIVATE in the subject line if your message is intended to be kept confidential, and although it will not be included in the public email portal, it will most likely remain available through a CORA request.

[Kirby Hazelton]

Hi Brian,

Thank you for your email and idea. I personally don't believe that offering free parking mid-week will cause a substantial shift in visitation, nor in the guest view of our community/destination, but I understand you may have a different perspective. I just don't see the ROI so at this time, I would be hesitant to support a change. I will, however, touch base with the VEP crew and garner their thoughts about if they believe a campaign of this nature (now or in the future) would land with our fall demographic. 

Thanks again for your engagement,

Kirby

On Sat, Sep 6, 2025 at 4:43 PM 'Brian's Protonmail' via Trustees <trus...@estes.org> wrote:

--

Kirby Nelson-Hazelton

Town of Estes Park Trustee

khaz...@estes.org 

[Mark Igel]

Brian,

I wanted to follow up officially with you on this, an issue that I believe has merit if we were able to "pivot" on a small business schedule, ie, make changes this week. We as a Town are not able to move that fast. For that reason- the amount of time that it would take to make a meaningful change to parking policies this year, I have raised the issue to acknowledge it (study session last week) and then suggested we take a look at it for next season. I agree that offering "free parking" is a strategy that may offer us some marketing and operational advantages in upcoming seasons. This is the reality of municipal government processes, which I believe should be subject to public participation and scrutiny, and rushing things does not allow proper public participation.

Mark Igel, Trustee

Town of Estes Park  |  PO Box 1200  |  Estes Park, Colorado 80517

www.estes.org
Direct voice mail: 970-577-3713

Notice: This email and your reply may be subject to inspection by the public under CORA, the Colorado Open Records Act. Include the word PRIVATE in the subject line if your message is intended to be kept confidential, and although it will not be included in the public email portal, it will most likely remain available through a CORA request.

[Brian's Protonmail]

 Mark,

Thanks for bringing it up in the study session.  I understand these type of changes take time to implement and get proper public participation and feedback.  I look forward to participating in that process and perhaps getting a citizen initiative  started on this.

Brian