August 2024 Update

OPTION 1: Infrastructure Assessment & Public Project Kick-off

In early July, representatives from the Town’s parking consultant Dixon Resources Unlimited (DIXON) spent two days in Downtown Windsor. While onsite, the team:

Conducted a field assessment of all on-street and off-street parking located in the Study Area, which stretches from 7^th Street (west) to 1^st Street (east) and from Birch Street (north) to just past Walnut Street (south).
Met with members of the community, including downtown residents, business and property owners and local developers.
Conducted “Knock and Talks” with fifteen (15) downtown businesses along Main Street.
Visited with members of the Windsor Downtown Alliance (WDA) staff and board.
Attended design charettes hosted by the WDA regarding the 5^th Street project.

The purpose of this initial project site visit was three-fold:

Observe and document the condition, location, and availability of the parking supply in Downtown Windsor.
Begin building a relationship with key downtown stakeholders – including residents, and members of the business community.
Learn about Windsor – what makes the Town unique from other Colorado communities and how this project can most effectively move the conversation about parking management from conceptual/planning to implementation/action.

DIXON is currently working on a brief memo which will detail the process and findings from the July kick-off, however the consulting team wanted to preview a few highlights from the site visit with the community:

What we heard:

Typically, there is adequate parking downtown. Notable exceptions include:
1. During Windsor’s popular special events when “every parking spot is taken and parking spills into the neighborhood areas”.
2. When there is a wedding/large event at the Windsor Mill complex.
3. Daily around 4:00 p.m., on-street parking around the Windsor Mill complex is full or mostly full.
The Town’s recent investment in both off-street and on-street public parking has been noticed and appreciated by many downtown businesses. Parking lot and pedestrian connection improvements in the lots south of Main St. and the addition of new on-street parking stalls were mentioned frequently.
“Parking isn’t the problem, safety is”. Many conversations with businesses centered around the need for additional Rapid Flash Beacons (RFBs) along Main St. Concern was expressed about both pedestrian safety (when crossing the road) and motorist safety (when backing out of on-street parking spaces).
There was interest in the introduction of time-limits in certain areas of downtown (the east end) to encourage longer-term parkers (like employees) to use off-street parking areas.
Feelings were mixed about residential parking programs with some downtown residents in favor of some sort of restriction during special events/evenings and others commenting that Windsor is growing/changing and a busier downtown is just part of the community’s evolution.

What we observed:

Public parking areas are clean, well-maintained and free of debris/trash. Parking stall markings were visible with rare exception, and while limited, the majority of regulatory signs (e.g., loading zone, Americans with Disabilities) were clear and not faded.
Windsor’s downtown parking supply is well-placed, with off-street assets immediately behind the main building stock on both the north and south sides of Main Street.
The existing vehicular and pedestrian-level public parking signage is clear and well-designed, however the presence of parking wayfinding signage is limited and the signs that are present are on the smaller size. There is an opportunity for larger, more frequent parking signs to “breadcrumb” parkers to available public parking areas.
Parking was widely available throughout downtown in the morning, midday and afternoon. In the late afternoon, around 4:00 p.m., on-street spaces around the Windsor Mill complex began to fill both along Main St., from 3^rd St. west towards 4^th St. and headed south along 3^rd St. towards Walnut St.
The unpaved parking areas just north of Main St. (the Backlots) had ample availability throughout the day. The East Backlot did see more activity during the day with only 1-2 cars ever observed present in the West Backlot.

OPTION 2: What makes this Plan different?
While previous parking studies provided parking demand projections and high-level parking management concepts for Town consideration, this Plan will provide specific recommendations on how (and when!) to move Windsor from an “unmanaged” to a “managed” public parking environment. This Plan will include specific recommendations on:

Organizational Structure: Where should parking management “live” at the Town?
Staffing: What level of staffing would be appropriate for Windsor? Should personnel be full-time or part-time? How much would a parking program cost?
Management Strategies: When should Windsor start managing parking? There is great wisdom in knowing when something has reached its limitations on being able to effectively “self-manage.” If the time is right, where should Windsor start its management journey (e.g., time limits, special event parking, residential permits), how much will it cost, what technology could be used and how will success be measured?
Parking Policy: Is the Town’s municipal code related to public parking up to date and future-proofed (ready for a future that includes the ability to manage parking)?
Communication: Are we making it easy for residents and visitors to make the right parking choice for their trip downtown through both physical and digital (web-based) wayfinding and information?
Metrics to Measure Success: Tying investments in parking management to transparent and community-supported goals, and then regularly measuring the parking program’s progress towards those goals (collecting good data), is a foundational element of any successful program. This can help both build trust between the Town and the community, and provide objective guidance on where/why program adjustments are needed.
When to Move to the Next Level of Management: Managing parking moves along a “spectrum of alternatives” from unmanaged at one end to the strongest tool (paid parking) at the other end. In between, there are a variety of different management tools that can be used alone or in tandem. This Plan will help the Town understand which path is most appropriate today, and when to consider implementation of additional management tools – or to invest in new supply – in the future.

What’s Next?

The project team will present findings from the July site visit, results from three rounds of data collection (May, June, and September), and high-level management recommendations to a Joint Study Session of the Windsor Town Board and Planning Commission on Monday, September 23.