Laramie seeks applicants for downtown parking task force

The City of Laramie posted applications for a new Downtown Parking Task Force as downtown merchants, employees and visitors continue to work around two-hour on-street limits and daily enforcement. City leaders say the group will review current parking conditions in downtown Laramie and help guide future solutions that affect business access, foot traffic and the city’s busiest blocks.

Applications are due July 10, 2026, and applicants must be at least 18. The city is seeking people with direct ties to downtown life, including downtown residents, business owners, employees, frequent visitors and members of downtown-focused community groups. Officials say the task force is expected to meet about once a month through spring and summer 2027, giving it a long runway to shape recommendations before the city settles on next steps.

The parking group is the latest piece of a broader downtown planning effort that ramped up in March, when the City of Laramie, the Downtown Development Authority and the Laramie Main Street Alliance launched a community-wide engagement strategy for a new Downtown Development Plan. City materials say the last downtown plan dates to 2011, and other planning documents in circulation include a 2014 downtown report, a 2007 historic downtown design guideline and a 2018 wayfinding master plan. City officials have also said a council resolution will define the task force’s scope, duration and membership.

Parking has already been the subject of multiple public discussions. In April 2025, city officials held open house meetings at the Historic Laramie Railroad Depot to gather feedback on downtown parking and accessibility. A month later, the city issued a request for qualifications that explored camera-based enforcement and digital ticketing for timed on-street parking, signaling that enforcement tools are part of the policy conversation, not just the supply of spaces.

The management of existing parking is a central issue downtown. Laramie Main Street says most on-street parking in the district is limited to two hours and enforced from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The organization says the first citation is $40, the second is $80 and the third and subsequent citations are $120. It also says downtown lots offer free all-day parking, a setup meant to push longer stays off the most visible curbside spaces and keep turnover moving for customers and employees.

A December council discussion cited a 2006 study that found about 1,767 on-street spaces and 1,945 off-street spaces in downtown Laramie. That count suggests the city’s challenge is not only how many spaces exist, but how those spaces are managed for businesses, workers and the people who come downtown every day.