Transportation

State of the
Aspen Area

Speaker
Series

Aspen Economy
White Paper

Random
Survey

Small Group
Meetings

Survey
Results

Large Group
Meetings

Planning &
Zoning Review

City Council &
BOCC Review

State of the Aspen Area: 2000-2008
September 17

This report contains up to date information on a range of issues that have traditionally been important to the Aspen community, ranging from transportation to housing and growth. Did you know that the City has issued 9,886 building permits with a value of $2.4 billion since 2000? This is just one piece of information contained in this comprehensive report. Included are reader-friendly summaries
of each topic.

Speaker Series
September 17 - October

Staff visited various groups and organizations in the Aspen area to offer a PowerPoint presentation on the highlights of the State of the Aspen Area report, and the public process for generating a Community Vision for the Aspen Area.

'White Paper' on the
Aspen Economy
October 20

This is a rare opportunity to gain a new understanding of the unique and powerful resort economy that drives many important issues in the Aspen area. The City of Aspen hired an international resort consulting firm (Economics Research Associates) to draft this 'White Paper.' The report is reader-friendly and accessible to the general public.

Random Survey
November

A survey has been mailed to random households in the Aspen area, asking a wide range of questions about your vision for the future. This approach has been tested in mountain communities before, and will be a statistically accurate reflection of community values, likes and dislikes. Results will be available in January 2009.

Small Group Meetings
Oct 27 - Nov 14

More than 150 people recently participated in 11 small group meetings in October and November, offering their visions and goals for the future. These meetings were not intended to produce a consensus of any kind, but to express a range of goals and visions. A summary of notes from these meetings are available on the "Small Group Meetings" page.

Survey Results
2nd week January

The results of the random survey that was mailed to Aspen area residents in November will be available on the website. This is a values-based survey that can help form the Community Vision for the Aspen area.

Large Community Vision Meetings
January 27, January 31

Our goal is to have at least 350 people attend each of three public meetings, so more than 1,000 people can take part in drafting a Community Vision for the Aspen Area. We'll use a number of methods, including wireless voting keypads to explore the community's values. For more information and to RSVP and reserve your clicker, please see the homepage.

Planning and Zoning
Commission Review
March

This will be a more traditional and formalized process where the Planning and Zoning Commissions of both the City and the County will review a draft of the Community Vision for the Aspen Area. This will include legally noticed public hearings that anyone can attend to offer their comments.

City Council and Board of County Commissioners Review
April

This will be a more traditional and formalized process where the Aspen City Council and the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners will review a draft of the Community Vision for the Aspen Area, while also considering the input of both planning and zoning commissions. This will include legally noticed public hearings that anyone can attend to offer their comments.

Printable Version

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Transportation

The Aspen community has supported walking, bicycling and the use of public transit as modes of transportation that should be supported in an effort to reduce the number of vehicles coming into town. The 2000 AACP includes a goal of keeping the number of vehicles crossing the Castle Creek Bridge at 1993 levels as a way to drive alternatives modes of travel. There are more than a dozen transportation-related projects at different stages of planning and implementation in the Aspen area:

Traffic engineers are generally amazed to learn that Aspen has actually managed to keep traffic at or below 1993 levels over 15 years. In 2007, the Average Annual Daily Traffic at the Castle Creek Bridge was 5.7% below the 1993 target levels.
But the dynamics of Highway 82 are in flux - the volumes of traffic up and down the 82 corridor increased to almost the same amount as those at the Castle Creek Bridge for the first time. That means congestion is expanding up and down the valley and is lasting for longer periods during the day.
Adding a bus queue from the airport to Buttermilk, and adding two new lanes dedicated to transit between Buttermilk and the roundabout is predicted to shave 15-20 minutes off the bus ride. The new lanes open in November.
After an extensive public process in 2006-07, three options for completing the Entrance to Aspen project are still on the table. In addition to the 1998 Preferred Alternative, the City is evaluating the "Split-Shot" and a "Reversible Lane" concept. The studies are expected to be complete in November.
The Roaring Fork Transit Agency (RFTA) is pursuing a Regional Bus Rapid Transit system, which operates like a rail system while using buses. Finding ways to bypass congested intersections valley-wide and building more and bigger park n' rides are two key parts of BRT. A funding election is scheduled in November.

Linkage to Other Issues

There are precious few issues in the Aspen area that exist in a vacuum. Here are a few topics that are directly related to the question of transportation

The Economy. If the Entrance to Aspen is actually resolved and BRT is a success, and the regional transportation system functions well, will there be a change in the community's concern about job growth as a negative impact?

Environmental Quality. It is estimated that the RFTA system saved 8,023 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the environment in 2006.

Housing. Affordable housing at Burlingame and in the future at BMC West, as well as plans for the Inn at Aspen and at the AABC, may be driving the need to expand free City bus service to the airport.