What’s the Deal with Parking in Old Town?
Fort Collins is a town with a great night life scene. On the weekends people flood into Old Town to experience the wide variety of bars and restaurants that are available. But where do all of these people park?
The problem is that there is very limited parking in Old Town, and most of this parking is restricted to two hours. How are you supposed to go out drinking, and get in your car two hours later? It simply isn’t safe.
If you chose to leave your car in one of these spots there is an extremely high possibility that you will receive a parking ticket, or even worse, have your car towed.
Parking tickets in Fort Collins can range anywhere from $10 to $100, depending on the offense. These finds can be hefty, especially if you get more than one.
But why not just opt for other transportation?
Fort Collins doesn’t have reliable public transportation put in place to take people to and from Old Town. So, if you choose to not drive your own car, you are limited to Uber, Lyft, walking, or even biking.
Uber and Lyft tend to be pricy and are not always available on cold, late nights. Walking and biking are not safe in the dark, so the options are not ideal.
If you are a college student, you can try the service “Ram Ride”, but most students don’t have the best of luck with the service. “I’ve given up on Ram Ride because every time I’ve used it I end up waiting for over an hour”, said Riley Haupt, Colorado State University junior.
With no reliable, safe transportation options, drinking and driving becomes a serious issue.
Too many people choose to get behind the wheel after drinking as a way to save money, or even prevent their car from getting towed. This is obviously not the safe option, but the reality is, people do it.
In the United States alone, an average of twenty-eight people die everyday because of drunk driving accidents. This is a serious problem that should be prevented in anyway possible.
In order to better discourage drinking and driving, Fort Collins should allow parking over night in Old Town on Fridays and Saturdays.
The weekends are very busy in Old Town and tends to draw in a large crowd of paying customers.
The city or even private businesses, such as restaurants, could charge people for overnight parking options, and with limited transportation options, I’m sure they would be willing to pay.
The way I see it it is parking needs to change in Old Town. For the safety and well-being of residents, better systems need to be put in place. Whether that be suggestions I have made or alternative solutions, the bottom line is something must be done.
