FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The City of Fort Collins will suspend enforcement of some non-safety related parking rules due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
The decision was made in order to support business owners and employees who are required to be at work, due to Parking Services operating at an emergency support level of coverage, and in light of the lower volume of vehicles in the downtown area.
The suspension of some enforcement activities will remain in place beginning immediately and will continue for at least 15 days after coronavirus-related restrictions are lifted in order to help businesses recover.
Enforcement will not be suspended for rules dealing with safety, such as parking in front of fire hydrants, blocked driveways and alleys, and ADA violations.
City Manager Darin Atteberry approved the changes by an emergency order on April 1. A copy of the order is included with this press release. Details of the order are below:
Suspended Enforcement Activities
Parking Services will suspend enforcement of the following:
- The 4-Hour Block Face Rule
- Time limited: all timed parking spaces (e.g., 30-minute, 1-hour, 2-hour, etc.)
- Expired registration
- Immobilization (booting)
- Residential Permit Parking areas – With CSU being out of session for the remainder of the semester and with the recent stay at home order, neighborhoods will have less parking impact by day users. Residents may have a need to keep all tenants at home and therefore may need additional parking options.
Continued Enforcement Activities
In an effort to maintain safety, the following enforcement activities will continue:
- Parking where prohibited by a red curb
- Parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant
- No Parking areas
- ADA Parking regulations
- Loading zones
- Blocked driveways and alleys
- Parking in travel lanes, including bike and transit lanes
This list is not exhaustive and Parking Services may still issue citations for other violations that are not suspended.
Ongoing Administrative Actions
In an effort to lessen the impact to affected businesses and downtown employees, Transfort & Parking Services Department will suspend or modify the following:
- Mail notifications will be discontinued to prevent citations from going through the initial 15-day escalation cycle
- Escalations have been turned off for all citations to allow for additional time to contest or pay
- Permit holders will be afforded a one-time waiver if their permit lapses during COVID-19, allowing them to resume their permit when they are able to report to work again. This period will be limited to no more than two months after regular operations resume
- All parking permit waitlist fulfillment will remain on hold until further notice, to allow those that have let their permit lapse to resume their permit when they are able to report to work again
- Businesses that request full refunds for permits will receive, at their option: an account credit to be used when regular operations resume in order to resume their permit or a refund for all unused months without the possibility to reactivate their permits upon resuming regular operations unless availability exists. If there is not availability at that time, the business would be placed on a waitlist
- Citations are being placed on hold if the customer needs to contest their citation but cannot come into the office allowing them to contest once regular business operations resume
These lists are not intended to be all inclusive of Parking Services efforts. For more information about parking, visit fcgov.com/parking.
For more information on the City’s response to coronavirus, visit fcgov.com/coronavirus.