RSS | 
Twitter
| 
Be a fan!
Companies give preferential parking to hybrid vehicles
DENVER - If protecting the environment isn't enough incentive, driver's of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles have been offered another: VIP parking.
Sunflower Farmers Market reserves six close-in parking spots for environmentally friendly vehicles at its natural and organic grocery store in Denver.
In suburban Westminster, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has a half-dozen front-row parking spaces for employees who drive hybrid vehicles.
Rate This Story:
1 the lowest - 5 the highest
Current rating:
Tri-State spokesman Jim Van Someren said the company started the hybrid parking program in October to support the use of "greener transportation options."
Sunflower chief executive Mike Gilliland said the Boulder-based grocer is testing the spots at a Denver store and will decide in the coming months whether to expand to additional locations.
The moves come as hybrid sales climb and manufacturers worldwide, from Ford to Porsche, jump into the market. Hybrids combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor.
In the first quarter, 83,050 hybrids were sold, up 7.6 percent from a year ago, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, said the parking incentive is a good idea but will be tough for businesses to enforce if they base the spots on emissions or fuel efficiencies.
"It's great to have the incentives, but there will be challenges with it," he said. "For example, what is the criteria going to be based on, and how's the employer going to keep up with the models that achieve it?"
At the Sunflower store Monday, a wide range of models used the spots, which have signs that say they're reserved for "low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles." Among the vehicles in the parking spaces was a Toyota Corolla, a Honda Civic and a Ford Expedition.
"This is the first time I've parked in one of these spots, and I feel kind of guilty," said Stan Stockdale, who drove a Saab. "But I figured since I'm not driving my Suburban, I'd qualify."
Gilliland said all six spots usually aren't used at the same time, so enforcement hasn't been an issue.
"As it becomes more full and more used, I'm sure we'll patrol it as we can in a polite way," he said. "I'm sure we'll just put a note on their windshield or let them know in a friendlier manner."
