Lakewood considering permit parking pilot program in area of Colorado with traffic density issues
In the Applewood neighborhood, congestion from traffic and parking on Myrtlewood Lane has prompted the city of Lakewood into action. The program is to create a pilot for permit parking. It would be one that -- if it works in the Colorado neighborhood -- could be a potential solution for other areas that have traffic density issues across the Denver metro area.
"I've had people block my driveway," Christine Handel said. "I've had them pull into my driveway. I've had them park in my driveway temporarily. It's extremely disruptive."
It's a neighborhood turned into what seems like a parking lot at times due to a popular local restaurant and a lack of parking spaces in their lot. Years ago, there was an overflow lot but it has since been eliminated. Delivery drivers and restaurant patrons typically will have to find places to park on the adjacent streets while some homeowners have complained about people parking in driveways and on lawns.
"It's like running a gauntlet down the center," said Handel. "You can't get two cars past each other easily."
"It comes to the parking requirements at the time. They were pretty low and it was a really popular restaurant and there's been quite a lot of spillover into the neighborhood," said Mike Whiteaker, Lakewood's transportation engineer. While parking is generally a low concern across Lakewood, there are specific problem areas that see this type of parking congestion. To address it, they took inspiration from neighboring cities.
"We did look at Aurora," Whiteaker explained. "We looked at Golden. We looked at Arvada as three examples."
A third-party service would be contracted to make sure parking codes are being followed. The Lakewood Police Department and service officers would likely not be a part of that permit enforcement, according to Whiteaker, citing low priority relative to other issues across Lakewood. If the program is successful, there are other neighborhoods that might be potentially a target for permit applications.
"Lakewood High School has been a problem for a lot of years," said Whiteaker. "Colorado Christian University has been another one."
Back on Myrtlewood, Handel explained that this was an example of local government listening to its constituents. The residents flew a drone over the street to show local ward supervisors and city council members the persistent problems with the congestion.
"I think once they saw some of the dangerous behavior of the drivers on the street they started to take it a bit more seriously," she told CBS Colorado.
The city council met on June 10 to begin a progress for public comment. That hearing and ordinance vote will occur at the next council meeting in Lakewood.
