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Arvada explores paid parking in Old Town to increase turnover; staff recommends phased engagement and pilots
Summary
Staff presented parking data and business outreach and proposed paid parking as a demand-management tool to increase turnover in Old Town. Council asked for more targeted engagement with businesses and suggested pilots focused on peak hours and flexible options such as short free periods.
City transportation staff presented April 22 on parking demand in Old Town Arvada and recommended further study, business engagement and limited pilots of paid parking as a tool to increase turnover and make on-street parking more available.
Derek Fearn, the city’s transportation demand management and parking coordinator, summarized consultant recommendations from prior studies (2010, 2016) and recent occupancy counts. Staff reported weekday on-street occupancy averages that reached about 88% during mid-day peaks and about 94% during evening peaks across the months sampled; staff noted those figures exclude the city’s transit hub and the Webster lot, which have different occupancy patterns. Fearn and staff said paid parking can reduce circling, improve turnover and create dedicated revenue for maintenance, wayfinding and safety improvements.
Katie Patterson, communications manager, summarized business outreach and a March survey of Old Town business owners: 18 respondents reported Thursday–Sunday and afternoon/evening as the hardest times to find parking; most survey respondents identified $1 as a likely acceptable price point for customers. Business respondents emphasized improved wayfinding to the free transit hub, clearer employee-parking options, and safety and lighting improvements as priorities.
Council members repeatedly urged careful, stepwise engagement with businesses, residents and other stakeholders. Suggestions included: pilot programs limited to peak times or weekends, keeping a short free period (30–60 minutes) for quick errands, flexibility in enforcement hours based on season or business needs, and comparing Arvada’s context with the Morrison program and other nearby municipalities that have used paid parking. Several council members proposed piloting paid parking on weekends or evenings first to collect data and measure effects on sales and turnover before citywide implementation.
Staff said they would return with more targeted engagement and possible pilot options; council members asked staff to present specific scenarios (hours, rates, locations and potential mitigation for businesses) and to involve Old Town businesses, neighborhood stakeholders and the Business Improvement District in deeper discussions. No action was taken April 22; the presentation concluded with staff confirming they had direction to proceed with further outreach and scenario development.
