Wondering what people think of the changes to parking near the Barr Trail and Manitou incline. I had went earlier this year and when we went last weekend it seems the parking situation has changed dramatically.
1) Lots and lots of new signs all over Ruxton Ave.
2) Lots of parking meters on Ruxton Ave and downtown
3) Certain "residents only" parking zones
4) More agressive enforcement- many parking enforcement officers now patrol the area to give out tickets.
I can't say I am impressed with the changes. We arrived at 7:30 on Saturday and of course the barr trail lot was full. The former "incline parking lot" seemed to be blocked off for Cog Railway passengers only. The attendant told me I should park downtown and take the shuttle. So we parked downtown and paid for parking, and then walked to the nearest bus stop. When the first bus got there, it was completely empty. Apparently that was the "downtown" bus and not the cog/incline bus. So he continued to drive his empty bus up and down main street. When the next bus arrived 5 minutes later, it was completely full. So we ended up walking up to the Barr trailhead anyway, after waiting 10+ minutes for a bus. It was frustrating to say the least. We also helped a tourist from Texas get to the Cog station about 5 minutes before his train left- he also was trying to get on the full bus.
On the way back we had just missed the bus down. I ran from the Iron Chateau down to our car and actually ended up passing the bus and beating it by about 5 minutes with all the stops it makes. I understand this is probably a better situation for people who live on Ruxton, but it doesn't appear to be functioning well for hikers or cog riders.
I heard you can park at the farthest away lot and are pretty much gaurenteed a spot on the bus, but then you are still subject to a long and slow bus ride and waiting for the bus to arrive. It could take you as much as 40 minutes from the time you park until the time you arrive at the trailhead- at which point walking would be much faster.
