DENVER – While Cherry Creek North isn’t lacking in area development, neighbors claim it is short of parking spaces.
Denver Public Works didn't have the number of residential spots readily available, but confirmed they have received parking complaints.
Right now, the department is developing a plan to alleviate the parking issues. These plans include enhanced enforcement.
“There's only so much space left in Cherry Creek,” resident Walt Smith said.
He and his wife have owned a home in Cherry Creek North since 2004. He said the parking problems started roughly two-years ago, when construction expanded.
“A major problem is when we have guests come over our house. During the daytime hours, anywhere between 8 a.m. and say, 3 p.m., there’s no place for them to park,” Smith added.
The long-time resident said he understands development and acknowledged the men and women working construction are only making a living, but he pointed at other parking options.
“With our Neighborhood Association, we’ve had many times when different builders have come and said that they’re going to bus their workers in, so we don’t have a parking problem,” Smith said, “I have yet to see a bus come into the neighborhood.”
Instead, several trucks with construction company logos line streets surrounding St. Paul Street.
“It's not shoppers, trust me. It's not people going to restaurants. It's the construction workers,” Smith said.
He and other neighbors claim the crews arrive at 6 a.m., and don’t leave until the end of the day.
Currently, Public Works has a residential parking program in place on the 400 blocks of St. Paul, Milwaukee and Steele in Cherry Creek.
Parking on one side of the street is restricted to neighbors, or guests with special parking permits.
The other side of the street is slated for two-hour parking.
Neighbors Denver7 spoke with off-camera said they rarely see construction workers move their trucks.
“There's so many projects going on, I don't think anybody's really policing it on a daily basis,” Smith said.
However, Heather Burke with Denver Public Works said the department has plans to step up enforcement. The department made eleven new hires and will put some of those agents in Cherry Creek North.
The parking problems impact more than just neighbors in the area. Lyman Woodworth works for Higher Ground Landscapes, his company is making improvements on a home in the Cherry Creek North area.
“It's a hassle, especially if we want to park close to the job site and unload materials,” Woodworth said.
If it’s not the lack of parking, Woodworth says it’s the race against the two-hour parking clock.
“I'm headed to the job site for a two-hour meeting, so I'll have to run half-way through the meeting to come and move my truck,” he said.
Woodworth called himself lucky because he found a parking spot just three or four blocks from the home he’s working on, “But sometimes it's seven to ten blocks,” he said.
Denver Public Works said Cherry Creek is and has been a priority area for the department.
In a statement, Burke said, “We understand the adjacent shopping areas and construction can be impactful to residents. We are actively evaluating and making adjustments in enforcement strategies to improve turnover of those two-hour spaces.”
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