Print
E-mail
Comment
Transit pay-to-park plan begins Feb. 1
By Tom Munds
Parking free at 36 Regional Transportation District Park-n-Ride facilities becomes a thing of the past for many in 2009 under the district’s parking management program.
RTD riders who live in the district park free for the first 24 hours then pay a $2 fee for each additional 24 hours. District residents also can pay a higher fee to reserve parking spots.
However, riders who live outside the transportation district pay a $4 fee for every 24 hours parked in an RTD facility.
RTD services an eight-county area. The district includes all of Boulder, Broomfield, Denver and Jefferson counties, parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, and a small portion of Weld County.
Residents who want to know if they are in the district can go to the Web site at www.rtd-denver.com and click on the board of directors label on the left side of the page or call RTD at 303-299-2900.
At the bottom of the page, there is a process using zip codes to let an individual know whether or not they live in district and if they do, who their representative is on the board of directors.
The parking-fee program begins at four locations Feb. 1. More locations are added each months until, by May 1, the plan will be in effect at 36 locations.
Phase 1 begins in February and includes lots north along Interstate-25 and east along Interstate 70. On March 1, the program becomes effective in the lots along the Southeast Light Rail Corridor. The program goes into effect in April in the lots along the Southwest and Central Light Rail Corridors. The final implementation phase will go into effect in May in all the parking facilities along U.S. Highway 36.
RTD will install machines where riders can pay the parking fees. The rider then places the machine receipt on the dashboard to show the fee has been paid. Riders also can use a pre-payment system RTD will make available.
Enforcement is made possible by a form of technology called mobile license plate recognition. The system reads license plates with a mobile camera and a data base on the system’s laptop computer identifies where the vehicle is registered, the time of the check and the parking location. The information is downloaded to the office and the pay stations and advises the parking attendant whether or not a fee is required and if the fee has been paid.
The initial parking management studies began in 2002 and, in 2005, RTD held a series of public meeting to gather comments about the proposal. Action by the state Legislature in 2006 and again in 2007 cleared the roadblocks so the program could be implemented.
RTD operates 75 parking facilities that contain a total of 25,600 spaces. About 17,000 spaces are occupied daily during the work week while about 5,700 parking places sit empty. However, further data analysis indicates 90 percent of the spaces are occupied daily at 19 locations.
The study also showed that about 1,600 spaces, most at the system’s busiest locations, are occupied by people who live outside the district and do not pay the sales taxes that are the main source of RTD’s income. Additionally, some Park-n-Ride locations are stops for the program called SkyRide that provides bus transportation to Denver International Airport. On an average day, about 1,500 spaces at the SkyRide stops are occupied by travelers who park their vehicles in those lots for an average of four days each.
RTD riders who live in the district park free for the first 24 hours then pay a $2 fee for each additional 24 hours. District residents also can pay a higher fee to reserve parking spots.
However, riders who live outside the transportation district pay a $4 fee for every 24 hours parked in an RTD facility.
RTD services an eight-county area. The district includes all of Boulder, Broomfield, Denver and Jefferson counties, parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties, and a small portion of Weld County.
Residents who want to know if they are in the district can go to the Web site at www.rtd-denver.com and click on the board of directors label on the left side of the page or call RTD at 303-299-2900.
At the bottom of the page, there is a process using zip codes to let an individual know whether or not they live in district and if they do, who their representative is on the board of directors.
The parking-fee program begins at four locations Feb. 1. More locations are added each months until, by May 1, the plan will be in effect at 36 locations.
Phase 1 begins in February and includes lots north along Interstate-25 and east along Interstate 70. On March 1, the program becomes effective in the lots along the Southeast Light Rail Corridor. The program goes into effect in April in the lots along the Southwest and Central Light Rail Corridors. The final implementation phase will go into effect in May in all the parking facilities along U.S. Highway 36.
RTD will install machines where riders can pay the parking fees. The rider then places the machine receipt on the dashboard to show the fee has been paid. Riders also can use a pre-payment system RTD will make available.
Enforcement is made possible by a form of technology called mobile license plate recognition. The system reads license plates with a mobile camera and a data base on the system’s laptop computer identifies where the vehicle is registered, the time of the check and the parking location. The information is downloaded to the office and the pay stations and advises the parking attendant whether or not a fee is required and if the fee has been paid.
The initial parking management studies began in 2002 and, in 2005, RTD held a series of public meeting to gather comments about the proposal. Action by the state Legislature in 2006 and again in 2007 cleared the roadblocks so the program could be implemented.
RTD operates 75 parking facilities that contain a total of 25,600 spaces. About 17,000 spaces are occupied daily during the work week while about 5,700 parking places sit empty. However, further data analysis indicates 90 percent of the spaces are occupied daily at 19 locations.
The study also showed that about 1,600 spaces, most at the system’s busiest locations, are occupied by people who live outside the district and do not pay the sales taxes that are the main source of RTD’s income. Additionally, some Park-n-Ride locations are stops for the program called SkyRide that provides bus transportation to Denver International Airport. On an average day, about 1,500 spaces at the SkyRide stops are occupied by travelers who park their vehicles in those lots for an average of four days each.
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. |
