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Getting people out of cars a challenge
Report: 65% of locals, tourists drive in downtown Durango
Herald Staff Writer
The results of a study that will be released Monday show that despite the best efforts of Durango’s transit, bicycle and pedestrian advocates, the city remains a driving town.
The Durango Downtown Market Assessment was conducted by Boulder-based RRC Associates on behalf of the city government, Business Improvement District and La Plata Economic Development Action Partnership, or LEAD. The survey, which included 664 on-the-street interviews and 400 mail responses, asked people how they get to the downtown area and their desire for transit and parking improvements.
LEAD and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jack Llewellyn said the purpose of the survey was to identify who shops downtown, how they get there, and why those who don’t shop downtown opt to go elsewhere.
Respondents were a combination of locals and tourists, 65 percent of whom claimed to drive to get downtown. Of the remainder, 23 percent walked, 7 percent rode a bicycle, 4 percent took a bus and a small percentage used other transportation including skateboards or scooters.
Llewellyn said of the total drivers, 52 percent work in town, which he said is expected given the ratio of La Plata County residents outside of city limits as opposed to those who live in Durango. What bothers Llewellyn and others concerned with limited downtown parking is that 39 percent of those employees claim to rely on metered parking spaces on work days.
He said that if more locals – especially downtown workers – chose to walk, bike or use public transportation, it would free up more spaces for tourists and shoppers who are the lifeblood of Durango’s sales-tax collections.
“What really comes out of this is: If you work downtown, stop doing it,” Llewellyn said of workers who drive.
“It’s a bigger picture, and it’s about changing habits. We need to stop and say: ‘Do I really need to drive?’ Draw a circle in a 2-mile radius from your house and figure if you leave a few minutes earlier you can get there without driving. The connectivity in this town is pretty good.”
The survey comes as the Durango City Council prepares to adopt the 2009 budget, which includes a free trolley, free weekend parking. and an increase in $6 parking tickets to $9.
City Manager Ron LeBlanc said each decision is intended to boost downtown commerce, and Llewellyn said the chamber now endorses the plan as well after the parking fines were lowered from $12 as first proposed.
“They didn’t raise parking fees, only the fines. It’s a nice compromise, and you don’t have to pay the fine if you feed the meter,” he said.
“We think it’s a win for the business community. With free parking on the weekends that will allow people to enjoy downtown festivals, the farmers market, and encourage shopping commerce downtown. That’s where the revenues come from to fix our roads that everyone seems to love driving on.”
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