Dear Editor,

The Nederland Board of Trustees’ recent decision to turn Nederland into a pay-to-park town raises several important questions.

Numerous workers commute to Nederland from outside the city limits and require space to park. These local residents cannot vote on town issues even though they affect them directly. Most mountain residents barely earn enough to make ends meet. The added expense of $2.50 per hour or $20.00 a day would effectively reduce these community members’ hourly wages.

These same folks who shop in Nederland all pay the city sales tax on purchases, providing revenue for town projects about which they have no voice.

Resident passes for free parking would cover those who live within the city limits; would they include those who live outside of Nederland and work in town?

We have already lost free access to the two most centralized parking lots in town, and the Board’s proposal takes away all other options.

Interstate Parking (IP) is a for profit contractor that operates city parking garages nationwide.

The Board says IP will provide the infrastructure to charge and enforce compliance with these arbitrary parking fees. Who benefits from this? Where will these funds generated by parking fees actually go? What is the revenue meant to provide? Will it benefit the community or is it for private profit?

Why should we, the community, allow it?

Ruth Nielsen

Black Hawk