This story, by Aaron Calvin, was first published by the Stowe Reporter on Sept. 14.
Paid parking is set to stay at Stowe Mountain Resort, but those seasonal passes that sold out in minutes last year won’t take another run.
In a recent announcement, the resort reiterated its commitment to charging for non-carpooling vehicles on weekends and holidays in lots closest to the slopes, but also said that the limited seasonal passes that allowed holders to pay upfront for months of parking have been discontinued.
The resort wants to continue to encourage carpooling and to reduce traffic congestion by encouraging use of public transportation, which will also free up parking spaces on peak traffic days, Stowe Mountain spokesperson Courtney DiFiore said in a statement.
“Ultimately, we want to do what is most effective in reducing traffic and encouraging carpooling,” she said.
Last October, online sales of an unspecified number of $450 seasonal parking passes that didn’t even promise a parking spot sold out immediately, prompting complaints from some of the resort’s disgruntled devotees.
DiFiore said the $30-per-day charge for paid parking on weekends for non-carpoolers will remain the going rate.
As the Stowe Reporter reported in May, Stowe Mountain Resort and its corporate owner, Vail Resorts, successfully argued for an indefinite continuation of the parking program by presenting data to the Agency of Natural Resources that showed a significant increase in carpooling and public transit ridership, and general reductions of traffic at key junctures in Stowe.
Vail representatives said at an end-of-season meeting with the state that they were going to take a closer look at how to make the sale of season-long parking permits a smoother process after the October’s instant sell-out but have now decided to simply discontinue the option.
DiFiore emphasized that nearly 40% of the resort’s parking remain free every day of the year, and the paid lots will only require payment for “less than half of the ski season.”
The resort has claimed from the beginning of the paid parking program that the aim was not to generate revenue. It has invested in expanding public transportation through Green Mountain Transit, whose buses ferry skiers and riders to the resort from various points in Stowe.
Secretary of Natural Resources Julie Moore said through a spokesperson that her agency would “continue to monitor the impact and outcomes of Vail’s facilitation of transportation services that help provide access to state lands and recreational opportunities.”
At the end of last season, the state made no changes to the limited 90-minute parking at Barnes Camp on paid parking days at Stowe Mountain Resort, that upset hikers and other winter recreationists who felt they were being unfairly restricted from publicly owned land.
That limit will remain in place in the 2023-2024 ski season.
“While access to state land is a priority, it must be balanced with our goals for a reduction in the transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions,” Moore said through a spokesperson.
Alan Kovacs, a longtime skier at Stowe who become an unofficial spokesman for public objections to paid parking and the Barnes Camp limitations, was dismayed to hear about the elimination of the seasonal parking pass, which he had called to be offered to locals as a way to prioritize residential access to the mountain.
“I think it’s more indication that Vail doesn’t care about locals,” Kovacs said. “Their objective is to sell as many Epic passes as they can, whether that results in traffic problems or other problems for locals, and that’s what they’re going to do.”
