Lower Downtown District, Inc.

Is Valet Parking Out of Hand-And Will a New Ordinance Help?

Jun 15, 2000

They block the road. They use the meter. They put up illegal signs. And that's just a few of the complaints the City gets about valet parking in LoDo.
"Right now, I could be a parking attendant, drive your car around without insurance and basically put it wherever I want," says Kim Kucera, Aide to Councilwoman Debbie Ortega and the person researching the problem and developing possible solutions.
Recently, after reviewing complaints, Kucera went out with valet parkers to find out what they're doing - and what they understand about local parking laws. "I found out that most of them didn't even know they couldn't use the meters," says Kucera. "It seems obvious that we've got to change something."
Currently, the City office is still brainstorming solutions and considering a valet parking ordinance that would affect all of Denver. "We really just want to regulate the process," says Kucera. "If every valet parking group had to get a license, they'd understand the laws and we'd have a recourse for continual violations."
Other parts of the ordinance could include requiring businesses to obtain a permit for having valet parking attendants in front of the buildings. "At this point, we're still kicking around ideas and looking for solutions," says Kucera. "The next step is to pull all interested parties together -valet parking companies, neighborhood groups and business owners-and come up with practical solutions." Details on this meeting will be included in a future issue of LoDown.