MANITOU SPRINGS — There is only one major problem with Manitou Springs’ plan to start charging $5 a car in the Barr Trail parking lot.
Manitou doesn’t own the lot. Colorado Springs Utilities does.
And now the utility wants some of the cash or maybe all of it.
The 32-car lot is packed nearly year-round with hikers going up Pikes Peak or the Manitou Incline. The parking fees could easily top $100,000 a year.
“Utilities wants a say in how money is allocated,” Colorado Springs Utilities spokesman Steve Berry said today. “We have an obligation to make sure we are representing the interests of our rate payers.”
Manitou Springs officials say the money should stay in in the city to help ease the worsening traffic crunch.
“The best solution is to give the resources to the entity that is saddled with this in its backyard,” said Manitou Mayor Eric Drummond. “We could manage it to make it better and more convenient for everybody.”
Both sides say negotiations are still underway, but because ultimate control of the lot lies with Utilities, it is likely that it will have significant say over the fate of the fees.
Read the history of the issue and what hikers have to say at .
