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AGENDA
INFORMATION UPDATE
September 14, 2021
5:00 PM,
I.INFORMATION UPDATE
I.A.Safety and Mobility in the Downtown Core Follow Up Memo
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WORK SESSION SUMMARY MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: PJ Murray, EIT – Project Manager
Pete Rice, PE – Engineering Division Manager
THROUGH: Tricia Aragon, PE – City Engineer
MEETING DATE: August 23, 2021
RE: Safety and Mobility in the Downtown Core
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SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION: In the February 1, 2021 work session, Council directed
staff to prepare concepts for the Hopkins, Galena and Hyman/Mill corridors that would
holistically increase safety and improve mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists. To achieve
the goal of safe corridors, the space in the right-of-way (ROW) cross section would need
to be reallocated from vehicular areas, dedicated to the movement and parking of
vehicles, to pedestrian and bicycle areas, increased walkway width, dedicated bike lanes,
activation areas, etc. Staff utilized the Pedestrian and Bicycle Masterplan and the
Downtown Enhancement Pedestrian Project (DEPP) to develop the concepts presented
to Council in the June 21, 2021 work session. The Safety and Mobility in the Core project
is an opportunity to implement many projects identified by both the Pedestrian and Bicycle
Masterplan and the DEPP.
The high-level concepts that staff presented on June 21, 2021, showed what Aspen’s
downtown core could look like. Each concept showcased a variety of safety improvement
strategies which can be treated like a menu and were shown in three downtown corridors
(Hopkins Ave, Galena Ave and Hyman/Mill Ave corridors). These strategies are listed
below:
- Conversion of parking from head-in to parallel to reallocate space for other uses
o Counter-flow protected bikeways on one-way streets
o Activation areas
o Increased pedestrian corridors
- Curb extensions to improve sightlines for all users and decrease the width of the
crosswalk
- Transitioning to vehicle-free corridors for 100% priority on pedestrians and
bicycles.
Per Council direction during the June work session, staff developed a safety pilot program
that would implement improvements incrementally. Staff recommends introducing the
incremental safety improvement strategies to the Galena corridor first, which includes
Galena St from Hopkins to Cooper as well as Cooper Ave from Galena to Hunter. Once
safety improvements are proven successful within this corridor and Council and the
community are supportive, staff will incrementally implement similar improvements along
the other corridors in the core. The approach will focus on measures that can be
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implemented in 2022 that will allow the public to assess the improvements without
increasing the impact throughout the core and minimizing infrastructure modifications
needed within the initial steps.
The Galena corridor living lab includes the following improvements:
Modification of the corridor cross-section to convert all head-in parking to parallel
parking on both sides of the street which improves sight lines and reduces conflicts
between users.
Widened pedestrian areas.
A shared bike lane with vehicle traffic and/or a dedicated bike lane traveling the
direction of vehicular flow in a similar fashion to the bikeways outside the core.
A protected counter-flow bike lane for cyclists traveling against the flow of vehicular
traffic.
Turning motion modifications at the intersection of Galena and Hyman (adjacent
to the Elks Building) to eliminate the left turn from Galena to Hyman. This simplifies
the intersection and reduces the potential for conflict. Hyman would become a one-
way street from Hunter to Galen with vehicular traffic traveling from east to west.
Intersection improvements with curb extensions at the following intersections:
o Galena & Hopkins – City Hall
o Galena & Hyman – Elks Building
o Galena & Cooper – Paradise Bakery
o Cooper & Hunter – Old Boogies Space
The impacts of this safety pilot program are as follows:
Parking space impacts: 44 parking spaces of 86 total spaces in this corridor.
Parking space revenue impact for 44 parking spaces = $296,500/year.
No impacts to existing transit routes.
These impacts create opportunity to enhance, expand and/or test new mobility and transit
concepts such as:
Reclassification of residential parking spaces to core parking spaces within or
adjacent to the downtown core boundary. This generates 47 additional core
parking spaces.
Explore additional options to increase parking availability:
o Enhance the existing valet parking program,
o Designate additional pick up/drop off zones near high use areas,
o Reduce construction vehicle parking in the core,
o Identify additional parking areas to be included in the core boundary or
identify where new spaces can be created.
Add summer service to the Galena St Shuttle route. Explore the need for additional
bus stop locations, improved bus stops, shorter headway times, and increased
service into the evenings.
Expand the existing Downtowner service or similar on-demand car service by
ensuring shorter wait times, providing a dedicated vehicle for a garage to core
route (door to door service), and additional service hours.
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Staff also presented a summary of the initial community outreach that was completed
since the June 2021 work session. An Aspen Community Voice survey was used to gather
initial input on this project. The survey showed that most users (drivers, pedestrians, or
cyclists) in the core feel unsafe or uncomfortable while navigating downtown and that
most of the respondents support implementing temporary safety improvements that
increase pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle safety. Staff also met with a few Aspen Chamber
Resort Association (ACRA) members and there is support for ROW modifications for
increased safety of the traveling public in the core.
COUNCIL DIRECTION: The majority of Council members agree there is an opportunity
for shifting the priority of our streets from vehicle dominate to prioritize a balance between
all users to improve safety and mobility. Council members would like to see roadway
examples of what the Galena corridor will look like with safety improvements.
Specifically, Council supported staff continuing with the following components outlined as
part of the Galena corridor safety pilot program:
Education outreach for biking community.
Enhanced Downtowner or similar car-to-go service and improved Galena St
Shuttle service.
Increasing parking availability in the downtown core. A parking availability program
will be presented to Council at a later date that addresses construction parking,
options for an equitable valet parking program, reclassifying parking spaces so
impacts to residential pass holders and carpool pass users are addressed, etc.
Council requested further analysis on additional parking configurations that could be
explored and how the space gained by the different parking configurations can be
programmed differently to increase safety for pedestrians, vehicles, and cyclists.
NEXT STEPS:
1. Design and install permanent intersection improvements at the intersection of
Spring St and Cooper Ave, adjacent to City Market. Completion of this project will
occur within the Engineering Departments capital improvement plan and budget
process. Final aesthetic design will be presented to Council this winter.
2. Preparation of schematic designs that show how the space gained with different
parking configurations can be used: bike lanes, increased pedestrian space, etc.
This information will be presented to Council this winter.
3. Conduct public outreach regarding the use of ROW space in the downtown core
corridors in partnership with the City’s Communication Department.
4. Develop final concept designs for the Galena corridor living lab. The aesthetics will
be vetted through staff, Council, and the community.
5. Prepare an incremental safety program that outlines improvements in a step-by-
step manner beyond the Galena corridor to identify next steps.
6. Staff will continue implementing intersection improvement projects in the Core as
outlined in the Capital Improvement Plan. These improvement projects will be
consistent and replicable throughout the core.
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