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Taos council pauses paid parking enforcement amid merchant backlash and data review
Summary
After prolonged public comment and staff presentations on parking kiosks, the council authorized the manager to temporarily pause paid parking enforcement until the end of October and asked staff to present DataFi and GRT analyses at an October workshop to guide a longer-term decision.
A heated public and council debate over downtown paid parking ended Oct. 8 with the council agreeing to give the town manager temporary authority to pause enforcement until the end of the DOT construction season while staff prepares data and options.
Multiple merchants and residents testified during Citizens Forum that remote parking kiosks had made parking inconvenient and harmed downtown turnover. A longtime merchant, Polly, urged a return to 2-hour free on‑street parking with perimeter free lots, saying "the kiosks are not working for us and return the kiosk to stop the rental charges on them." Supporters cited examples from other cities and argued for an enforcement-driven, two‑hour turnover system.
Town staff and the parking committee, led by John Rodriguez, pushed back on the idea that the system is broadly failing and said the enforcement arm has not yet been fully activated. Rodriguez told council "we've done probably over 20,000 transactions on the parking system," and staff said reported transaction failures were under 1 percent. Staff said the current state is a de‑facto donation system until enforcement is turned on and recommended bringing a three-part briefing (DataFi economic analysis, GRT collections and staff options) to the Oct. 20 workshop.
Council members debated whether to pause the system immediately or wait for the staff briefing. Mayor Maestas said there appeared to be consensus to give the manager authority to pause paid parking enforcement until the end of October and asked staff to return to the council with the DataFi report, gross receipts tax data for July–September, and a plan to engage DOT and merchants. Council also discussed winter rates, reduced rates and the option of targeted free lots.
What happens next: Staff will prepare a parking briefing for the Oct. 20 workshop, compile DataFi and GRT results and, if necessary, implement a temporary administrative pause on enforcement through the end of October while construction continues.
