Directing public to BC parking

A popular tourist destination seven days a week, Boulder City can get especially crowded on weekends.

A common complaint heard from visitors and businesses alike is a perceived lack of parking options in or near the historic downtown area.

In an effort to address that, city staff has taken steps to highlight some public parking options that may not be immediately obvious.

Raffi Festekjian, economic development coordinator for Boulder City, noted in a recent email that a plethora of parking spaces are available along North and South Escalante Park just west of City Hall.

“Many covered spaces are available for use on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (except during special events). The lots are a 10-minute walk from most businesses on Nevada Way,” he wrote.

In an attempt to make these options more obvious, staff recently undertook an effort to highlight those options for smartphone users. Visitors who are using either the Google or Apple Maps apps will now find the Escalante Park areas as well as a large lot of uncovered parking next to the Boulder City Police Department building now designated with a purple “P” icon indicating that these areas are available to the public for parking.

As an extra added bonus for drivers of EVs, the Escalante Park location features some free charging. There are a total of four level 2 chargers that are free and open to the public. A level 2 charger can supply enough electricity for between 9 and 52 miles of range per hour of charging time.

Those areas won’t help ease parking woes during special events as they are usually filled with booths or food trucks or cars on display for a car show. But the hope among city staff is that the device designation will help alleviate parking problems on non-event weekends especially.