Planners hear residents urge preserving Depot Park cottonwoods as 1st Street redesign focuses on parking

LARAMIE — City planning staff on Monday presented updated concepts for a 1st Street and Depot Park redesign intended to improve downtown parking, accessibility and stormwater handling, and heard strong public opposition to removing mature cottonwood trees.

At a Laramie City Planning Commission work session, a staff presenter identified outreach results — 54 online responses and 23 in-person attendees — and said the project objective from city council was to improve parking while also addressing accessibility and ponding in the park. Staff described two concept packages for the park’s north (commercial) and south (residential) sides and said the overall design could add roughly 20% more spaces than currently exist but that switching the south side from diagonal to parallel parking would result in a net parking decrease of about 5% compared with an earlier diagonal scenario.

The presentation also flagged tree health as a major constraint. Staff said the city arborist found several north-side cottonwoods in declining health and recommended removal; south-side trees were described as generally healthier and suitable for pruning. Scott Hunter, the city parks manager, told the commission the city would likely replant with ornamental maples or elms (around 20–25 feet tall) if larger shade-tree replacements are not feasible in tight spaces.

Residents packed the meeting to press staff and commissioners to protect the park’s canopy. "I like the trees," said Marissa Pridmore, thanking staff for an alternate plan that preserves existing trees and urging earlier planting of large replacements so they can mature before older trees are removed. Janelle Ross, who lives adjacent to the park, recounted numerous long-stored and expired-registration vehicles in and around the Depot area and urged the city to enforce current parking rules rather than overhaul the park. "There are 13 vehicles along the main section of the park that have been there for a minimum of two weeks," she said.

Other residents echoed preservation and historic-asset arguments. Greg Nickerson, a homeowner and local historian, told the commission the cottonwoods were planted after the depot was built in 1924 and described them as a near-century-old canopy that contributes to the park’s historic character; he said a petition opposing wholesale tree removal had more than 600 signatures. Several speakers suggested non-structural alternatives for managing event-day parking, including better enforcement, valet or leased private lots, and more bicycle parking.

Staff responded that downtown parking needs fluctuate — studies indicate available spaces outside of major events — and that some parking previously counted in planning assumptions could not be acquired after the railroad declined requests to encroach on its property. On stormwater, engineering staff described a plan for a buried drain and a detention pond at the park’s south end that would limit flows into an already near-capacity sewer on 2nd Street.

Commissioners thanked public speakers and said they value the input; staff said they would return with further work as the project advances and coordinate with Park and Recreation Board and city council on next steps.

The planning commission’s action on the project was informational only; staff noted council-directed priorities and asked the commission to stay informed as the design evolves.