WEEK OF NOVEMBER 7, 2024
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 19
FREE
Arvada City Garrison Garden Paseo and adjacent Ralston Gardens affordable housing development now open Council holds workshop on paid parking in Olde Town BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Aerial view of Garrison Garden Paseo with Ralston Gardens next door.
Ribbon cuttings usher in final phase of Arvada Urban Renewal Authority’s Ralston Fields tract BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Arvada’s Ralston Fields tract — which was designated for urban renewal over two decades ago — is two steps closer to completion, as the city’s newest park, Garrison Garden Paseo, and newest affordable housing complex, Ralston Gardens, opened with ceremonial ribbon cuttings. The projects were ushered in on Oct. 30, with city team members and community
members on hand for the celebrations. Staff from the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority, which oversaw the projects, were also present. Upon its completion, Garrison Garden Paseo immediately becomes one of the most unique parks in the city. The linear park creates a previously nonexistent cut-through that connects Ralston Road and 57th Avenue, which were previously linked by a steep, undeveloped alleyway. AURA Director Maureen Phair said the Paseo — which translates to “leisurely walk” in Spanish — helps to transform what was formerly a car-centric area into a more pedestrian and bike-friendly neighborhood. “It was just hot and all asphalt, there were hardly any trees in this area,” Phair said. “Now we’re going, we’re coming back, and everything is
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Phair said will provide an optimal view of the city’s annual fireworks display at the Stenger-Lutz Sports Complex. “This park is an introduction to an urban pocket park that takes advantage of a 50-footwide right away,” Briscoe said. “Within the right away we’ve got a bike and pedestrian path, terraced seating, a look out where on a clear day you can see the Flatirons and even a stream. It is connected to the new Ralston Gardens affordable housing and the Arvada Gardeners land. “This is a whole new introduction to a city park and acritical connection point to neighborhoods to the north and south so residents can now easily walk to nearby restaurants, coffee shops and other retail businesses,” Briscoe continued.
The parking landscape in Olde Town Arvada might be in for a change, but it won’t be anytime soon. On Oct. 28, Arvada’s City Council hosted a workshop on the possibility of paid parking becoming the norm in the city’s historic district, with Travel Demand Management and Parking Coordinator Derek Fern and Consultant Drew Willsey saying that since Olde Town’s parking infrastructure is, on average, more than 85% full during peak hours, something needs to change. “When parking starts exceeding that 85% threshold, we have to start doing something differently,” Willsey said. “We won’t want to design the parking system for that one big event of the year, but in the case of Olde Town, we see those 85% levels every day and for most of the day on weekend.” Olde Town currently has 300 onstreet parking spaces, along with 762 spots in lots — 629 spaces in the Transit Hub, 103 in the Webster Lot and 30 in the West Lot (west side) — none of which are pay-to-park. In addition, there are 1,032 other spaces near Olde Town; 598 in the Harkins Lot, 81 in the Shrine of St. Anne’s lot, 67 in the West Lot (east side) and 40 in the Elks South Lot. All of those lots have requirements on who can use them and what businesses those patrons can go to, while the Elk’s lot are paid spaces. Fern and Willsey said that there is an average of 92% occupancy of street parking on a daily basis, which reaches 100% on evenings and weekends. Meanwhile, the Hub peak occupancy is only 35%, any between 55% and 90% during events. Councilmember Randy Moorman said that if paid parking was to be implemented, accessibility concerns would need to be addressed, and either way, signage for getting into the Hub should be improved. “Getting into the transit hub is difficult,” Moorman said. “It just is the way it’s set up. If there’s any way to simplify this, at least with signage, that would be helpful. I think if we’re
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heavily landscaped, filled with trees, four little parks, and we’re prioritizing the pedestrians, whereas before it was all auto-oriented. “Now we’re trying to make all these connections, like the (Garrison Garden) Paseo is a connection back to the (Ralston-Central) Park,” Phair continued. “All these are these trying to invite the neighborhood into the area, whereas before, these shopping centers basically turn their backs on the neighborhood; it was really car-centric.” Directly adjacent to the Paseo is the Arvada Community Garden, run by the Arvada Gardeners. The Gardeners are in the process of installing demonstration gardens along the Paseo’s path. AURA Deputy Director Carrie Briscoe highlighted other elements of the park, such as the terraced seating, which
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