Changes are coming to Morrison’s parking system, as business owners and the town work together on solutions. Merchants say issues tied to paid parking and lack of parking have soured customers, inconvenienced employees and cost them business.

After confronting the town twice about their concerns in public meetings, business owners said the town is taking action to help them.

Changes in the works likely will include a reduction in the paid parking enforcement hours — including a three-month, round-the-clock hiatus during the traditionally slow winter months — the lowering of parking fines and the addition of at least one free parking lot.

Town Manager Mallory Nassau said the board is “sorting through some logistics,” and may vote on an action plan in early March. Because the proposals would require changes to the town’s contract with paid parking vendor Interstate Parking, Nassau said the two entities will need to discuss them. The town is also considering the work needed to convert two parcels into free lots and improving employee parking areas.

While business owners have in the past brought their concerns to the town individually or in small groups, that’s changed. Hungry Goat owner Krista Gaasvig surveyed the town’s merchants and said they are united on the issues they believe need to be addressed.

“There’s no opposition out there,” she said. “Whether people believe in paid parking or not, everybody agreed on these three things.”

The issue hit an emotional boiling point in January when Trustee Paul Sutton responded to restaurateurs’ parking concerns by saying better food would help solve their issues.

While he hasn’t forgotten those comments, Tony Rigatoni’s owner Reza Ardehali said it’s a relief to see progress on issues that have been building for years.

“I think we are all coming together on this,” he said. “We’ve been having these problems for some time and for better or worse, the Town of Morrison staff and town board never were quite as open to us. This time, because of the dire straits we all face economically, I think it has made us allies.”

The town’s own numbers back up the business owners’ concerns.

Morrison’s sales tax revenue dropped from about $2.4 million in 2023 to $1.9 million in 2024, according to town records. During that same time, the town took in almost $300,000 in parking revenue, including parking fees and tickets, according to town documents.

Paid parking is now enforced daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and merchants would like to see the requirement to pay end at 7 p.m. That would give restaurant customers more time to enjoy their meals without worrying about a ticket, they said.

Additionally, they asked if parking fines could be lowered and the due date extended. A violation is currently $50 and doubles in 10 days for nonpayment.

“If you forget to pay it, $100 is just not palatable,” Gaasvig said. “It makes people say — and I’ve heard it so many times — ‘I’ll never come back to this town.’ ”

The merchants propose the fine drop to $35 and the payment due date extended to 30 days.

While Gaasvig isn’t against paid parking, she’d also like to see it simplified. Visitors use a kiosk or scan a QR code to make payments, and that’s confusing and a hassle for many, she said.

“My hosts in the front of the restaurant are now parking liaisons,” she said. “They just basically help everybody navigate parking, telling them they need to pay for it, helping them pay for it. Even though it’s a small expense, I think it’s about the experience — finding a parking spot, figuring out where do I pay, how do I pay.

“We talked about having a parking kiosk in each restaurant to make it easier for them to pay and having the ability to validate so someone who patronizes a business doesn’t have to pay.”

Collaboration among the business owners has been so smooth, Gaasvig said there’s talk about starting a chamber of commerce. But that remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, business owners said they’re happy to leave any tensions with the board behind and move forward.

“I feel very satisfied with the town’s approach,” Ardehali said. “I thanked them for understanding that our problems are real, and not imagined. Our meeting was about problem solving and solution seeking rather than pointing fingers. That’s what I’ve always wanted.”

Mayor Pro Tem David Wirtz said he’s on board with the suggestions.

“I support the idea of providing free seasonal parking, changing the parking enforcement time to end at 7 p.m., lowering the amount charged for parking fines and to allow more time for fines to be paid before they are increased,” he said.

But he said he thinks the idea of adding free lots needs more exploration. While some business owners would like to convert a storage lot on the town’s west side into parking, he believes there may be better options. That could include moving town sheds from a flood-prone area along Bear Creek and using that land for a parking lot.

Local property owner Ross Bradley, whose family owns the Morrison Carworks property among others, recently said his company plans to add as many as 30 new paid parking spots there.

“We don’t have any specifics on that yet, but it’s good to hear other business owners around town are interested in addressing the parking issues as well,” Wirtz said.

Morrison started its paid parking program in 2021, contracting with Interstate Parking for the service. That decision was designed to spark parking turnover, after some business owners who said customers couldn’t find places to park.

The company has similar arrangements in Idaho Springs, Golden and several Colorado ski resort towns.

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