Parking will be free in Avon again this summer

The town of Avon will reintroduce free parking in almost all of its bays and lots beginning April 1.

The free parking in town-owned spots will last through Nov. 30, and parkers will not be required to register their cars.

The town of Avon will turn off its parking management in the lots and bays on Lake Street, Benchmark Road, West Beaver Creek Boulevard and a small portion of East Benchmark Road.

The Avon Town Council approved the changes during its meeting Tuesday.

The town will replace the paid parking signs with new, summer-specific signs.

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Parking management will remain in place at Avon Town Hall and the Avon Recreation Center, meaning patrons of those locations must register their vehicles upon entering and will still be asked to pay $1 per hour to park for more than three hours between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Parking overnight will still not be allowed anywhere on town property in the summer.

“We look forward to welcoming everybody back on April 1 for a happier parking situation in the town of Avon,” Underwood said.

Why bring back free parking?

Avon began charging for parking year-round in December 2023. The town charges $1 per hour after three hours free for parking between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., with no parking permitted overnight. Under the current system, parkers must register their vehicles, even if parking for free.

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Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate implemented its paid parking system in fall 2023, charging fees 24 hours per day and mailing $87 tickets to those who failed to register their vehicles and parked for more than three hours. The system was immediately met with public protest. 

Both the town and Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate have said their paid parking systems were designed to prevent skiers from parking all day in spots designed for shorter-term use by patrons of Avon businesses and the like.

Town staff first floated the idea of bringing back free public parking in the summer during the Feb. 10 Town Council meeting. The topic came up within a conversation about the town’s proposed new private parking business license, which was designed to regulate private landlords charging for parking.

Following the Town Council meeting, town staff had a “substantive” conversation with Hoffmann’s parking subsidiary, Five Star Valet, which then talked with the landlord’s parking enforcement company, PRRS.

Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate announced to its tenants on March 6 that it would shift to free parking during the non-ski season and reduce the penalty for failing to register to park in its lots and parking for more than three hours from $87 to $30.

Hoffmann’s reduced fines and free summer parking will be effective April 1. The company does not plan to change the signage in its lots, but the new information will appear online when the signs’ QR code are scanned.

“Hopefully Hoffmann Properties will be redoing their signage to make it clearer, because it is very confusing now,” said Mayor Tamra Nottingham Underwood. 

Parkers are still required to register their car if parking in Hoffmann-owned lots for more than three hours during the summer. The $30 fine will still apply in the summer for cars that park for more than three hours and do not register.

“This is a great first 10 steps toward making this better for everyone,” said Mayor Pro Tem Rich Carroll.

Carroll asked town staff to continue to work with Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate on eliminating the landlord’s registration requirement in the summer.

Avon is still considering bringing forward a private parking business license at a future Town Council meeting. “I think we’ll see that at some point in the future,” Underwood said.