Co. Springs ‘enhancing’ Downtown with new parking meter hours, homeless outreach and more

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The City of Colorado Springs has announced it is launching a "pilot project" with the Downtown Partnership to try and create a better experience overall for business owners and shoppers.

According to officials, their plans for an "enhanced downtown experience" include parking changes, as well as more targeted homeless outreach and security patrols, which will be implemented until the end of 2024. They says that the results will be re-evaluated in January, to determine if certain city actions will become permanent in the downtown.

Under the plan, metered parking hours will be shortened to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, metered parking hours will be shortened to 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Those changes will go into place on Nov. 15. Additionally, parking will be free in city-owned garages and lots on Sundays.

Currently, the meters run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays. City parking garages, which have seen many renovations and aesthetic improvements over the years, are typically $1 per hour.

"Anything that would allow people to get here in an easier way and not have to pay,  I think would be a good idea for the shop owners here," said Bethany Detrich, who lives near Interquest, and added that the idea of Sunday parking being free in lots and garages would actually encourage her to come downtown more.

City officials say the new meter hours are a permanent change, unlike the other aspects of their pilot project, which will be re-evaluated in January.

The city's Public Works Director, Richard Mulledy, says that the changes to city parking meters came after a study that began in May of 2024. He says that his office received over 900 submissions from a survey that was sent to businesses and community members, including those in Old Colorado City, who also have city parking meters there.

Mulledy says throughout 2024, they also looked at other cities who are a similar size to Colorado Springs, to evaluate how they execute metered parking.

"You know, there are businesses that need some turnover in front of their spot. They want to have parking availability, and out of that study, you know, we kind of looked at that and said, 8 [p.m.] makes a little more sense. And that's how we ended up with that." explained Mulledy.

Aside from parking, the city of Colorado Springs says it will also be making a more concerted effort to address the individuals experiencing homelessness in the downtown area. It's a situation that some local businesses have cited as a deterrent for their customers.

Aimee Cox, who is the Chief of city's Housing and Homelessness Response Office, says that she only began her role about one month ago, and says she has hit the ground running in trying to implement new methods to addressing the homelessness topic downtown, now using a "by name" basis.

Cox says they have already formed a list of 17 names, of people who are living around the downtown area.

"So what we want to know [is] what are the mental health services that people need? What are the substance-use treatment programs that people need? What are the medical programs that people need? If we don't understand our population by name and understand those needs, we don't know where the gaps are in our system. We don't know how to direct people." explained Cox.

Within the pilot project, are also efforts to increase security patrols through the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Downtown Area Response Team, or DART. The DART is a public safety and law enforcement service that responds to the greater downtown area specifically. They say they will now be utilizing additional resources, specifically in the early morning hours.

Multiple business owners that KRDO13 spoke with on Wednesday, say they've had nothing but positive experiences with getting help from the DART, or homelessness response teams.

Meanwhile, the city’s Neighborhood Services team will focus on clean-up efforts during the early-morning hours as well. They will address public property that is in front of local businesses.

Allie Johnstone, who manages Bird Tree Café across from Acacia Park, believes that generally speaking the parking meter changes will make a difference for downtown, but for cafe's and other businesses like hers that close before 8 p.m., it doesn't change too much.

She adds that with the downtown pilot project, Bird Tree was also told that they have to remove the outdoor seating area they have had in front of the café, which blocks a few parking spots.

"It's been huge for our business, [it] almost doubled our seating during the summertime and [is] still used during the wintertime hours," said Johnstone, "And so a restructuring of the parking spaces downtown definitely would not be ideal for us." she explained.

However, Johnstone is in a rather unique position. Other business owners like Nickie Frye, who has operated Good Eye Vintage for just over two years between E. Kiowa and E. Bijou street, believes the pilot project is a great step in the right direction.

"I think they hit everything. I think that they listened to the concerns of the business owners here. There were some meetings recently, and just based on the changes that they're talking about implementing, I feel super heard and supported." said Frye. "I think it's great for people who visit Colorado Springs to see that we're putting our best foot forward here." she added.

Other business owners, like Athan Loukakis, has owned Bang Bang Men's and Women's Boutique for 30 years in various locations in downtown Colorado Springs. He remains disappointed, despite the changes to parking meters, saying that the meters used to stop at 6 p.m., and believes the impacts in recent years to the downtown economy has been palpable.

"Please, Mr. Mayor, help the downtown because we're struggling here. We need your help. We need to bring back the locals, give us back Sunday [parking] for free and stop enforcing the meters after 6 p.m." explained Loukakis. "The public will have other options, like go somewhere else, go up to Briargate, go out to the Malls, where parking is free. I wish we had the same luxury down here." he later added.

In a press release sent out Wednesday morning, Mayor Yemi Mobolade stated:

“Downtown is the beating heart of Colorado Springs, and we recognize the importance of working with community members and organizations to enhance and protect the vibrancy of this important business and cultural district. With the holidays right around the corner, there are so many reasons to come Downtown, and I hope this coordinated effort helps encourage additional traffic and visitation. We invite you to experience Downtown.”