In a bid to alleviate congestion on Main Avenue, the city of Durango is offering free parking along Seventh, Eighth and Ninth streets between Narrow Gauge Avenue and Camino del Rio during the months of June, July and August.
A parking study conducted by the city of Durango in 2022 showed that demand for parking could potentially be solved by encouraging drivers to park in underutilized areas. Wade Moore, Durango parking operations manager, said the city does not need to build additional parking infrastructure.
“We need to get people to change their habits on where they're parking,” Moore said.
Over Memorial Day, the city introduced a pilot program making 31 metered parking spots free through the summer months. The spots are located on three side streets that experience the least amount of parking traffic in the downtown area.
The city’s hope is that downtown employees will utilize the free spots, allowing shoppers, diners and tourists to park directly on Main Avenue.
Tim Walsworth, director of the Durango Business Improvement District, said there is no way of telling whether the cars parked in the free spots are owned by downtown employees. However, the intent behind the pilot program is to provide workers with free parking options and free up the more desirable spaces on Main Avenue.
“A lot of the times, downtown employees get to work early in the mornings, so the intent is that these free spots will be available for them before town gets busy,” Walsworth said.
All metered spaces on the three side streets are covered with green bags and have a sign that reads “FREE PARKING.” Walsworth said usage of the free spaces will determine if the program continues beyond the summer months in a different or similar fashion.
The lost meter revenue will be paid for by excess lodgers’ tax money that was collected in 2021 and 2022. The meters along those blocks are the cheapest in the downtown area, charging 50 cents an hour. Moore said a slim margin of the lodgers’ tax will go toward the lost income.
“These three blocks only make about $5,000 in the whole year, and we only have to reimburse for three months,” Moore said.
Moore said the city will also begin implementing other parking improvements, including new signage and digital parking maps that show the occupancy and meter rates of parking areas around downtown Durango.
glanderyou@durangoherald.com
