Wes Isbutt is turning to the community to rectify a parking change that he believes is targeting his business, and the city in turn is hosting a meeting on the changes in response to community concerns.
Isbutt is the owner of West Side Tavern, a gastropub that sits in a residential area on Third Avenue between Sherman and Grant streets. Isbutt’s business, which once had three on-site parking spaces, has none after he expanded his seating during COVID.
That means he relies on street parking for his customers, which until the end of last year included a number of spaces directly outside his business.
According to the city, a comment during Coffee with the Council in August of last year led Longmont staff to investigate visibility and driver safety along Third Avenue. Citing section 205.02 of Longmont’s design standards, staff posted parking restrictions to provide adequate sightlines, which is 250 feet at the intersections between Third Avenue and Sherman Streets (the north and south segments of Sherman do not intersect).
On Dec. 27, signs went up along Third Avenue prohibiting parking in the area. The city estimates that the changes resulted in a net loss of nine parking spaces.
Longmont is hosting a community meeting from 6-7 p.m. on Monday for those in the general vicinity of the parking modifications on Third Avenue to discuss and clarify the changes. Longmont will also be hosting a neighborhood Open House in April with a date to be announced to discuss the general improvement and construction projects coming soon to the Third Avenue area.
According to Isbutt, his business has seen a 20% decline in revenue since the change. He added that his clientele tend to be older and unwilling to walk the extra distance between his restaurant and legal parking, especially in the winter.
A few weeks ago, Isbutt began distributing a petition stating that recent parking changes have actually reduced safety and requested adjustments to bring back some parking along Third Street and nearby Sherman Street.
“I do consider public pressure is the only way to get this in the light of day,” Isbutt said. “It's very easy to get people on your side when it's this obvious to anyone who actually looks at what has been done. The city is trying to tell us we don't see what we see.”
Isbutt argues that the changes don’t align with city standards, but the city holds that the parking restrictions are needed to ensure safe sightlines.
Isbutt’s petition, which he said had gotten over 300 signatures as of this week, states that the removal of parking has meant drivers are now trying to pass those turning left off of Third Avenue where the parked cars used to be, creating unsafe driving. The petition also proposes traffic calming measures instead to improve overall safety.
Longmont Director of Engineering Jim Angstadt said in an email that the city has received those petitions, but has made no decisions on any actions as a result of them. He added that the city will review the alternatives proposed in the petition.
“The city will be undertaking a number of asset management improvements in this area over the course of the next several years and as part of the planning of these improvements, staff will evaluate, plan, design and provide the necessary improvements for all users of the public right-of-way,” Angstadt said.
Since the beginning of this year, Longmont Public Safety said four parking tickets have been issued on Third Avenue near Sherman Street, all four for parking where prohibited by official signs. Last year, before the additional signs were posted, 24 total parking tickets were issued in the area but just two were related to parking where prohibited by signs.
