COLORADO SPRINGS — Visiting Colorado Springs parks is free, but parking illegally could now cost you. Rangers with Colorado Springs Parks have been given the authority to issue parking tickets at the city's largest open space parks, most of which are on the city's Westside.
Mount Cutler Trail in North Cheyenne Cañon is one example of why the change is happening. The trail is very popular, but it has only about 20 parking spaces. When those fill up, people often get creative and park along the side of the road, creating traffic jams and safety issues.
Locals who frequent Colorado Springs open space parks know how crowded some can get.
"This place for sure, yeah, yeah, Cheyenne Canon definitely does. I mean, it's helped a little bit. They added more parking spaces here than they used to have, but it's still not enough. But, I mean, where are they gonna put them?" Troy Linnebur said.
Linnebur, who had the day off and came to Mount Cutler Trail to hike, said he prefers visiting on weekdays to avoid the crowds and the roadside parking he sees on busy days.
"Sure, yeah, when they're parking along the side of the road, it's sketchy," Linnebur said.
For years, parks rangers were limited to giving warnings and having conversations with parking violators.
"Now we have a way to deal with those issues," Colorado Springs regional parks, trails, and open space manager Scott Abbott said.
"Giving those explanations to individuals sometimes only goes so far," Abbott said.
Because the issue kept getting worse, parks leaders joined with police and parking enforcement. Park rangers are now credentialed to give parking citations.
"That gives them now the authority to go through all the training, have all the technical expertise, and go out there now and issue tickets in a real way," Abbott said.
Visitors who follow the parking rules will not be fined. The new enforcement starts with a short grace period before fines begin.
"Use designated areas. Don't pull off the sides of the roads. Don't park in front of closed gates. We need this accessibility for not only our visitors, our maintenance teams, our park rangers, but also first responders in case of any emergencies," Abbott said.
The reality of the parks' popularity means there will be days when parking spots are hard to find.
"I guess if there's not any space, you gotta just turn around. I've had to do it. It sucks," Linnebur said.
Depending on the violation, fines can range from $30 to $100.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.___
Right to Hunt and Fish? Amendment 83
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
