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Breckenridge creates temporary employee parking solutions

During Tuesday’s town council meeting, Breckenridge police chief Shannon Haynes gave an update to town council on the development of a comprehensive Parking and Transit Plan. While town council approved the task force’s latest recommendations, they will be implemented by next winter as short-term solutions until a larger solution to add parking and reduce congestion is found.

“It is important to understand that these are just the first steps towards addressing the problems,” Haynes said. “They are not a long-term solution, but until that long-term solution can be implemented, it is critical that we take what steps we can to help our employees and to alleviate congestion immediately.”

With these recommendations, the town is looking to create more spaces specifically for employees, until the town can find a method to raise revenue to implement a larger solution. The current demand for parking by employees who live out of town exceeds the limited number of permits the town currently offers for the Tiger Dredge and Klack Placer lots.



To help alleviate this problem, during last Tuesday’s town council meeting, Breckenridge unanimously approved designating additional spaces specifically for employee parking. Employees will have access to the entire Town East Sawmill Lot (989 spaces), as well as the horseshoe section of the Tiger Dredge Lot (35 spaces) and the Klack Placer lot (73 spaces). These areas will not open to skiers or other uses.

In addition, the town will offer free permits for the Ice Rink and Satellite lots, requiring proof of employment in Breckenridge and proof of location of residence outside of the parking district. The town intends to reduce congestion through the heart of Breckenridge by encouraging residents not to drive through town to park.



Permits for the Satellite lot will be issued to employees in Breckenridge who live in town or north of the town. The town will also offer a limited number of parking permits in the Tiger Dredge and Klack Placer lots to out-of-district employees via a lottery system.

The Ice Rink Parking lot will also see significant changes to employee parking, as 62 spaces will be added to the lot and the price of overnight parking will increase from $5 to $15, with an hourly daytime rate of $3. The lot will be pay parking for all uses except for employee permit parking.

“I really appreciate the effort that the Task Force and town staff have put into analyzing these transit and congestion problems and making recommendations with an eye to real solutions,” Mayor John Warner said in a statement. “We are moving aggressively forward with implementing the long-term plan but we can’t sit on our hands in the mean time. We must take action where and when we can immediately. Until we can take the big step ­— developing the necessary ongoing revenue stream and implementing the Parking and Transit Plan — taking small steps immediately is better than taking no steps at all.”

For more information on parking permits and information, visit http://www.townofbreckenridge.com.


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