Cheyenne council hears downtown business opposition to paid on‑street parking; repeal ordinance sent to committee

The Cheyenne City Council on Feb. 10 gave first reading to an ordinance to repeal the city’s paid on‑street parking districts program and referred the measure to the Public Services Committee. The introduction came amid sustained public comment from downtown business owners and representatives who said an app‑based paid‑parking system would deter customers and harm fragile businesses.

Corey Lothree, speaking for the Downtown Business Collective, told the council the collective submitted recommendations to the city on Sept. 19, 2022 that included a two‑phase approach: implement a set of 34 “phase 1” recommendations before considering paid parking. Lothree said few phase 1 recommendations have been implemented and warned that an app‑based paid parking pilot would be “a high stakes experiment” for downtown businesses. He said the collective submitted more than 400 customer letters gathered in under a week showing customers would not visit downtown if required to use an app.

Several individual business owners echoed those concerns. A downtown property owner who identified herself as Astrid and said she owns the Plains Hotel and Hotel Frontier Apartments told the council she has not been contacted by the consultant team and asked the city to collect pedestrian counts or retail sales data to measure downtown trends. Scott Hahn, of the Cheyenne Elks No. 660, said the city should improve communications with downtown stakeholders and expressed skepticism about an app that customers may struggle to use without in‑person assistance.

Other small business owners raised additional objections: Michelle Shimon (307 Maid) cited unsafe or noisy conditions in the parking garage that deter customers and said some regular customers told her they would not return if an app were required; Virginia Brinkerhoff (Just Sandy) described declining foot traffic and said older customers fear icy sidewalks and poor snow removal; a resident, Veronica, said she does not use social media and asked how the app would work for people without such accounts.

Councilmembers acknowledged the concerns and noted the ordinance will be considered further in the Public Services Committee; staff said letters submitted tonight (Corey said they had collected more than 400) would be provided to the clerk and council. No vote to adopt the repeal occurred; the ordinance was forwarded to committee for review and possible amendment.

The first‑reading ordinance on the agenda was item 10; the council placed it on the committee docket rather than advancing toward immediate adoption. Councilmembers and speakers urged the city to pursue improved communication with downtown businesses, implement the collective’s earlier Phase 1 recommendations and gather data—such as pedestrian counts or retail‑sales figures—before making final policy changes affecting parking and customer access.