Residents living east of downtown Durango divided on parking permit program (2024)

Snap polls gauge level of concern, support for a permitting system

One thing residents agreed on was that downtown Durango and its nearby neighborhoods have a parking problem. But they disagreed this week about the best fix for the problem.

Several residents walked away from Wednesday’s meeting held at the Durango Public Library with more questions than answers.

Various residents have tried for decades to implement a parking permitting program in the neighborhoods east of downtown where employees, shoppers and tourists often park to avoid metered parking.

Yet, the idea has never enjoyed the full support of residents in the affected areas, and the city has shot down previous attempts to implement a permitting program. Wednesday marked the first time a public meeting has been held to discuss the idea, signaling that a permitting program may be closer than ever to becoming a reality.

After a brief welcome, the meeting kicked off with a poll asking two questions:

After that poll, a presentation was given by Kenzie Coulson, parking consultant for Walker Consultants. Walker was hired by the city to help create its Comprehensive Parking Management Plan in 2022 that found conditions were sufficient to justify a permitting program east of downtown.

Near the beginning of Coulson’s presentation, she made the point that a permitting program would not be the cure-all to Durango’s parking woes, a sentiment echoed by residents both for and against the permitting idea.

“We as humans like to think about the silver bullet. We like to say, ‘OK, we’re going to do this one thing and it’s going to change our world and make everything better,” she said. “We’re not talking about neighborhood parking permits, if it should go forward, as saving the world.”

Coulson then outlined how her experience implementing and overseeing permitting programs informed “best practices.”

The first point of contention came when she disabused residents of the notion that a permitting program would entitle them to reserved parking spaces in front of their homes.

“When we buy a home we often think of the area in front of our homes as ours. We think, ‘Well I live here, that’s my street, that’s my sidewalk, that’s my area to park,’” Coulson said. “But that area in front of residential areas is actually the public right of way.”

Instead, a permitting program would ensure parking within a two-block radius of homes, she said.

During a Q&A after Coulson’s presentation, Ken Morrow, a resident who lives east of downtown, expressed his dissatisfaction toward the two-block rule.

“If I understand this program correctly, we’re going to buy a permit that basically doesn’t allow us to park where we want to park and it’s going to cost us money?” he said. “You know, that’s traditionally the way it’s been, people park in front of their own houses.”

Coulson also described how a permitting program would be voted on once finalized.

As currently proposed, the city would send ballots to all property owners in the neighborhoods east of downtown. The permitting program would require approval from 51% of all residents, and not just 51% of all ballots returned, but 51% of all residents – regardless of whether they voted.

Sweetie Marbury, a former city councilor and resident who lives east of downtown, noted that renters would not have a say on a policy that would affect them. And Mike Todt, another resident, noted that in 2023, only 34% of the electorate voted in a City Council election.,

“If we can’t get 51% of the people to vote for City Council, how will we get 51%,” he said. “It’s impossible; the bar is too high.”

Another resident asked if the specifics of the permitting program would be decided before ballots were sent out, to which Coulson answered “yes.”

Yet, many of the specifics some residents had thought would be answered at Wednesday’s meeting remained unresolved. Such questions included the cost of permits, how many will be allotted per household and at what times permits would apply, among others.

One detail the meeting did clarify is what exactly “east of downtown” would mean in the eyes of a permitting program, with Coulson presenting a map that outlined everywhere between East Third and East Eighth avenues and from first to 15th streets.

Coulson said a permitting program would apply to an expansive area, otherwise the overflow parking issue would be pushed onto streets further east. Some residents on the outskirts of that area questioned whether a permitting program would be necessary for them. Meanwhile, some of those in favor of a permitting program living closer to the business district worried the vote would be diluted by including such far-out neighborhoods.

After the presentation and Q&A, a breakout session was held, during which groups of residents sat at tables and wrote their answers to the following questions:

As with the idea of a permitting program, those questions elicited polarizing responses from residents. Several tables answered some variation of “nothing” to the first question, while others said nothing needed to be changed. Almost half the tables voiced support for building a parking garage as a long-term solution to the city’s parking problem, a point brought up continually throughout the meeting.

Tables that favored a permitting program also highlighted how they would like it to function. The most common concern was that permits would be prohibitively expensive, with several tables hoping that at least the first permit would be very cheap if not free. Other suggestions included allowing low-income employees to buy reduced-priced permits and keeping new signage to a minimum to maintain the look and feel of the neighborhoods.

After the breakout session, members of each group read aloud their ideas, with multiple instances of interjections and speaking out of turn as fierce disagreements about the necessity for a permitting program came to the fore.

Finally, the meeting concluded with an exit poll that asked residents the simple question: Would you support a neighborhood parking permit program for the residential area east of downtown?

The results of that poll, which remains open online, shows 47% opposed, 23% in support and 30% as “maybe.”

Even though 62% of attendees signaled they have troubles parking in their neighborhoods east of downtown, by the end of meeting only 23% indicated they would definitely support a permitting program.

City spokesman Tom Sluis said the snap polls help inform the city’s strategy going forward; the polls are not the be-all, end-all on whether the city moves forward with a vote or whether a permitting program comes to fruition.

Nonetheless, several residents who favor a permitting program came away from the meeting feeling as if the odds had been stacked against them. Meanwhile, several residents who were not in favor of the program felt like their suspicions had been confirmed: perhaps a permitting program is more trouble than it’s worth.

nmetcalf@durangoherald.com