A survey of Morrison business owners and managers shows most have concerns about parking, with many saying paid parking has impacted their business. The Canyon Courier surveyed most of the town businesses in this article on Jan. 17, speaking to a few others in fall 2024.
Get top headlines and 萝莉少女 reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NoCo.
鈥淭he winter business has declined tenfold because of the parking,鈥� said Sherri Lind, co-owner of The Cow restaurant.
The Cow has its own small parking lot, free for customers, but customers easily overflow it and park on the street where a fee is required.
鈥淲e rely on the locals and they鈥檙e not coming,鈥� Lind said. 鈥淲e tried to come up with a way to pay for parking, to validate, and there鈥檚 no way to do it.
鈥淚 get why they did it (added paid parking),鈥� Lind added. 鈥淐yclists would come, park, ride for six hours and take up the merchants鈥� parking. That鈥檚 what we were trying to avoid. But this is overkill.鈥�
Three Morrison, asking their elected leaders for help with parking.
Butch Luedtke, owner of the Morrison Inn, and Reza Ardehali, owner of Tony Rigatoni鈥檚 and the Rooftop Tavern, said paid parking is the issue, while Morrison Holiday Bar owner Dave Killingsworth said lack of parking is the problem.
Other business owners had mixed opinions, though all had some thoughts on the issue.
At Tap on the Rocks, Shauna Dincola said poor and confusing signage leads to customers getting parking tickets. The restaurant owns half its parking lot but shares the other half with the Town of Morrison. So while parking is free on one side, it鈥檚 paid on the other. Signage in the lot doesn鈥檛 make that clear, she said, and paid parking signs on the nearby street are not noticeable.
鈥淓ven though we have signs about it everywhere, people blame us when they get tickets,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he street needs to just have more signage. The signs they have are small. Make them so people can see them.鈥�
Talai Franz, who owns Meadowsweet Gifts and Wellness, said paid parking is now a reality in many towns. It doesn鈥檛 upset her, but it does frustrate her customers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 affected my business mildly,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 hear from people all the time that they don鈥檛 come into Morrison because of the pay-for-parking. I don鈥檛 get it; it wouldn鈥檛 stop me. But I don鈥檛 let it stress me out. It鈥檚 not worth it to me.鈥�
A shop owner who asked to remain anonymous said she lost elderly customers who couldn鈥檛 understand how to use the parking app. People can pay using a scanned code or at a kiosk. She said the paid parking is effective during the town鈥檚 busy summer weekends, but is a hit on business during the winter.
Dave Cowden of Tom鈥檚 Upholstery is also frustrated. He said his customers have repeatedly gotten parking tickets while running in to pick up an item.
Susie Britt, who runs the souvenir shop attached to and co-owned by the Morrison Inn, said she loves Morrison and enjoys working in the town. But parking is the No. 1 issue for her business.
鈥淭he townspeople may not want to hear that, but they live in a town based on tourism,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople complain about parking all the time. I just feel like as a business, we鈥檝e been asking for more parking. But it seems like the residents get more of a vote than the business owners.鈥�
Tom Clapp, longtime owner of Sundance Sensations, believes a combination of issues has taken a toll on his bottom line.
鈥淭his is the worst winter for business we have ever had,鈥� he said, adding it鈥檚 鈥渂ecause of the parking, speeding tickets, and lack of any care or promotion from the town. I like my quaint little town. We鈥檙e funky, fun and unique. But I鈥檝e owned a business here for 25 years, and I have zero say in what goes on.鈥�
While the speed camera was removed late last year, Clapp said it left a lasting, negative impression on those who were fined.
Next door, Heather Nielsen at La Boutique Des Boudreaux also cited parking as an issue. From her viewpoint, it鈥檚 the lack of parking more than the fact that people now have to pay for it.
鈥淓verybody has to pay for parking anymore, but there鈥檚 no place to park,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd they (the town) do nothing to promote the businesses. When you look at Idaho Springs, Manitou Springs, they do a lot for their town. I feel very disappointed when I look at other small towns. There鈥檚 so much potential here.鈥�
Morrison started its paid parking program in 2021 after hearing from downtown Morrison owners who said their customers can鈥檛 find places to park. The board said then it hoped paid parking would promote turnover that would in turn help local businesses.
Under Interstate Parking鈥檚 agreement with Morrison, the town gets 50% of the net revenue. The town also gets money from parking tickets, which are $50 each.
In 2024, Morrison took in just shy of $300,000 in parking revenue, including parking fees and parking tickets, according to town documents.