Free parking on Saturdays in December
Published November 29, 2007 by Ray Champagne
There will be no charge for on-street parking in downtown Colorado Springs and Old Colorado City on Saturdays throughout December.
The free parking is expected to cost the city $27,200 in uncollected meter money, but city officials reason that the free parking will bolster shopping traffic and in turn boost sales tax revenue.
Filed under CSBJ Daily, Downtown, Old Colorado City, Retail, traffic
My guess is that free parking downtown ALL OF THE TIME would positively effect the shopping experience for all concerned ( revenue generated, customer loyalty, etc.) far more so than would realigning Tejon St. Why the City (and the Downtown Partnership) continue to support metered parking is an absolute mystery to me.
Sure, revenues will increase during the holiday shopping season (even though some stores close early due to the over-proliferation of gin mill/meat market businesses along Tejon St.), and possibly due to “free parking”… doesn’t, then, the concept of full-time free parking have a certain sensability to it?
Maybe free parking on weekends would help, but free parking all the time would have the adverse affect for shoppers because those who work downtown would hog the free meter parking forcing shoppers to be further inconvenienced by having to use the garages.