CSU, Fort Collins still hashing out stadium parking plans

With only about two months until the first Colorado State University home football game scheduled at the university's new stadium, officials are still working out final game day details.

But at a Fort Collins City Council meeting Tuesday night, city leaders made one thing clear: They want to ensure surrounding neighborhoods feel protected. That includes making sure residents have access to assistance as needed and that it is made clear to all fans where to go and where they can and cannot park.

An open house of the stadium is scheduled for Aug. 5, with the first game held on Aug. 26.

City parking staff provided neighborhoods within one mile of the new stadium the option of establishing roadway parking restrictions of non-residents during events. The six neighborhoods that opted to participate include Mantz, Old Fort Collins High, Sheely, Western Heights, Lake Street and Gilgalad Way. 

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The premise is that for any stadium event with an expected attendance of 12,000 people or more — games are estimated to bring in 40,000 — only residents and up to two permitted guests per residence will be allowed to park on the street. If a non-permitted person parks in the neighborhood, he or she will be fined $100.

Councilman Ray Martinez asked about the possibility of towing cars, but city staff said that may come later after an assessment of how well the fines and other enforcement techniques have worked.

Some neighborhood entrances will also have barricades with law enforcement posted nearby to prevent non-local traffic, especially in neighborhoods that don't have access to major roads.

Martinez also asked about establishing a hotline number that people could call on game day for assistance, whether it was a neighbor dealing with traffic issues or an attendee having a problem that didn't require emergency assistance.

CSU planner Fred Haberecht said a game coordinator would be available for calls, but there are no plans yet for a specific hotline. However, CSU would look into the "excellent suggestion."

"We don't have it all figured out," Haberecht said. "We will have most of it figured out after we experience the first game."

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Councilman Ross Cunniff stressed the importance of posting counters at the various neighborhoods to determine how many cars enter and exit on game days, and in turn having people stationed in those areas to help direct traffic. That's a role CSU officials envision for some of their Rambassador assistants on game days.

"I would suggest that early in the season ... it's going to be needed more when families and others from out of town aren't familiar with the city," Cunniff said, adding that it's an issue that will occur annually.

Mayor Pro Tem Gerry Horak asked if the city needed to pay people to station them at the various neighborhoods. Horak said that was an expectation of the city that "we're going to actively monitor those locations."

"I'm just concerned ... that ramping up (resources) will just make wonderful stories in the newspaper. ... De-escalating because we spent too much, I can deal with," he said.

Haberecht and other CSU staff members discussed funding some of those resources through the Good Neighbor Fund, set up to help neighborhoods mitigate game day impacts. But council members agreed with Cunniff — they felt the fund should serve for more grassroots, creative efforts, rather that something that's needed regularly.

Other efforts to mitigate parking issues presented Tuesday included a program that would require students with parking permits in certain campus lots to relocate their cars on game day; private lots farther away from campus charging people to park on game day; ramped-up bus service, including the MAX running every couple of minutes; and shuttles between CSU's south campus and the stadium.

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About $25 million in infrastructure and bike and pedestrian improvements made to city right-of-ways are also meant to encourage more bike and pedestrian traffic to the stadium, Haberecht said. Handicap and sidewalk improvements were also made on campus.

Civil Engineer Martina Wilkinson said over the 24 months of working on the project and hearing from neighbors and interested parties, the operations team went from heated conversations with neighbors to specific, actionable items.

Based on local and national numbers, Wilkinson said the base assumptions for traffic are that 55 percent of people will drive (about 8,500 cars, each with about 2.6 people per vehicle), 25 percent will bike or walk (10,000), 13 percent will use transit (5,000) and 7 percent will already be on campus (2,600).

But she warns that these are just assumptions.

"There's no way we can really know until the first game," she said.

The idea is to have controlled traffic flows, with neighborhood street restrictions, especially on Shields Street, Wilkinson said.

Shields and Laurel streets are expected to be busy, and Prospect Road will remain open. 

About 2,700 parking spots will be available on the south campus for those who want to pay by cash, and can be accessed from Drake Road or Shields Street, Wilkinson said. An ADA parking lot will be available off of College Street. The main campus will have 5,800 spaces.

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Staff members have also made accommodations to have a drop-off and pick-up spot for Ubers and Lyfts at the University Center for the Arts.

Center Avenue will be closed just north of the Federal Center up to Prospect Road, because it's expected to host 5,000 to 6,000 pedestrians on game days.

City Manager Darin Atteberry said city staff would work with CSU officials to get answers to council members' questions in writing prior to the first game.

Mayor Wade Troxell said though there may be adjustments to operations throughout the process, "there's been a lot of forethought and planning and just the investment in infrastructure," and that's "way ahead" of when Hughes Stadium first opened.

Councilman Bob Overbeck also provided a last ask to CSU before the meeting ended — he said he hopes the team will be successful, and if so, wants to ensure people from lower-income families have the opportunity to attend as well.

"I always hope that in the future that there will always be room for people who want to take their family to the game that's affordable," he said.

You can follow Reporter Saja Hindi on Twitter at twitter.com/BySajaHindi or email her at shindi@coloradoan.com.

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