Metered parking hours extended, rates increased in downtown Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Shoppers in downtown Colorado Springs will pay more to park starting Thursday, January 2nd.
Metered parking is going to a new tiered system where parking will range anywhere between $.75 to $1.25 per hour based on proximity to the downtown city center.
Parking in one of the garages is $1.00 per hour with a daily maximum of $9.
The hours of paid metered parking are also extending. Parking used to be free after 6 p.m., but now meters will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 p.m to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
Scott Lee, Colorado Springs' Parking Enterprise Director, says this hike in prices has been a long time coming.
"The city hasn’t increased its parking rates in 14 years, so we’re quite a bit behind on it," said Lee. "We have a lot of maintenance on our meters and our structures that we do need to fund."
Lee says the increase will go also go toward a new mobile payment app, which will allow users to pay for parking from their phones and receive notifications when their time is about to expire.