Boulder Looks to Beautify Downtown Parking Garages

The city will launch a study that can transform five parking garages into, as Boulder Public Art Coordinator Mandy Vink put it, “spaces into actual places.”

These structures are characterized mostly by their plainness and absence of imagery.

If the project materializes, local and visiting car parkers may have reason to interact as never before with these spaces.

Boulder will launch a study into art projects in the coming weeks.

“We wanted to have a study that goes into detail and examines each garage,” Vink said.

“How they’re used, where the locations are for not only permanent but also temporary commissions.”

The city has already allocated $50,000 for the study.

The idea behind this effort is that the city’s utilitarian structures have untapped potential as artistic gateways to Boulder.

The very first steps by many who visit the downtown are made inside the public parking facilities.

The study will consider making that classing, lonely walk from the car to the elevator and eventually out of the parking lot into something more aesthetically compelling.

“You’ve arrived in Boulder and you know you’re going to a restaurant or maybe an important meeting,” Vink imagined.

“What can happen right when you do park your car? Maybe there’s a light projection piece or music being pumped into the garage? There’s so much potential.”

This year, the city will spend much on researching and planning for this project. An as-yet-undetermined amount of money for project implementation will be allocated from the 2018 budget.

Vink could not estimate how much money will be requested from the city. One of the goals of doing the study is to identify how much will be spent.

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