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Boulder updates RAMP and parking rates; Goskgrove pilot delayed pending neighborhood engagement
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Summary
City staff updated TAB on AMPS and the Residential Access Management Program (RAMP), saying a 2026 on- and off-street rate increase of $0.50/hour was approved by council, a Goskgrove pilot converting time-limited spaces to paid parking was delayed, and staff expect RAMP revenue to support mobility reinvestment as early as 2027.
City transportation staff provided the TAB with an update on Boulder's Access Management and Parking Strategy (AMPS) and the Residential Access Management Program (RAMP), describing recent program changes, upcoming pilot work and a council-approved rate increase.
"This effort focused on reworking the city's parking programs," Sam Bromberg, who leads parking and access work in the transportation planning division, told the board. She said AMPS'related initiatives including performance-based pricing, graduated mobility fines and neighborhood access management have guided the city's parking strategy since 2017.
Bromberg said the city completed a 2025 financial analysis showing the RAMP program remains financially sustainable following the elimination of parking minimums. Staff expect the program could begin generating revenue for neighborhood mobility reinvestment as early as 2027. To help fund reinvestment, the city will increase on- and off-street parking rates by $0.50 per hour in 2026; Bromberg said those adjustments were approved directly by City Council during the annual budget rather than through the normal performance-based update process.
Bromberg described the Goskgrove pilot (a neighborhood NPP area): converting current time-limited spaces for non-permit holders to paid parking and reinvesting the revenues into neighborhood mobility benefits such as EcoPasses for residents. The pilot, originally anticipated to begin Jan. 1, 2026, was delayed to allow additional engagement with the neighborhood and Boulder High School and to account for internal restructuring of parking services.
Staff also reported three valid Neighborhood Parking Permit petitions in 2025: an expansion request for West Pearl; a proposed new NPP layered atop paid parking in Boulder Junction; and a request to reduce the Mapleton Hill NPP. Bromberg reminded TAB that any changes to the NPP program require a public hearing before the board.
Board members asked whether weekend and holiday pricing could be restructured to favor locals and raised equity concerns about high-school parking and lottery-based permits, particularly for students who must drive for work or family obligations. "There will probably be significant resistance to changing the free weekend pricing," Bromberg said, but she said staff are open to further discussion and noted the downtown weekend demand patterns could prompt renewed conversation (for example, around large events such as Sundance).
Members also pressed on equity protections to avoid disproportionate impacts on lower-income residents who park in neighborhoods, and on measures to prevent escalating citations for vulnerable populations. Bromberg said staff plan additional neighborhood engagement and outreach with schools to examine options; she described the high school's permit lottery as a response to limited lot space and noted the school district controls certain permit conditions.
The board did not take a formal vote on parking policy changes at this meeting; staff said they will return with public hearings for any NPP changes and more detail on the Goskgrove pilot when timing and capacity allow.
