You might remember how earlier this month, Eldora quickly backed down on a proposal to charge $20 for parking in an effort to make more people carpool to the mountain.
Now, Arapahoe Basin is also jumping into the fray of paid parking, but their Marketing Director Leigh Heirholzer says this plan is different since it’s more limited in scope than the one at Eldora, which provoked backlash from skiers.
“We’re only charging for about 10 percent of our overall parking capacity, and within that 10 percent, if you are carpooling, then it would be free,” Heirholzer said.
She said the paid parking is closest to the mountain – hopefully to incentivize more people to carpool, since vehicles with four or more occupants don’t have to pay the $20 fee.
For the record, the fee only applies on weekends and holidays, when the resort is the busiest.
Heirholzer said the hope with paid parking is to make sure there are more spaces available and no one is turned away from a day on the slopes.
Eldora also said overcrowding played a role in the paid parking plan, which was also touted to bolster sustainability efforts.
“This plan is set for the season,” Heirholzer said. “No backtracking will happen.”
