HomeMy WebLinkAboutagenda.council.worksession.20221101AGENDA
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
November 1, 2022
4:00 PM, City Council Chambers
427 Rio Grande Place, Aspen
I.Work Session
I.A Parking Permit Policy Review
I.B Galena Cooper Living Lab
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2022.11.01_Parking Special Permit Worksession_Final.pdf
2022.10.24_Galena Cooper Living Lab Worksession_Final.pdf
1
MEMORANDUM
TO: City of Aspen Mayor and Council
FROM: Debbi Zell – Parking Programs Manager
Blake Fitch – Parking Operations Manager
PJ Murray, EIT – Project Manager
THROUGH: Pete Rice, PE – Deputy City Engineer/Director of Parking
Trish Aragon, PE – City Engineer
MEMO DATE: October 24, 2022
MEETING DATE: November 1, 2022
RE: Parking Special Permit Review
REQUEST OF COUNCIL: Staff is requesting direction from Council regarding Parking
Special Permit Review on two special permits offered by the City’s Parking Department.
The Special Permits staff is seeking direction on are:
• Business parking permits
• Lodge parking permits
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
The City of Aspen’s Parking Department’s mission is to provide safe, efficient, and
convenient parking options to residents, commuters, and visitors. The Parking
Department monitors and enforces on-street parking programs through courteous and
responsive customer service and through the years, has developed a list of special
permits that apply to a range of community members to assist in meeting the department’s
mission. The list of special parking permits is below, descriptions of each permit is
included as Attachment A.
• Business parking permits
• Electric vehicle parking permits
• Doctor parking permits
• Aspen Fire Department parking permits
• Lodge parking permits
o Short Term Rentals
• Mountain Rescue parking permits
• Neighborhood electric vehicle permits
• Residential parking permits
• Service Vehicles
2
In 1995, City Council enacted a comprehensive Transportation and Parking Plan in Aspen
which included paid parking for the first time. Aspen was the first community to implement
a “Pay and Display” parking system in North America.
Paid parking can be used as a management mechanism to reduce vehicle traffic and
congestion which improves vehicle circulation and air quality and is crucial to maintaining
the character of Aspen. The Transportation and Parking Plan was developed with this
goal in mind and intended to align with the Aspen Area Community Plan (AACP) and
values of this community.
Trends show that if parking is provided or loosely regulated, it encourages drivers to drive,
likely alone, contribute to traffic and congestion issues and park their vehicle rather than
take advantage of the many transit options available in the valley and in Aspen. This does
not align with the community’s values of preserving the character of Aspen as a small
mountain town, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and maintaining 1993 traffic levels
across the Castle Creek Bridge.
In the early 1990’s, before paid parking was put into effect, a committee was assembled
of citizens, business owners, residents, etc. and tasked with providing feedback to assist
staff and Council develop the comprehensive Transportation and Parking Plan. Specific
feedback from this committee related to ensuring parking for residents, business owners
and employees, emergency responders, etc. was addressed through creating special
permits for these groups. The special permits created at this time were for vehicles driven
by emergency responders, lodge/hotel guests, business owners/employees, and electric
vehicle owners. Special parking permits were last reviewed in 2002 by Council, at some
point since then the fees were modified.
DISCUSSION:
Staff has identified that the user experience could be improved via clarifications to the
special permits policies for parking in Aspen. These clarifications and modifications would
allow the policies to be updated for current parking trends and applied more equitably and
consistently throughout town. Two special permits have been selected to improve the
clarity around special permits, 1) Business parking permits 2) Lodge permits.
The purpose of the work session is to identify pieces of two special permits (business
parking permits and lodge permits) provided by the Parking Department to assure they
meet Council’s expectations and community goals. These two permits will be evaluated
independently to allow Council direction to staff to improve a parking policy that aligns
with Council goals. Staff will present the current process for these two special permits,
the parking impacts associated with them and potential improvements that could be
made. Staff will update a clear Parking Policy for the community based on the feedback
gained from Council.
Business Parking Permits
Business permits were established approximately 25 years ago to provide a means to
load and unload at their business within the downtown business core. Guidelines were
3
established in Ordinance Sec. 24.16.100 stating business delivery vehicles are allowed
to park in the Residential Permit Zones and justify a business permit for delivery use and
not to be used for commuting. Businesses are also required to use the designated loading
zones in the commercial core or otherwise pay the hourly fee for parking.
Currently, the permit fee is $125 a year per permit. Every permit has an average of 2
license plates that can utilize the permit. On a daily basis, it is estimated that 300 to 400
vehicles park in the residential zones near the downtown core utilizing this special permit.
The low fee may create an incentive for people to utilize a single occupancy vehicle rather
than utilizing other mobility options with minimal impacts on congestion.
Over the past few years, the city has released new programs to assist with loading and
unloading in the core such as, affordable smart loading zones and providing the first 15
minutes free in core parking spaces. Because there are now alternatives for businesses
that align with the original intent of the business vehicle permit, the continuation of this
permit could be replaced with the new systems within the city. This allows an affordable
delivery system that doesn’t require a specialized permit. For all day parking, business
owners can utilize the paid parking in the residential zones for $8 a day or utilize the
garage for $6 a day with the pass.
Alternatively, The City can raise the fee for the permit to be more equitable with the
commuting community. A permit fee of $2000 would be recommended for a yearly
business special permit. With this direction, Staff would recommend the following
modifications to the Municipal Code that would be presented through an ordinance
modification with two readings:
24.16.100. - Business vehicle permit.
To avoid placing an onerous burden upon businesses located within the commercial core that
require a vehicle for deliveries, business vehicle permits shall be made available upon
payment of the prescribed fee, to allow business delivery vehicles to park in the Residential
Permit Zones. Businesses shall be required to justify a business vehicle permit for business
delivery use (other than simply commuting) and adhere to strict qualifications. Businesses
shall also be required to use the designated loading zones in the commercial core or to
otherwise pay the hourly fee for parking.
In the case that Council chooses a yearly permit option, Staff will propose the qualification
structure requirements for a business at a later date and Council will have the opportunity
to review the structure.
Lodge Guest Permits
The Lodge guest permit intent was to provide relief to parking for the hotel guests after
the city introduced the paid parking program in 1995. This permit has not been updated
in approximately 25 years. Ordinance Section 24.16.070 indicates the permit is to be
utilized for guests only for the stay or seven days from the date of the issue to a guest.
Lodge guest permits may also be issued to individuals with unusual or special needs at
4
the discretion of the Transportation Director. The permit is only allowed to be used in the
residential zones.
The permit cost is $3 for the week. The number of permits a lodge can buy is not limited
and because of pricing and availability of these permits and difficulty in oversight, this
permit may be distributed to more than guests. In 2022, 3,226 permits have been issued.
A subset of the lodge permits are short term rental (STR) parking permits. The ordinance
does not explicitly state this permit’s applicability for short term rentals however over time
and with increased popularity, they have been considered a lodge permit. Currently,
property managers, brokers, etc. send license plate numbers via email to the Parking
Department staff daily in associated with STRs. There is currently no fee for these parking
permits associated with each property. Direction from Council on the lodging special
permit would need to include short term rental permits within the same purview.
Because there are now alternatives that align with the original intent lodge guest permit
program, such as utilizing our current residential permit program at $8/day, the lodging
guest permit could be removed from the special permits program.
Alternatively, Council could maintain the Lodge guest permit program and increase the
cost of the permit to $40 a week which is equivalent to the current residential parking day
passes for 5 days. With this direction, Staff recommends the following revisions to the
municipal code:
Sec. 24.16.070. - Lodge guest permit.
Lodge guests permits shall be issued, upon payment of the prescribed fee, to lodges within
an RPZ for the exclusive use of lodge guests during their period of stay at the lodge. Lodge
employees shall fill out the lodge guest permit completely, using permanent ink and instruct
their guests in the proper display and use of the lodge guest permit. The lodge guest permit
shall be valid either: (a) only during the guest's stay at the lodge or (b) for seven (7) days from
the date of issue to the guest, whichever is less.
Lodge guest permits may also be issued to individuals with unusual or special needs at the
discretion of the Transportation Director. The Transportation Director shall annually report to
the City Manager in an inventory of all lodge guest permits so issued.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS: The parking special permit program is an opportunity to
encourage behavior changes that align the AACP and are more equitable for the
community. The recommended changes will have financial implications to the City
however the benefit comes from an equitable application of parking regulations and
behavior changes that support the AACP goals. Based on Council’s decision, staff will
present the anticipated financial impacts expected in the parking special permit program.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: The proposed changes to the parking special permits
program realigns the use of these permits with the values of the community identified in
the AACP. These modifications aid the parking program to be a mechanism to reduce
5
vehicle traffic, congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining 1993 traffic levels
across Castle Creek Bridge, all which inherently improves air quality. It encourages
drivers to utilize the many transit options available in Aspen and valley wide.
ALTERNATIVES: Alternatively, no modifications or clarifications could be proposed to
the special parking permit program. The permits can continue to operate as they are
currently administered.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends modifications and clarifications be
implemented to the parking special permit program so that the Parking Department staff
may enforce based on current parking trends and so that the permits are applied more
equitably and consistently through town.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
Appendix A – Parking Special Permit Descriptions
Appendix B – Lodge Parking Space Availability
6
Appendix A – Parking Special Permit Descriptions
Business Parking Permits
Business permits were established approximately 25 years ago to provide a means to
load and unload at their business within the downtown business core. Guidelines were
established in Ordinance Sec. 24.16.100 stating business delivery vehicles are allowed
to park in the Residential Permit Zones and justify a business permit for delivery use and
not to be used for commuting. Businesses are also required to use the designated loading
zones in the commercial core or otherwise pay the hourly fee for parking.
Electric Vehicle Parking Permits
Approximately 10 years ago, the city started a promotion to increase the use of electric
and hybrid vehicles. Currently, all-electric vehicles may park for free in the residential
zones.
Doctor Permits
Aspen Valley Hospital requested parking permits for on-call staff. The permit has gone
virtual and there approximately 45 permits issued yearly. The fee for the yearly permit is
$100 and allows parking in any legal space.
Aspen Fire District Permits
Per ordinance Sec 24.04.120, the permit is to provide volunteer and fire first responders
with free parking in any legal parking spot as “Active Fire Personnel.”
Lodge Permits
The Lodge guest permit intent was to provide relief to parking for the hotel guests after
the city introduced the paid parking program we have today. Ordinance Section 24.16.070
indicates the permit is to be utilized for guests only for the stay or seven days from the
date of the issue to a guest. The permit is only allowed to be used in the residential zones.
Mountain Rescue Permit
All full members of mountain rescue can obtain a free permit for parking in the residential
area for on-call personnel.
Neighborhood Electric Vehicles
Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) permit is intended to promote small in-town
vehicles that do not utilize gas. The vehicles currently get to park in both residential and
the core at no cost.
Residential Parking Permits
7
Appendix A – Parking Special Permit Descriptions
A residential parking permit is free. A resident can obtain three permits and an additional
guest permit upon request. A resident is required to present a motor vehicle registration
or an operator’s license and proof of residency with the application.
The Residential Zone map is set through Section 24.16.010 and 24.16.030 ordinances.
Residential permit details can be found in Section 24.16.050 and 24.16.060.
Service Vehicles
Service vehicles including plumbers or electricians may utilize the virtual Pay by Phone
business account to manage their fleet vehicles. The cost for service vehicle parking is
half the price of the current parking rate.
8
Appendix B – Lodge Parking Space Availability
St Regis – Aspen Mountain Subdivision
159 hotel rooms
98 timeshare lodges
One residential unit
359 Parking Spaces
Limelight
125 Lodge Units
15 free market units
50 Parking Spaces for lodge units
30 Parking Spaces for free market units
Jerome
Aspen Times Building – 8 rooms
Main hotel – 94 rooms
Parking Spaces – 47
Gant
143 Units
100 parking spaces
Aspen Alps
Total Units: 76
Total Parking Spaces: 135
Aspen Square
Units: 104
Parking Spaces: 118
9
Appendix B – Lodge Parking Space Availability
Lodge Permit Use in 2015:
Lodge Quantity Cost
Limelight 1,994 $5,980
Molly Gibson 1,800 $5,400
Hotel Aspen 1,600 $4,800
Frias Property Management 533 $1,600
The Gant 495 $1,485
Innsbruck Inn 246 $738
Mountain Chalet 205 $615
Independence Square 200 $600
North of Nell 45 $135
Chateau Dumont 20 $60
Total 7,138 $21,413
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MEMORANDUM
TO: City of Aspen Mayor and Council
FROM: PJ Murray, EIT – Project Manager
Mike Horvath, PE – Senior Project Manager
Pete Rice, PE – Deputy City Engineer
THROUGH: Trish Aragon, PE – City Engineer
MEMO DATE: October 24, 2022
MEETING DATE: November 1, 2022
RE: Galena Cooper Living Lab (GCLL) – Safety in the Core
REQUEST OF COUNCIL: City staff is updating Council on the Galena Cooper Living Lab
(GCLL) installation from the Summer 2022 season. Staff will present the data, trends, and
the engagement report.
Staff is requesting direction from Council on the continuation of safety improvements in
the Galena/Cooper corridor and which pieces of the lab does Council want staff to focus
on.
Additionally, Staff is requesting direction on the turning motions at the Galena St and
Hyman Ave intersection – to maintain on-way on Hyman or return to pre-lab conditions.
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND: The “Safety and Mobility in the Downtown Core”
project is a vision for a safe and connected downtown core. The project is based largely
in the understanding that the City of Aspen right-of-way, which contains streets,
sidewalks, utility corridors, and more, is a public space with potential to serve the work
force, tourists, and the community more fully.
The “Safety and Mobility in the Downtown Core” project team is exploring how space
could be allocated differently in the ROW with three goals in mind:
1. Increase safety, ease and intuitiveness for all users, including pedestrians,
bicycles, and vehicles.
2. Improve mobility and connectivity in the downtown core for pedestrians and
bicyclists.
3. Balance the roadway by providing equitable right-of-way (ROW) space for transit
and/or shared mobility options, alternative modes of transportation and the use
and storage of single occupancy vehicles.
11
Council requested staff to develop a safety pilot program or living lab that incorporated
physical modifications to the roadway and programmatic modifications to test how these
elements can work together to improve safety in Aspen’s core and to gather community
feedback on these modifications.
The preferred concept for the living lab was presented during the August 23rd, 2021,
Council Work Session. The living lab proposed at this meeting was the first incremental
step to improving safety and mobility. A single corridor was chosen, Galena Corridor for
testing temporary improvements which included physical modifications to the corridor and
programmatic mitigation techniques for parking and transit options. Table 1 below outlines
the physical modifications to the Galena Corridor and Table 2 outlines the programmatic
mitigation techniques for the transit and parking programs associated with the Galena
Cooper Living Lab (GCLL)
Table 1. 2022 Proposed Living Lab
SAFETY MEASURE LIVING LAB COMPONENT – PHYSICAL
MODIFICATIONS
Improved sight lines Curb extensions at intersections
Convert head-in parking to parallel
parking
Install 4-way stop sign at the
intersection of Hopkins Ave and
Galena St
Increased mobility and connectivity Protected counter-flow bikeway
Shortened crosswalk width for
pedestrians
Safe, dedicated space + infrastructure for
all users to balance space allocation in the
ROW
Protected counter-flow bikeway
Formalize shared roadway for
cyclists + vehicles
Maintain vehicle access with
existing one-way road
Curb extensions at intersections
Minimize potential for unpredictable
interactions
Protected counter-flow bikeway
Remove left turn from Galena St to
Hyman Ave (figure 4 below)
12
Table 2. Programmatic Mitigation Techniques
PROGRAM GOAL MITIGATION TECHNIQUE
Parking mitigation – to maintain similar
parking availability levels to previous years
(2019 and 2021)
Parking space reclassification of
spaces on the commercial core
boundary
Increase 4-hour maximum parking
citation fee for violators
Limit construction parking in the
core via during on-season.
Stripe parking spaces on blocks
where parking space weren’t
striped before.
Transit mitigation – enhance existing
transit options to assist the community,
tourists and workforce navigate through
the core so the parking impacts can be
offset.
Install the Galena WE-Cycle station
in the living lab area
Cycling education efforts,
partnership with Transportation and
Parks Departments
Increase Downtowner hours during
peak service times.
DISCUSSION: The Galena Cooper Living Lab was installed from early July 2022 through
September 2022, about 12 full weeks. Throughout this time staff collected data on metrics
during the living lab such as onsite observations, accident data, hosted three pop-up
events in the lab area, attended four focus group meetings with ACRA and CCLC,
conducted a community wide questionnaire, interviewed businesses pre-install and
during the lab, and maintained a call and email log. The results of these efforts are
summarized in the paragraphs below. A detailed engagement report is included as
Appendix A and provides in depth information regarding the community input collected
throughout the lab. To summarize the living lab, a discussion on lab successes and
lessons learned is also included at the end of this section.
Physical Modifications Data: The goal of the physical modifications was to increase the
safety for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles. Data was collected by
staff to analyze the interactions between users while the Galena Cooper Living Lab was
installed. Below is a discussion of these data observations.
Daily field observations were collected between mid-June and mid-September at four
locations in the living lab area. These observations included positive/negative interactions
between users at intersections and along the roadway to analyze if the physical
modifications aided safer interactions.
Figure 1 below shows a significant decrease in the number of negative interactions
between users while the living lab was installed. Figure 1 includes the interactions
between all user groups, vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists.
13
Figure 1. Daily Total Negative Interactions – all user groups
Figure 2 specifically shows the decrease in negative interactions between motorists and
pedestrians. With the physical modifications to the lab area, roughly a 70% decrease in
negative interactions was observed. A similar trend is seen in both Figure 1 and Figure 2
which signifies that cyclists are not responsible for the majority of negative interactions
in the core.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Number of InteractionDate
Daily Total Negative Interactions
<- Heavy
Install Day Castle Creek
Bridge
construction
started ->
14
Figure 2. Negative Interactions between Motorists and Pedestrians
The Engineering Department has collected and managed accident data since 2014 in
partnership with the Aspen Police Department (APD). This data only includes accidents
where a report was filed with APD. Below, Figure 3 shows the number of accidents
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
6/226/276/307/57/77/117/137/157/197/217/278/28/48/238/268/309/69/89/13Number of InteractionsDate
Total Negative Interactions between Motorists & Pedestrians
<-Heavy
Install Day
Install
Castle Creek
Bridge
construction
started ->
15
reported between the months of July and September have decreased this in 2022
compared to past years.
Figure 3. Accident Data July-September
Based on field observations and accident report data, it can be concluded that the living
lab successfully improved safety between users with a 70% decrease in negative
interactions between users and fewer accidents reported. Specifically, it provided safer
interactions between pedestrians and vehicles, which are critical interactions and have a
significant risk of serious injury. The lab was less intuitive between cyclists and
pedestrians due to the counterflow bike lane. Measures can be taken to improve the
interactions between cyclists and pedestrians by placing barriers to separate, clear
delineation for pedestrians or by creating additional pedestrian space by widening
sidewalks.
Cyclist use in the living lab area was measured with a tube counter placed in the
counterflow bike lane for the duration of the living lab. This tube counter only counted
cyclists utilizing this space. Figure 3 below shows total number of cyclists each day using
the counter flow. August 13th was the highest cycle use with 301 cyclists counted with a
daily average of 150 cyclists per day.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022QuantityYear
Accident Data
Veh vs Ped Veh vs Veh Veh vs Bike Ped vs Bike
Veh vs Parked Single Veh No Report Filed
16
Figure 4. Galena Counterflow Tube Counter
The Galena St and Hyman Ave intersection was modified to remove the left turn option
from Galena to Hyman. This required Hyman Ave from Hunter St to Galena St to become
a one-way headed west – towards Ki Davis Fountain. It took the drivers roughly 3 weeks
to adjust to this turning motion change, but it removes a conflict point between vehicles
and pedestrians and inherently removes potential for severe injury and makes the
intersection safer.
There are two options for this turning motion moving forward:
Option 1 minimizes the potential for severe injury at this location and includes
installing a new stop sing on Galena and returning Hyman Ave to two-direction
traffic.
Option 2 eliminates the potential for severe injury by maintaining no left turn onto
Hyman Ave from Galena. Hyman would remain one-way with this option.
Programmatic Mitigation Data: The goal of the program mitigation techniques was to
provide programmatic changes to offset the parking impacts due to the living lab through
the parking program and transit program. Data was collected and analyzed to determine
the parking impacts of the living lab.
Parking Mitigation – The Galena Cooper Living Lab layout redistributed 44 parking
spaces in the Galena St Corridor to surrounding blocks within the commercial core
boundary. However, through mitigation techniques, the parking availability in the core was
not negatively impacted.
Staff monitored parking availability in the core throughout the living lab installation to
ensure the target parking occupancy of 85% was maintained similarly to past years. Data
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Cyclists per DayDate
Galena Counterflow Tube Counter
17
that was collected over the summer included parking occupancy data, 4-hour maximum
parking violations, and construction parking mitigation.
Daily Occupancy – Below is a graph that shows 2019, 2021 and 2022 maximum daily
parking occupancy data as a 5-day rolling average. The core experienced 44 days where
parking exceeded the 85% target threshold in 2019, 20 days in 2021 and zero days in
2022. Based on the parking availability data, more parking spaces were available in the
downtown core compared to past years.
Community feedback provided insight on the parking conditions in the core as well, how
the parking availability appeared to our locals and visitors. The community felt at large
that convenient parking was still difficult to find along Galena Avenue and Cooper Street,
within the lab area. As behavior started to change during the lab, Hunter and Spring
Streets started to see high occupancy, but continued to provide availability.
Figure 5. Parking Occupancy through September 2022
4-Hour Maximum Parking Citation – The living lab was a catalyst for updating the Parking
Department’s fee schedule related to parking citations permanently. The citation that was
updated and expected to have the largest impact on the living lab was the core overtime
fine, also known as the 4-hour maximum parking limit. This fine increased from $30 per
violation to a progressive fee structure: $50 >> $100 >> $200 >> Municipal court date for
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
1/1 3/2 5/1 6/30 8/29 10/28 12/27Percent Peak OccupancyDate
Daily Parking Occupancy in the Core
85% Threshold 2019 Occupancy 2021 Occupancy 2022 Occupancy
**2020 parking occupancy data was excluded from
the analysis due to the impacts of COVID-19.
18
subsequent violations. Below, Table 1 compares the number of citations written and the
fines collected in association with the core overtime violation.
Table 3. Core Overtime Year Comparison
Year Count Fines
2019 237 $7,1100.00
2021 268 $8,040.00
2022 310 $14,560.00
The number of citations issued has increased over time. Due to the focus on the lab
during the summer, it is anticipated that staff prioritized this corridor differently than in
2019 and 2021.Staff will continue to monitor this citation to determine how to better notify
the community of parking options, so the 4-hour maximum time limit is not violated. Staff
did not issue a municipal court date for repeated violations this year.
Construction Parking Mitigation – During the initial rounds of community feedback in
2021, a common theme was that construction parking in the core was heavily impacting
the ability for locals and visitors to park. Based on this feedback, staff revised the
Construction Mitigation Plan manual with specific criteria that needed to be met in order
to obtain a construction parking permit and decreased the number of spaces permitted
per job. Staff compiled the number of construction parking permits issued during the
summer months for 2019 – 2022, shown below in Figure 6. In late 2019, the Parking
Department transferred from manual construction permit tracking to the Sales Force
permit tracking system which explains the low number tracked in this year. Between 2021,
which was a heavy construction year in the core, and this year, the number of construction
parking permits issued in the core decreased by 43%. This is in part due to a major
construction project on hold and the new construction parking program.
19
Figure 6. Construction Parking Permit July - September
Transit Mitigation Techniques – The Galena St corridor plays an important role in
connecting existing transit methods. Staff recommended that existing transit options be
enhanced to assist the community, tourists and workforce navigate through the core
during the living lab.
WE-Cycle Station – The City partnered with WE-Cycle to install a new station within the
living lab boundary. Past feedback from WE-Cycle users showed the need for a station
closer to the mall and this project allowed for space to accomplish this request. The
Galena station replaced the Armory station on Hopkins Ave. WE-Cycle data, from July –
September, showed significant increase in users for the Galena station (2022 data)
compared to the Armory location (2018-2021 data), as seen below in Figure 5. A 42%
increase in use at the Galena station was seen in 2022 compared to the Armory station
in 2018. And a 68% station increase was seen at the Galena location over the Armory
between 2019 and 2022.
9 22
192
108
0
50
100
150
200
250
2019 2020 2021 2022QuantityYear
Construction Parking Permits July -September
20
Figure 7. WE-Cycle Ridership Numbers July - September
Micro Transit (Downtowner) Data – To enhance existing transit options in the core, micro
transit options were increased utilizing the vendor Downtowner. The city received the
TDM Innovation Grant from CDOT to assist with these enhancements. The grant covered
increased number of vehicles operating during peak times, generally 1pm-8pm daily. The
vendor, Downtowner, provided data showing a decrease in wait times during these peak
hours and a ridership increase compared to the same period last year for these hours
supported by the grant. Figure 8 below shows a 23% increase in ridership to and from
Galena Ave and Cooper St, the living lab area.
3,333 2,828
1,115
2,936
4,759
05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022RidersYear
WE-Cycle Summer Ridership Totals
21
Figure 8. July - September Rides to/from Living Lab Area
Figure 9 below shows the decrease in wait times during peak hours funded by the grant.
Roughly a 4% shorter wait time was provided to riders this year over last year.
Figure 9. Micro Transit Wait Times
Below, Figure 6 shows the GCLL area with a blue line. Also pictured are the hotspots for
micro transit in this area. The corner of Galena and Cooper, near Paradise Bakery is a
top hot spot in the lab as well as Kemosabe along Galena St. Additionally, Clarks Oyster
Bar and Ute Mountaineer are hotspots along Hyman Ave where physical modifications
were also made as part of the living lab.
3,362
1,965
2,624 3,223
05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000
2019 2020 2021 2022Rider QuantityYear
July -September Rides to/from Living Lab Area
22
Figure 10. Micro Transit Hotspots Summer 2022
In conclusion, the programmatic data shows behavioral shifts in the community. Parking
availability did not exceed the 85% threshold, construction parking was less impactful to
the core, and locals and visitors utilized the WE-Cycle and micro transit (Downtowner)
more frequently compared to past years.
Community Outreach Results: Community outreach efforts were continued through the
installation of the GCLL, feedback was collected from June 1 – September 30, 2022, in a
variety of avenues. Appendix A contains an engagement report compiled by PR Studio,
LLC (PRS), complete with comments, suggestions and ideas collected during the project.
During the duration of the GCLL, the project team and elected officials received significant
feedback, including: 198 direct comments via phone or email to the project hotline, 262
participants in the Aspen Community Voice (ACV) questionnaire, 1,400 visitors of the
project ACV page, 7 personal interviews, and comments via pop up events, farmers
market booths, and focus groups.
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As an example, some main themes heard from the community feedback phone and email
log and personal interviews are listed below. A complete list can be found in Appendix A,
the engagement report.
Lack of convenient parking – difficult for older adults and people with disabilities to
navigate limited parking availability in the core.
Strong dislike for the counterflow bike lane.
Lab appeared to prioritize cyclists over pedestrians and motorists – did not achieve
goals of balanced priority.
More advanced notice of projects requested – Downtown businesses prefer one-
on-one communication.
Vehicles continually circled the block during the lab.
The counter-flow bike lane is not needed.
A few main takeaways from the community wide questionnaire on ACV are below. A
complete summary of the questionnaire results can be found in Appendix A, the
engagement report.
Largest demographic to participate in the questionnaire were visiting the core to
shop and eat.
The most supported physical safety elements installed by the living lab were the
curb extensions and eliminating the left turn from Galena to Hyman.
Most respondents, regarding their experiences as a motorist, a pedestrian and as
a cyclist all chose that the lab had negative impacts on safety and mobility.
Many respondents felt that parking was more difficult with the lab.
The last question of the questionnaire was open ended. Most comments were
negative and not in support of the lab as a whole.
While the living lab configuration was not preferred by the community, it highlighted the
need for additional safety and mobility planning in this area. The lab sparked many
conversations about what it means to have safe access to sidewalks, parking, and biking
in the core. Overall, there is a desire from the downtown business community and the
community at large to continue to observe user behavior in this area, refine the street
configuration and continue to identify effective elements that will increase safety for all
users.
Successes and Lessons Learned: While the GCLL physical configuration was not
preferred by the community staff compiled a list of successes and lessons learned
regarding the lab.
Successes:
Increased pedestrian area is largely needed in the core. Where the counterflow
bike lane was installed, it was frequently used as pedestrian space.
Decreased the number of critical and severe interactions in the living lab area (i.e.
between pedestrians and vehicles).
WE-Cycle and micro transit (Downtowner) both saw an increase in riders this year.
Parking occupancy did not exceed the 85% threshold.
24
The community is engaged regarding safety in the core, significant feedback was
received and overall, there is a desire for the core to be safer for all users.
Lessons Learned:
The counterflow bike lane was not intuitive in this location.
Business community prefers one-on-one communication regarding changes in the
commercial core.
Installing temporary physical modifications to a roadway takes time and the timing
of the install is crucial to the success of the project. In the future, these projects
should always be installed during off season.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS: Budget is allocated for 2023 in anticipation of pedestrian
improvements for the Galena corridor from Hopkins to Hyman (i.e. the Armory intersection
– Ki Davis Fountain intersection). This work includes survey and design options of
permanent improvements for this area. Staff will update Council with a project estimate
after staff receives direction during this work session.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: Implementing improvements for pedestrians and cyclists
will not only improve the safety and mobility aspects of the core for all users, but it is
anticipated that a more balanced approach to corridors will reduce the carbon footprint of
the city as biking and walking within the core become more safe, convenient, and
equitable. Everyone who lives, visits, works, or enjoys Aspen is a pedestrian at one point
in their time here, not everyone is a vehicle driver or a cycler. Improving the experience
and safety of our most vulnerable user should be a top priority.
ALTERNATIVES: Alternatively, staff can propose a different corridor in the core to
explore safety improvements in.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends Council approve exploring safety
improvements for the Galena/Cooper corridor. Staff will return with design alternatives for
permanent improvements that enhance pedestrian areas and intersection predictability.
Staff also recommends that the one-way on Hyman remains permanently.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
25
GALENA COOPER LIVING LAB
ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY REPORT
SUMMER 2022 LAB
—
JUNE 1 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2022
26
2 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
Engagement Summary Overview 3
Approach and Goals
Stakeholders and Focus Groups
Comment Log and Phone
Field Observations 5
Overview
Report
Distribution Channels 6
Print and Media
Direct Mail
Social Media
Aspen Community Voice Page 8
Visitor Summary
Questionnaire Report
Ideas and Comments
Focus Groups 9
Summaries
Themes and Recommendations 15
Mobility and Safety in the Downtown Core
Communication and Connection
Parking int he downtown core
Outreach methods
CONTENTS
27
3 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
Field observations
were collected at
each intersection
for 12 weeks;
Interviews
with business
owners and
residents in
the area; some
door-to-door
outreach;
Development of project
materials and media
strategies; general letter
mailed to the project area,
live and recorded phone
line, email, webpage, digital
and social media;
Small event
outreach at pop-
ups and focus
group feedback ;
Recorded
feedback from
an online survey,
comments, and
ideas;
Approach and Goals
The Galena Cooper Living Lab Outreach and Engagement initiative program continued previous public
involvement work through the Safety and Mobility in the Downtown Core project. The outreach program
was led by the City of Aspen Engineering, Transportation and Parking Department with assistance
from our outreach consultant firm Project Resource Studio, LLC. Five main strategies were created for
collecting feedback throughout the Living Lab experience:
Feedback was collected from June 1 – September 30, 2022; this report is a culmination of all the comments,
suggestions, and ideas collected during this time. Alongside the Galena Cooper Living Lab outreach initiative, two city
programs focused on implementing increased safety measures and mobility in the downtown core were implemented,
influenced by the outreach that took place previously: Street Smart and the Parking Department enhancement
program helped support the commitment to encourage other transportation modes for ease of getting around town.
Use of the Downtowner increased during the Lab, and enforcement of the current parking rules, including revisiting
construction parking regulations.
The Galena Cooper Living Lab installed on South Galena Street from Hopkins Avenue to Cooper Avenue and
Cooper Avenue to Hunter Street will allow the project to be tested temporarily so modifications can be made prior
to any permanent safety and design improvements. The city research looked at how the right-of-way could be used
to increase safety in the downtown core and balance the needs of all users, encouraging more compliance with the
current rules.
High Profile
Project Area:
OUTREACH HISTORY
In early 2021, City engineering staff presented Council with the specific corridors in Aspen’s downtown core where
safety could be improved based on recommendations from previous masterplans and studies. Council directed
staff to develop a holistic plan that incrementally improves safety in the core. Engagement activities have included
communicating foundational information, conducting a needs assessment questionnaire on Aspen Community Voice,
and business outreach with ACRA and downtown core businesses.
The location of the Lab is in the most visited area of the downtown core. There are several
local businesses and residents in the area that expressed concerns about the timing of the
implementation of the Lab as well as the concern for lack of advanced notice.
ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY OVERIVEW
28
4 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
Stakeholders, Interviews and Focus Groups
The outreach team organized feedback from stakeholders in these main categories; downtown businesses and
residents, focus groups from ACRA and CCLC (Commercial Core Lodging Commission); direct field observations
from cyclists and motorists, and the general public. The Galena Cooper Living Lab received a high level of attention
and engagement based on the location, the type of changes to the roadway, and the reclassification of 44 parking
spaces in this area. All stakeholders were provided with multiple channels of communication to provide feedback:
Interviews
Seven personal interviews were conducted ahead of the Lab to gauge preferences, ideas, and knowledge of the
changes. These interviews were effective; more interviews would have helped to create a better understanding of the
goals for the Lab.
Appendix A – Pre-Lab Interviews
Comment Log and Direct Phone Line
Themes
• Strong preference to remove the Lab elements and bring back the parking
• Lack of convenient parking
• Difficult for older adults to navigate limited parking availability while accessing commercial businesses
• Strong dislike for the counterflow bike lane
• Passionate comments regarding bicycling in the downtown core and perceived preference for bikes over cars
• Comments observing a lack of safety improvements from the Lab
• Criticism around not enough advanced warning ahead of the Lab
Appendix B – Comment Log and Phone Log
198 direct
comments were
logged via
phone or email
Participants ranged
from downtown
business owners to
local and second
homeowners
All comments
were logged and
recorded on a
spreadsheet
The phone line was
an effective way to
collect feedback
from people who
wanted to remain
anonymous.
29
5 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
Overview
Daily and weekly field observations were a key component of the Galena Cooper
Living Lab summer program. A representative from the Engineering office
conducted field observations twice a week for 12 weeks concluding on the last
week of the Lab. The observer noted interactions between pedestrians, motorists,
and cyclists. Data points are presented in this report under three main categories:
Appendix C – Field Observations
Living Lab Analysis and Graphs
• Daily observation notes
Peak Parking Occupancy in the Core 2022
• Parking availability
Galena Street Tube Counter Data
• Use of the counterflow bike lane
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
30
6 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
Aspen Times
September 3
September 5
September 9
September 13
September 17
September 19
Aspen Daily News
September 2
September 6
September 10
September 12
September 15
September 21
Digital Ads
Digital Ads ran for the month of August and September in the Aspen Times
Mailer
June 10, 2022 – Overview letter mailed to 700 downtown addresses
Press Release
• June 14, 2022: City Launching Summer Living Lab on Galena and Cooper Corridor
• September 22, 2022: Next Steps for the Galena Cooper Living Lab Experiment
City of Aspen Website
• Homepage Newsflash
• News Page
• Aspen Community Voice: Project Page
Media Coverage
• AT, June 19, 2022: Move over, cars: Bikes getting their own lane in downtown Aspen | AspenTimes.com
• ADN, June 25, 2022: Local news in brief, June 25 | News | aspendailynews.com
• AT, June 26, 2022: Aspen to increase parking fines for the first time in 20 years | AspenTimes.com
• ADN, June 30, 2022: Downtown businesses speak out against Living Lab parking changes | News | aspendailynews.com
• AT, July 10, 2022 Aspenites fired up over traffic experiment in downtown core | AspenTimes.com
• AT, July 12, 2022 Business owners spew frustration at Aspen’s electeds over bike lane experiment | AspenTimes.com
• AT, July 27, 2022 Aspen electeds consider changes to downtown parking experiment | AspenTimes.com
• AND, August 2, 2022 Local news in brief, August 2. | News | aspendailynews.com
• AND, August 24, 2022 Aspen City Council supports winter changes to Living Lab | News | aspendailynews.com
• AT, August 24, 2022 Galena-Cooper living lab will end September 26 with some features to remain in October | AspenTimes.com
Print Ads
Print ads were focused on “Experimenting the Lab and a drive to take the survey.”
Print and Media
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
31
7 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
kinsAve NMonarchStFrancisWhitakerPark
Paepcke Park
EDurant Ave
EHymanAve
ECooperAve
SAspenStAve
SummitSt
JuanSt
GilbertSt
Grand HyattAspen
LimelightLodge
Wagner Park
Lumberark
WilloughbyPark
SGalena S tEBleekerSt
Hotel Jerome
ObermeyerPlace FraternialOrderoftheEaglesAspenPoliceandPitkinSheriff
Rio GrandeBuilding
SOriginalStDeanSt
AspenMountainGondolaPlaza
Aspen AlpsPark
Glory HolePark
Gibs
NNewbury Park
Herron Park
EDurantAve
Ne a leAveEHopkins
SWestEndStDeanSt
Q
W
0 0.07 0.150.04
mi
E Hyman
A
v
e
E Durant
A
v
e
E Hyman
A
v
e
E Hopkin
s
A
v
e
E Main St
E Main St
S Original StN Monarch StS Hunter StS Mill StSilver Circle Ice Rink
MountainChalet
St Regis
Rubey ParkTransit Center
Aspen ArtMuseum
Wheeler OperaHouse
E Cooper
A
v
eS Galena St3
12
STREET SMART • SAFETY IN THE CORE
GALENA COOPER LIVING LAB
SUMMER 2022
PROJECT GOALS
Develop a holistic plan that incrementally improves safety and mobility in Aspen’s downtown core by balancing
priorities for all users.
• Improve the convenience, safety, and quality of experience for bicyclists and pedestrians on streets and trails.
• Balance user priorities by providing dedicated spaces for each transportation mode
• Develop a strategic parking plan that manages the supply of parking and reduces the adverse impacts of the
automobile.
• Encourage alternative forms of transportation to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
WHEN
Summer 2022
Lab installation will occur at the end of June. Official data collection and outreach will continue until the end
of September.
WHAT
A Galena Cooper Living Lab will test temporary safety modifications in Aspen’s downtown core by making
enhancements to sidewalks, roads, and parking.
WHERE
• South Galena Street from Main Street to Cooper Avenue
• Cooper Avenue at Galena Avenue to Hunter Street
HOW
1. Formalize shared roadway for cyclists and vehicles
2. Dedicated counter-flow bikeways with protected rubber curbs
3. Parallel parking
4. Curb extensions at intersections
5. Widened pedestrian areas
6. No left turn onto Hyman from Galena
STREET SMART • SAFETY IN THE CORE
GALENA COOPERLIVING LAB
Now Entering
This Living Lab is testing
temporary modifications to
INCREASE SAFETY
AND MOBILITY
for pedestrians, cyclists & drivers.
Bike it. Walk it. Drive it.
And let us know about your experience at:
Aspen.gov/LivingLab
Summer 2022
Summer 2022
Summer 2022
Summer 2022
Let us know about your experience at: Aspen.gov/LivingLab
Let us know about your experience at: Aspen.gov/LivingLab
Let us know about your experience at: Aspen.gov/LivingLab
Let us know about your experience at: Aspen.gov/LivingLab
970.340.4334 GalenaCooperLivingLab@aspen.gov
970.340.4334 GalenaCooperLivingLab@aspen.gov
970.340.4334 GalenaCooperLivingLab@aspen.gov
970.340.4334 GalenaCooperLivingLab@aspen.gov
STREET SMART • SAFETY IN THE CORE
STREET SMART • SAFETY IN THE CORE
STREET SMART • SAFETY IN THE CORE
STREET SMART • SAFETY IN THE CORE
Bike it. Walk it. Drive it.Share your Experience.
SURVEYOpen thru 9/23/22
Bike it. Walk it. Drive it.Share your Experience.
SURVEYOpen thru 9/23/22
Bike it. Walk it. Drive it.Share your Experience.
SURVEYOpen thru 9/23/22
Bike it. Walk it. Drive it.Share your Experience.
SURVEYOpen thru 9/23/22
GALENA COOPER
GALENA COOPER
GALENA COOPER
GALENA COOPER
LIVING LAB
LIVING LAB
LIVING LAB
LIVING LAB
SUMMER
2022
Bike it.
Walk it.
Drive it.
EXPERIENCE THE
GALENA COOPER LIVING LAB
And then take the survey
STREET SMART • SAFETY IN THE CORE
THE GALENA COOPER LIVING LAB
Summer 2022
A living lab installed on Galena & Cooper will
test temporary modifications to sidewalks,
roads and parking in an effort to
INCREASE SAFETY & MOBILITY
for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
One-way shared road with cyclists and drivers.
Dedicated counter-flow bikeway with protective curbs.
Parallel parking on both sides of Galena and one block of Cooper.
Improved sightlines between cyclists and parked vehicles.
Experience the Living Lab this summer.
Bike it, Walk it, Drive it and please share
your input at AspenCommunityVoice.com
4
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
»»»» »»»»
Fact Sheet
Mailer
Print Ads
Farmer’s Market A-Frame
Survey Handout
32
8 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
Appendix D - Data report for questions, comments, the questionnaire and the ideas page
Page visitors and participants to the Galena Cooper Living Lab webpage on Aspen Community Voice were
provided several opportunities to submit a comment or engage in the survey.
ASPEN COMMUNITY VOICE
Visitor Summary
From June 1 through October 4, 2022, the page saw 1,400 total visitors.
310
participated in
the survey or
contributed ideas
593
performed
multiple actions
(downloaded
documents, visited
key dates, etc.)
946
visited at least
one page
262
participated in
the survey
56
contributed
to ideas
16
asked questions
Questionnaire Report
262 individuals participated in the survey.
Demographic: The largest demographic, 208 chose I shop and eat in the downtown core. 85 work in the downtown
core. 32 own a business in the downtown core, and 61 live in the downtown core.
Survey Results: The majority of participants, when rating each of the Lab’s design elements, were greatly diminished,
diminished, or neither improved nor diminished. The design elements that received the highest ratings for Improved
and greatly improved are Curb extensions at the intersection and eliminating the left turn from Galena onto Hyman.
A majority of the respondents (75.6%) regarding their experience as a motorist chose: negative impacts on safety and
mobility, followed by 10.7% choosing neutral, 8% Positive improvements to safety and mobility, 3.4% not sure yet, and
2.3% choosing not applicable.
A majority of the respondents (67.6%) regarding their experience as a pedestrian chose: negative impacts on safety
and mobility, 16% chose neutral, 9.5% positive improvements to safety and mobility, 4.2% not sure yet, and 2.7%
choosing not applicable.
When asked to share their experience as a cyclist: 56.5% chose: negative impacts on safety and mobility, 9.2% chose
neutral, 9.9% positive improvements to safety and mobility, 3.1% not sure yet, and 21.4% choosing not applicable.
Regarding what, if any, changes were noticed because of the Living Lab, allowing participants to choose all that
applied: 214 - parking is more difficult, 199 - circulation has not improved, 171 - more conflicts between pedestrians and
cyclists, 166 - site lines and visibility have not been improved, 131 - more conflicts between motorists, 29 - parking is
more difficult, 21 - better circulation, 15 - fewer conflicts between motorists, 14 - fewer conflicts between pedestrians
and cyclists, 4 - easier to park. The final open-ended question had 228 responses, the majority being negative, not in
support of the Lab as a whole.
33
9 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
Participant and Session Overview
Throughout the Living Lab the project team attended and presented to several small groups as well as hosted pop-up
outreach events in the area. The following is a summary of each of the meetings. Notes were taken at the meeting and
provided to the facilitators and organizers after the meeting.
FOCUS GROUPS
— ACRA Board Meeting Presentation Feedback Summary | June 28, 2022
The Galena Cooper Lab team presented to the ACRA board a summary of parking changes and the
implementation elements including outreach and collection methods. Members of the ACRA board provided
the following feedback and input:
• Board members would like to see how the effectiveness of the Lab and parking changes will be observed
and would like the team to return to present findings and feedback
• One recommendation for the city to observe and quantify whether there is increased traffic circulation in
the core as a result of the change to Galena
• Safety is a concern and should be measured
• Request for the City to rescind the rule that allows bikers to bike through stop signs in the core.
[Answered.]
• Concerned about the effectiveness of 4-hour parking limitations in the core and discussion regarding the
4-hour time limit in the core as one that might be punitive to businesses and employees in the core
• Concerns about the convenience and access for employees to park closer to work
• One board member would like to see better compliance to current safety rules
• Comments concerning that input from listening sessions and outreach was not reflected in the changes
• Suggestion for better enforcement of pedestrians using the crosswalks
• General comment regarding people in the downtown core are unpredictable and are not paying
attention while driving, walking or biking
• Comment regarding the bike lane direction to counterflow of traffic
• Torre supported the efforts as a policy direction of city council
• More outreach is needed to understand the direct correlation between business and the changes taking
place this summer with the Lab
• ACRA will help the team to connect with businesses in this area
34
10 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
The Galena Cooper Lab (GCLL) team attended the CCLC meeting. The following summary is a combination of
direct comments and feedback. We are following up with the CCLC in August.
• Question regarding how did the City make this decision?
»The Lab is more for bikers in the core; biking anarchy.
• We need more enforcement on bike culture and rules.
• The Lab is hurting commercial activity by not parking in the core.
• We need to get bikes out of the core.
• There are many conflicts with bikes and pedestrians.
• CCLC expressed discontent with the initial outreach and it seemed like the Lab timeline was not noticed
in advance.
• More follow up and outreach is needed.
• Prefer door to door outreach and in person.
— Commercial Core Lodging Commission Feedback Summary | July 6, 2022
The Galena Cooper Lab (GCLL) team was at the Aspen Saturday Market on July 16, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
to collect feedback. Approximately 38 people stopped by to discuss the Lab.
• The ratio of people against the Lab vs. people for it was more than 2:1
• Many people indicated they would like to see the area become closed-off for pedestrians only, like the
other malls in town
• People were very upset to have fewer parking spaces
• People did not widely understand how/where the bikes are supposed to go
• Many people expressed feeling unsafe as a pedestrian, cyclist, and driver
— Aspen Saturday Market Feedback Summary | July 16, 2022
Sample comments:
“Parking spaces are more important”
“Bike lane experiment is a failure; creates a higher
likelihood of accidents
“Bikes in Aspen are used for recreation, not
transportation”
“People aren’t paying attention to double parkers”
“So many pedestrians in the bike lane”
“I like the idea that cars/bikes/pedestrians are
separated”
“Bravo City Council! Thumbs up to the Lab.
Would like to see it landscaped.”
“Many people indicated they would like to see
the area become closed-off for pedestrians only,
like the other malls in town”
“Parallel parking seems tight”
“I really like the lab”
“No good for merchants or drivers”
“People are parking in the bike lane”
“No one can parallel park”
“No one is following the rules”
“I’m terrified to cross the street”
35
11 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
The Galena Cooper Lab (GCLL) team hosting a pop-up event in the early evening from 6:00 -7:00 pm.
Approximately 12 people stopped by to discuss the Lab and individual interviews were conducted, direct
comments reflected below:
• People do not parallel park
• Aspen needs more parking
• Looking for parking is frustrating
• It is great for bikes and bad for cars.
• No one likes change – the Lab configuration is safer.
• Likes the bike lane and thinks its good.
• This is an interesting experiment; the Lab is not popular and this is not going to work
• Not an ideal situation for Aspen
• The parallel parking feels like it sticks out.
• Parking is floating in the middle of the street
• Feels misguided to get rid of parking
• It is ridiculous to takeaway parking, the businesses are very unhappy
• We have the most expensive rent in the country and people need to park close stores and restaurants.
• We need better signage for the Lab. The lack of signage creates an unsafe environment.
• We need education and signage.
— Pop-up event at Harper and Hudson | Tuesday Cruiseday- Feedback Summary | July 19, 2022
36
12 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
The Galena Cooper Lab (GCLL) team set up a pop-up event next to the ACRA kiosk on Galena and Cooper on
Thursday, August 4, from 11 a.m – 2 p.m. to collect feedback. Approximately 50 people stopped to discuss the
Lab.
• The ratio of people against the Lab vs. people for it was about evenly split
• Many people indicated they would like to see the area become closed-off for pedestrians only, like the
other malls in town
• Several people indicated they would like one side of the street to be head-in parking and the other side
to have no parking and a wider bike lane
• People were mildly upset about fewer parking spaces
• Many people thing visitors to Aspen aren’t here long enough to learn how to properly use the Lab
• People were split as to which is safer: parallel parking vs. head-in
• One person thought the area looks better than before
• Many people did not see the purpose of the Lab
• Several people commented that it seemed unsafe to have the bike lane between the sidewalk and row of
parked cars
• Several people commented that there are too many pedestrians in the counterflow bike lane
• Many people love the idea of making the core more pedestrian friendly
• A few people commented that this is the wrong way to discourage people not to drive into town
— Aspen Pop-Up Summary | August 4, 2022
37
13 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
The Galena Cooper Lab (GCLL) team set up a pop-up event next to the ACRA kiosk on Galena and Cooper on
Monday, August 15, from 1:45 – 3:15 p.m. to collect feedback. Approximately 26 people stopped to discuss the
Lab.
• The people opposed to the Lab slightly edged out the people in support of the Lab
• Many people pointed to e-bikes at high speeds as problematic.
• There were comments that Aspen visitors don’t understand how to drive around town, and the Lab, with
its differences, makes it even more difficult to navigate
• The one consistent complaint was taking away parking spaces. Reclassifying the spaces elsewhere is not
seen as a positive to the people who work downtown and know that they now have fewer options for
parking during their day.
• People said the Lab makes no sense.
• People think Council is fixing something that is not broken.
• One business owner expressed concern that the feedback will not be made public or taken into
consideration.
— Aspen Pop-Up Summary | August 15, 2022
Sample comments:
“I don’t like losing parking spots
“I’m all for the bike lanes; we live in Denver, where the
bike lanes are saviors.”
“Aspen is leagues above even major cities with its
transportation systems.”
“Does nothing to make it easier to get up and down the
street.”
“It looks terrible visually.”
“Removing the left turn onto Hyman makes it difficult to access businesses on Hyman.”
“Bravo City Council! Thumbs up to the Lab. Would like to see it landscaped.”
“Nobody uses the bike lane.”
“People spending $500/head at restaurants
shouldn’t have to walk long distances.”
38
14 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
The Galena Cooper Lab (GCLL) team participated in a focus group with ACRA board members and
representatives. This follow up meeting was conducted mid-lab to collect feedback. The following is a summary
of the comments:
• Request for further discussion and buy-in from the commercial core business community regarding
parking strategies, mobility, and transit. There is a desire to the make the downtown core safer.
• In general, participants questioned if people really did feel safer; many comments suggested that they
did not feel safer.
• Cycling was a topic of discussion; comments regarding that the Lab was not safe for cyclists.
• Paradise corner feels very congested and needs more attention to the design of the Lab in this area.
• There was a question regarding enforcement and crosswalk enforcement.
• Several ideas were discussed for possible alternative parking times shorter than 4 hours to accommodate
people getting picked up and dropped off: more short-term convenient parking times.
• Elements of the Lab did not seem intuitive.
• Users of the core commercial are not bikers; suggesting that too much consideration was given to bikers
– another view voiced interest in supporting alternative methods of transportation.
• Desire for the City to be more proactive and spend more time on collaboration – commercial core
businesses would like to be in the experiment together.
• The metrics for measuring the success is failed.
• Cars are circling and it is confusing directionally.
• Businesses rely on the convenient parking for commercial activity.
• The Lab seemed like a stressful experience in an already stressful environment.
— ACRA board members and representative Focus Group | August 16, 2022
39
15 Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
Mobility and Safety in the Downtown Core
The Galena Cooper Living Lab project area is a congested area of the downtown core and one of the most visited
areas in Aspen. There is a mix of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists all in the same area. The Lab highlighted the need
for safety and mobility planning in this area. While the Lab configuration was not preferred, the Lab itself sparked
many conversations about what it means to have safe access to sidewalks, parking, and biking in the downtown core.
There is a desire from the downtown business community and the community at large to continue to observe user
behavior in this area, refine the street configuration and continue to identify safety elements that will increase safety
for all users.
THEMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Communication and Connection with downtown core businesses
Throughout the Lab, the downtown business community played a key role in providing feedback and recommendations
on the user experience in this area. There is a desire from the City and the business community to create better
lines of communication, creating a mutual relationship to address issues, not just parking, traffic, and mobility but
the challenges facing small businesses today. Aspen is a small mountain town with the same urban issues faced by
metropolitan cites. Maintaining a personal connection to local businesses will allow for the creation of shared goals
and outcomes. The businesses in the downtown core have expressed the need for more frequent communication
and touch points ahead of any new traffic or parking changes. The preferred method of communication is one-on-one
communication.
Parking in the downtown core
Throughout the Lab engagement window, several comments and concerns focused on the lack of “convenient” parking
in the downtown core. Participants expressed concerns about the lack of parking and the direct correlation between
parking and the level of business. The Lab removed 44 parking spaces in the project area and redistributed them
within the downtown core boundary. More work is needed to provide education and an overview of Aspen’s long-
term parking program and the availability of parking spaces just beyond Galena Street. As the need for alternative
transportation increases, there is concern that the availability of parking in the downtown core area is limited. The Lab
demonstrated a need for short-term pickup and drop-off parking.
Outreach methods
Focus groups were very effective as they provided the personal connection participants requested as well as an
opportunity for dialogue. The Lab provided an opportunity to test a variety of methods for outreach; some were more
effective than others. Direct mail did not seem very effective, as we heard from very few people who received a letter
ahead of the start of the Lab. Allowing participants to call a dedicated phone line was very effective, and many people
utilized this tool to provide feedback.
40
Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
APPENDIX A
41
Galena and Cooper Living Lab Interviews Pre Lab – Notes from Interviews
1
Interview 1 Thrift Ship - June 13, 2022
1) Do you know about the Galena and Cooper Living Lab?
- No did not know
- Yes does think something should happen
2) What are your current observations about the ease of pedestrian movements, parking, and cyclists in
the area?
- Very limited parking
- Already shoppers that buy furniture is hard (drive to drop off)
- Not a car concerned
3) What are your concerns about the Living Lab and the changes to parking?
- Not great observers
4) Do you think your customers will have a better experience accessing your business with these
improvements?
5) Anything else you would like to share?
- No, nothing at this time
Interview 2 Paradise Bakery Aspen - June 13, 2022
o Do you know about the Galena and Cooper Living Lab?
- Knows the owners have attended meetings.
o What are your current observations about the ease of pedestrian movements, parking, and cyclists in
the area?
- Driving and cycling is treacherous
- People are walking in different directions
- Really dangerous now
- Having something more structured is great
- Bikes riders will benefit
o What are your concerns about the Living Lab and the changes to parking?
- It will take time for people to get use to.
- Most of our customers will get use to where to park
o Do you think your customers will have a better experience accessing your business with these
improvements?
- We are a destination; people will reach us regardless
o Anything else you would like to share?
42
Galena and Cooper Living Lab Interviews Pre Lab – Notes from Interviews
2
- Curious if we will have bike rack?
- Hopefully, it will improve mobility.
Interview 3 Ute - June 14, 2022
o Do you know about the Galena and Cooper Living Lab?
- Did not know
o What are your current observations about the ease of pedestrian movements, parking, and cyclists in
the area?
- The pedestrian movement seems fine
- Biking in the core is scary, with people backing up
- Driving into the area – nightmare
- People are waiting to park – the weekend is terrible
- One way is fine
o What are your concerns about the Living Lab and the changes to parking?
- Concerns about business traffic
- Being on the street is better for us
- See a lot of people waiting to park in the area
- Knows that illegal parking fines are increasing – if you are wealthy, you won’t care
- Not sure if it will increase circulation
- Construction parking – the whole block is taken up by construction trucks
- They can park elsewhere and walk – drop off tools
o Do you think your customers will have a better experience accessing your business with these
improvements?
- Can’t answer that at that time
o Anything else you would like to share?
- A good thing to try
Interview 4 Aspen Fire Department – June 20, 2022
o Do you know about the Galena and Cooper Living Lab?
- Yes
o What are your current observations about the ease of pedestrian movements, parking, and cyclists in
the area?
- Pretty hectic – I feel like that for the majority of the area
- Lots of people are moving through the area – surprised we don’t
o What are your concerns about the Living Lab and the changes to parking?
43
Galena and Cooper Living Lab Interviews Pre Lab – Notes from Interviews
3
- Not really; if it were to expand – this would be hard to operate
- Nose-in helps with Department to respond to calls quickly
o Do you think your customers will have a better experience accessing your business with these
improvements?
- N/A
o Anything else you would like to share?
- Not really – glad the City is looking at this.
- Do rely on parking in front of the station to be the way it will be
Interview 5 Mi Chola – June 20, 2022
o What are your current observations about the ease of pedestrian movements, parking, and cyclists in
the area?
- People leave their brains at home
- People are distracted
- Everything in the core should be a downtown stop
o What are your concerns about the Living Lab and the changes to parking?
- Seems like you are deleting parking spaces
- Only a bike lane between the sidewalk and the parking
- Protective bike lane on each side of the parking
o Do you think your customers will have a better experience accessing your business with these
improvements?
- Deleting parking spaces are never good
- Underground parking is needed
- The downtowner is great with underground parking
- Shut down all of downtown
o Anything else you would like to share?
- Living Lab is a terrible idea
- Less parking is no good
- City is not creating more parking and is pushing the problem out
- What is your twenty-year plan? One street at a time doesn’t make sense
- Build a garage and then change the streets
- A little piece at time
- What is your end goal?
- Pushing this issue out
- What issues will it create?
44
Galena and Cooper Living Lab Interviews Pre Lab – Notes from Interviews
4
- You know parking is an issue.
- Wants customers here all day 11 am – 9 pm – we shouldn’t have people want to move
cars
- Not a creative solution to parking to have people move around
- Hard to find two-hour parking
- Employees like a routine – fill parking garage for workers
- Park in the same spot every time
Interview 6 PE101 - June 21, 2022
o Do you know about the Galena and Cooper Living Lab?
- No
o What are your current observations about the ease of pedestrian movements, parking, and cyclists in
the area?
- The one-way and adding bikers will be a nightmare
- So many accidents
- People won’t stop driving through this area
- Nothing leading to the bike lane
- Confusion will be bad
- Not great bikers and e-bikers
o What are your concerns about the Living Lab and the changes to parking?
- Have you seen how many people don’t know how to park
o Do you think your customers will have a better experience accessing your business with these
improvements?
- Do not support people living and working in this town
- Not supporting locals and businesses at all
o Anything else you would like to share?
- So many customers pull up and shop
- Money people
- Everyone thinks this is awful
- To do this to the busiest part of town is awful
- People don’t use crosswalks
- These things happen and no one has contacted me about this – the City does not take into
account businesses
- Lots of accidents on the street and commotion already
- The un-safety of this is huge
- Not great
45
Galena and Cooper Living Lab Interviews Pre Lab – Notes from Interviews
5
Interview 7 Pitkin County Dry Goods - June 30, 2022
o Do you know about the Galena and Cooper Living Lab?
- Read in paper
- Knew about the changes in June
- Was not part of the outreach in the Fall
- I was aware – Kenny Smooth told him
- He knew there was talk about the downtown core parking in June
- No one contacted him directly
o What are your current observations about the ease of pedestrian movements, parking, and cyclists in
the area?
- The one-way and adding bikers will be a nightmare
- So many accidents
- People won’t stop driving through this area
- Nothing leading to the bike lane
- Confusion will be bad
- Not great bikers and e-bikers
o What are your concerns about the Living Lab and the changes to parking?
- $3-$4 million in merchandise will be at risk for not selling because of the parking
disruptions [ pays the highest rent in town to have adequate parking for retail]
- AAA location requires good access to parking
- Disruption in parking is a major concern
- Very upset about the GCLL and it will hurt business
- Has been in business for 52 years
- The City is ramming this down our throat
- My employees are also affected by this
o Do you think your customers will have a better experience accessing your busines s with these
improvements?
N/A
o Anything else you would like to share?
- The City is looking at urban solutions that don’t work here
- Very short notice
- This is a big disruption in July and August
- Feels like we have no control over things that affect our business
- Very update about the communication
- Doesn’t trust the online survey
- Need to ask locals and employees what they think
46
Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
APPENDIX B
47
COMMENT LOG 6/9/22 - 9/19/22
DATE CALLER |PHONE | EMAIL COMMENT ACTION
6/9/22 Kenny Smith Meridian
Jewelers
via Email
Thanks for reaching out. I (and many other business leaders) were under the
impression that this idea was still under discussion, and that we would have the
opportunity to voice our concerns publicly about our opposition to this concept.
At the last meeting, we were able to listen to a proposal, but were, specifically,
not given the opportunity to speak. It appears that you are teeing this up as a
forgone conclusion. This is not following the path of “public outreach” as had
been described by Pete, PJ, and others.
May I ask when we, business owners along the affected route, will actually have
the opportunity to speak our minds on this? Please provide such an
opportunity, or we will create one of our own. I’m sorry to be so direct here,
but I feel we have been deceived through this process so far.
Pete set up an individual meeting.
48
6/9/22 Teige
PE101
via Email
After further review, this is more concerning than I thought. Not only are you
illuminating parking for customers and locals in a already busy area, but you are
adding more confusion, bike traffic and relying on people to parallel park on one
of the busiest street.
If there is anything we can do to review and change this let us know. I am sure I
could get every business and store owner on this block to agree. Kathleen met with her in person. She
thinks the parking change will affect
her business.
6/29/22 Bike Shop Owner PJ led an outreach conversation
6/29/22 Restaurant Owner PJ led an outreach conversation
6/29/22 Dawn Frank Woods office Called and is concerned about lack of parking.
Said she never received the letter.
Returned call and offered to connect
with tenants.
6/29/22 Naomi Gleason Concerned about the removal of parking in the downtown core.
Feels like you don’t want anyone here or any employees to park in downtown.
Returned call
6/29/22 Barb Pitchford Who’s idea is it to do one lane w/ bike lanes in the core? While also decreasing
parking?!
From a longtime local who also, by the way, usually bikes in town rather than
drives, this ‘new reconfigured experiment’ is a bad idea.
6/29/22 Caller Question regarding carpooling.Returned call
6/29/22 David Fleischer Very upset about the lack of parking.Kathleen called and conducted a 30-
minute interview. [Please refer to
interview notes.]
6/29/22 970-948-2710 Lived in town for 35 years
Doesn’t like that head-in parking was taken away
Doesn’t like any parking spots going away
49
6/30/22 Shannon Andrews Comment regarding – taking away parking spots around Paradise Bakery.
Having people circle around doesn’t help the environment.
Never had a problem biking around.
Older parents and can’t walk to Paradise.
They need to be able to park close to get to businesses. The cost of living is
gotten higher, and Silver Peak Grill now has no parking spots to get to the only
local dining spot.
Now we have a local business that is going to go out of business because they
can’t park.
This is a terrible idea and we need to take care of local businesses.Kathleen called back, there was no
voicemail.
7/1/22 Meg
9 Alice Lane
970-379-3034
This is outrageous, this town does not need to make every street available to
bicycles – this is a step too far.
This is not fine.
Take away parking is overbearing. People who are older need to park.
This is the worst choice. Please bring this to the intention of the council.
Wish we could have left the short term drop off.
Kathleen called back.
7/1/22 Ann Long Not in favor want it taken away – more problems for cars than bikes.
We live in a car society, can’t always ride bike.
Making it impossible for Paradise –
I’m local.
7/1/22 Harold – Frias Properties
970-920-2313
Manage property in the Independence
Need a space for guests to check-in
The check in space and taxi space is gone
7/1/22 Snow Sam
970-379-9897
Can the parking go back the way it was.
Kathleen called back
7/1/22 Caller New lab is a disaster and does not work and a disaster at the holiday.Caller did not leave a name.
50
7/1/22 Michael Tulio
525 Cooper
Business in the core –
Riding bike in middle of street
Cars looking for spots to park
Does not read paper – not aware at all
Gets information from clients
Was not contacted before this started
7/1/22 Ricky Parking is awful
This is less safe
Stacking
Loss of parking
Poorly throughout
No benefit to this
Made this worse
People are frustrated
Parking is backing up when people are parking
Bad deal
Parking is paramount to success
Getting worse
7/1/22 Jim Farrey
Real Estate
Gone off the rails
Temporary insanity
Feels like a forced agenda
The bike lane could be on one side only
Bike lane on one
I feel that they are eliminating parking for local businesses
Very short sided
51
7/1/22 Christopher
Martin
525 E. Cooper
Parking was impossible in season
No one will know that
Clients don’t want to walk
No public discourse
Customers are upset that there is no parking close to his store
Don – the eye doctor – older clients can’t find parking
Was involved in the outreach
Crazy thing is nothing is enforced now for safety – taking away parking spaces
A lot of biking opportunities and not parking opportunities
This town was built for parking Needs parking to unload and now that will be
more difficult
Timing is really bad – test in being done when windows of making money, now I
need to deal with experiment
7/1/22 541-206-3083 "I'm just calling to voice my opinion that I'm unhappy with the elimination of 44
parking spaces in the Town Core.”
7/1/22 Elizabeth Milias
415-305-1000
"The parking experiment living lab is the stupidest and most incompetent City
Council has done in the past 24 hours.”
7/2/22 Jennifer Sharp
520-440-1977
"I am a local and I live in Snowmass. I just wanted to put my voice to the fact
that this new parking arrangement in Aspen is horrible, not that I go downtown
anymore because it's such a mess.”
7/2/22 Richard Edwards
970-920-9797
"I own the Brand Building which is on the corner of Galena and Hopkins and I'm
calling about the new parking thing. It is in Santa Fe. We have seen so many
people almost getting run down by cyclists. The new parking spaces are blocking
the big trucks which go into the unloading zone by the used mounts. It is almost
impossible for these large trucks to get in. It is just causing chaos. You are
making such a mess outside our building and you'll make it very difficult for
businesses to have deliveries.”
7/2/22 Christopher Martin
970-417-1834
"It's trying to see what you guys are doing to the parking out here. I think that
City Council is out of control.”
7/3/22 970-710-0991 "I'm a full time resident here and I just wanna know if the new parking and town
is a bad April fools joke.
“Aspen has become such a cluster that it's no longer enjoyable for the residents
full time and we hear that from so many people."
52
7/3/22 Judy Altman "I don't understand this; I've been here for 18 years. I am 73 years old. I drive
into town. I live on Brush Creek Road. There's no way I would drive to the
intercept lot then take the bus; more carbon footprint for what you're worried
about.”
7/4/22 Joy Myers
970-948-2284
“I am the buyer at Carls. We have been facing an employee shortage and they
say I can't pay $1800 to live in Carbondale and come up to work at Aspen plus I
just heard about the parking in town and I would also like to talk to you about
the housing in town that you're taking away.”
7/5/22 Heather Isberian
Isberian Rug Company
970-927-8541
Very concerned and feels a connection to Aspen; seems the controls are out of
hand.
Feel very bad for local businesses, very difficult.
7/5/22 970-618-5493 via voicemail
Local resident, lives downtown and recently noticed this “strange new edition of
parking in the middle of the street and I was curious what prompted this
because I think this is the biggest liability in this town I've seen so many people
go the opposite direction in the bike lanes car and I'm currently having a petition
out with thousands of signatures and was curious what it would take to get the
change back.”
7/5/22 Aspen Emporium
Shea Singer
Shaesinger4579@gmail
970-948-7423
What’s with the parallel parking and eliminating MORE spaces?
Creating more chaos and making it harder for businesses to get people into their
businesses
Bike education doesn’t appear to be happening at rental shops
At any given second there are bikes on sidewalks, streets, bike lanes and not
bike lanes. (to say nothing of the scooters E bikes, dogs, strollers and
pedestrians)
This is very dangerous
Kathleen called back and feedback has
been recorded.
- Bikes on sidewalk
- Enforcement for bikes
- Take away parking places is not
good
- Bike lanes not connected
- Galena and Cooper affects
downtown
- Short sided, no enforcement
- Wants an email notification and
alerts
53
7/5/22 Melissa Stailey
nmmysticwynter@yahoo.com
Everyone is in an uproar over this poor decision to remove parking in the core.
Please bring the parking spaces back
Watching motorists circling around and around waiting for a spot to open up
causes more pollution. Sales have been down from last year. It’s a disaster and
you are ignoring the community and its needs.
7/6/22 Lori Gentleman I live in Starwood and I am really upset about the parking situation in town.
I can't ride my bike to town if I go shopping, and I can't bring my packages back
or whatever. It's just really ridiculous and it's very upsetting and I hope they go
back to the other parking because it's really a nightmare
Kathleen called back on 7/6
7/6/22 Phillip Supino
pdsupino@gmail.com
970-343-2463
I am writing as a resident commenting on the Galena bikeway changes this
summer. These comments are not reflective of my role with the City or City
policy.
I am grateful for any changes to the use of right-of-way in our community which
improve cyclist and pedestrian safety. The Galena changes are a great
improvement! My wife, kid, and I ride everywhere we go every day. Downtown
can be very unsafe to anyone not in a Suburban.
Using the right-of-way to keep peds and bikes safe is one of the primary
responsibilities of government. Our community takes environmental matters
seriously, and using the right-of-way to reinforce those values is the best
education we can give to our visitors and residents.
Thank you for doing the hard work to keep people safe and encourage more
cycling.
Please do more to expand these improvements in the future. Or just close the
core to cars entirely and help everyone see how lame cars are.
7/6/22 Ashley Shiff Does not want Lab.
Want parking to go back the way it was.
Very confusing.
54
7/6/22 248-408-5995 Business owner in Aspen
I hear my customers complaining continually when they come into the store.
People would like to walk around town for an hour and spend money and shop
and some women are dressed up and wearing heels and can't find a parking
spot. It's a huge inconvenience.
I really hope that you are paying attention to our needs because Aspen has no
charm left.
You've also made it very confusing as to what is the bike path, where
pedestrians are supposed to go
7/6/22 Bernadette Regan
7/7/22 Golda Freidstein
970-379-0190
Resident of 43 years
Get rid of parallel parking
Aspen doesn’t need more bikers
People are buying things to put in their cars
We need our angle parking. We support our businesses, people on bikes really
stop at our stores and buy anything. We definitely do not need fewer parking
spaces Kathleen called back
7/7/22 Beth Fischer
772-485-3567
Aspen resident
The most absurd thing I have ever seen.
We still have bikes right in the middle of the road. We still have people going
backwards for people trying to parallel park in the middle of the road.
Somebody is going to get very hurt because of this lab that you wanted to try
out the living lab. It is absolutely awful.
Aspen resident
The most absurd thing I have ever seen.
We still have bikes right in the middle of the road. We still have people going
backwards for people trying to parallel park in the middle of the road.
Somebody is going to get very hurt because of this lab that you wanted to try
out the living lab. It is absolutely awful.
55
7/8/22 Stacy Martin Co-owner of the Christopher Martin Gallery on Cooper Street.
Safe biking is important but this is just really putting us business owners under
so much pressure to reduce the number of parking spaces.
We have $32,000 a month rent and people like to typically drive up and get out
and go to the gallery.
It just makes life more difficult on top of difficult after all the COVID restrictions
we just experienced.
Two months in the fall and two months in the spring are really the brief window
to make our living and I just don't know why business owners aren't more highly
evaluated as the crucial stake holders vs. people who bike through our town
while on vacation.
7/9/22 Martin Levine
917-533-1800
Aspen resident four months out of the year
Has thought on the Lab he’d like to discuss Kathleen called back
7/10/22 Shane Morgan I've been in town forever and loved the bike lanes and I hear you adding more
I would love to see the whole two square blocks of the core(?) be just for bikes
and pedestrians.
I was biking today with WeCycle and almost got hit by a bus and a car and it's
just quite busy for that much traffic.
I love the WeCycle program.
I love riding bikes around town.
7/10/22 Peri A. store owner
970-925-1692
Anyone biking to town is not biking around and having to worry about parking
or riding a bike in town.
Most people who bike in Aspen go on trails.
I think taking away parking spaces when there's already enough of a problem is
not recommended
56
7/10/22 David Wesson
dw@dswesson.com
Does not like the lab
Lives in Woody Creek and already avoids Aspen due to parking problems and
these changes only make the matters much worse.
The bike lanes are so poorly designed, it's unclear where vehicles are to safely
avoid bicycles.
Parallel parking is slower and further disrupts traffic in an already busy area.
We are business owners and other business owners are also very unhappy
7/11/22 Wendy Hendrickson
970-618-8442
Calling to voice discontent for this new lack of parking
Seriously affecting our local businesses.
7/11/22 Paris Tanner
970-319-9770
Aspen resident and also work(ed?) at one of the downtown businesses affected
by the living lab.
There was zero communication
People don't know how to park and they don't know how to walk and they
don't know how to drive they don't know how to ride their bikes.
If we're going to make this town focus on using bikes instead of cars, we need
to educate bikers on how to properly use the road so many times bikers don't
stop at stop side they are riding their bikes down the walking malls which are
supposed to be right for walking.
There's nobody issuing citations giving information about how to safely bike in
the downtown core.
7/11/22 John
917-690-8823
Thinks the Living Lab is a horrible idea and has experience with it since he splits
his time between New York City and Aspen and they've done it in New York and
it's a terrible experiment.
It doesn't protect the bikers either because if you're not taking into account the
fact the people open their doors and they're not aware the bikers are coming
there's a very good chance the bikers are gonna get slammed by opening cars.
7/11/22 Doug Nehasil
970-379-1148
He very much dislikes the Living Lab
57
7/11/22 Marianne Stockton COA homeowner and restaurant owner
Even though I was on the calls about the lab last year, this is completely
ridiculous.
The focus on not having as many cars downtown should be just the opposite
and we should be focusing on putting those bicycle somewhere else
Bicycles are a problem downtown
7/11/22 Corey Burger
BB’s Kitchen
Bike lane going backwards is unsafe.
Bad for business owners because you took away business.
Too far of a walk for the older folks running errands
Circling is awful for the environment.
Bad for locals that want to run an errand.
Lots of ways around town.
Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/11/22 Allison Ratajczak Witnessed third near-crash between a ped and bike in lane.
Live in Aspen and often bike, never had a problem biking in the streets.
Thinks bike lanes are dangerous and hurting local businesses by not allowing
them to park in front of them.
People are just parking in residential areas now.
7/11/22 Steve Falander As a pedestrian, I do not like the bike lane going the wrong direction.
Too much interaction between people and bikes.
Very dangerous.
Don’t understand the two yellow lines.
Bikes going opposite is not a good design.
Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/11/22 Wendy Weaver Last two days – I needed to go to the jewelers and could not find a spot.
Can’t go to run an errand.
Not happy about the limited parking spaces.
Local person – never had a problem until now.
Spoke to Wendy personally
58
7/11/22 Janet Hodges If you spend a lot of money and go out to dinner, you don’t want to ride bike
Older parents don’t ride bikes.
Not happy about the parking – dumbest move the City has ever made.
Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/11/22 Paul Aschkenasy Opposed to the lab
Limited parking is problematic.
Lives in the West End and there are times when older people need to park in
town. Many people cannot walk to town.
Doesn’t think less parking reduces traffic.
Lab is not keeping people from driving into town.
Bike lane on the inside is confusing.
It is already safe to bike.Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/11/22 Lisa
713-560-2000
The parking situation is the most absurd thing I have ever seen.
Against the Lab.Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/11/22 Richard Baldwin
Own the Brand Building
Bike lane in the one area where people can load and unload.
Taking away loading and unloading zone.
Does the City not want business to succeed here?
People are not using bike lane.
This is so confusing, and people think they can leave their cars.
No one is using the bike lane.
This is so anti-business.Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/11/22 Kristi Gilliam Very confusing
Horrible that parking spots were taken away
People are not going to wear a dress and take a bike.
I do not think this is a good idea.
Very confusing
Horrible that parking spots were taken away
People are not going to wear a dress and take a bike.
I do not think this is a good idea.
Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/11/22 Libby
303-918-8485
69 years old and regularly shops in town
Uses a walker
Very distressed by what the city has done, thinks it's prejudicial against old
people
59
7/11/22 Seth
970-309-4267
Living lab is poorly executed
7/11/22 John Kennedy
970-948-9944
Thinks the lab is terrible
Bad for business
Aspen doesn’t have/need so many bikes
7/11/22 Karl Friedman
Karl.m.friedman@gmail.com
As a pedestrian and biker (and driver), I consider it highly dangerous to be
downtown due to the proliferation of cars and drivers disrespectful of the
pedestrian nature of Aspen.
Eliminating angled parking not only eliminates the solid close-in visual wall that
they create but eliminates the highly dangerous process of backing out with
limited visibility of bikes and other cars.
The vibrancy of the town is based on the mobility of pedestrians and bikers. E-
bike and scooters of all types now provide access to those who would not
otherwise have access. For the most part, close-in parking is a luxury for those
choosing not to enjoy the outdoors and instead shop at the ubiquitous
unaffordable “fashion” boutiques that minimizes my visits to the core of Aspen
two blocks away from my residence on the top of South Galena.
I believe your latest traffic management changes are excellent and follow other
inspirational municipalities that add to their vibrancy by encouraging outdoor
access unimpeded by unnecessary car traffic in pedestrian dominated locations.
7/11/22 Terri Caine
970-618-2219
terricainetravel@gmail.com
Stupidest thing I have seen in a long time
Downtown parking was already severely limited. Now you have eliminated 44
spots in the exact area where more parking is needed.
Bikers do not use the lanes that were created when you eliminated the crucial
parking spaces for cars.
People on bikes are still in car lanes. Pedestrians are NEWLY walking in the street
instead of on the sidewalks intended for pedestrians.
7/11/22 Dan King
emaildanhere@yahoo.com
I do not support this project
Please return to angled parking
60
7/11/22 Matthew Apfel
mattapfel@yahoo.com
Our family of 5 lives about 1 mile outside of town. We typically decide our mode
of transportation based on the weather: We bike/walk into town on nice days,
and we drive into town on lousy ones. So we have a lot of experience with both
transportation methods.
Why on earth did the City decide to install these bike lanes? Seriously, was
there an actual problem that had been clearly identified? Were people getting
run over in the streets? Were they up in arms demanding these changes? Was
there actual data showing that bikers and pedestrians did not have enough
room and safety?
As a biker and a pedestrian, I have never once felt there wasn’t enough space, or
safety, to get around town. It’s really easy, even in the Core. Sure, there’s minor
congestion at times, and occasionally a tourist misses a stop sign or makes a
wrong turn. But all of this is manageable. No one was out there screaming or
even mildly complaining about this.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And if it IS broke, then I suggest the City do a much
better job of explaining WHY and HOW it’s broken, with actual data not well-
intentioned hunches.
7/11/22 Aspenmikey
via Aspen Community Voice
It is worse than before, and less safe
7/11/22 Pdhoffman
via Aspen Community Voice
Approves of eliminating the turn on Hyman from Galena
However, safety issues with the counterflow bike lane offsets the benefit of
eliminating the turn onto Hyman
Too many people double parking because the street is too wide
Bike lanes need to be protected on both sides
7/11/22 Karl Friedman
via Aspen Community Voice
As a pedestrian and driver I think it’s highly dangerous downtown because of so
many cars and drivers disrespectful of pedestrians
Eliminating angled parking also eliminates limited visibility when cars are
backing out
Close-in parking is a luxury for those choosing not to enjoy the outdoors but
rather shop instead
Thinks the lab is excellent
61
7/11/22 tweeter01
via Aspen Community Voice
One of the dumbest things Aspen has initiated recently
Pedestrians are walking in bike lanes, cyclists are riding in the street, and it’s
close to impossible to parallel park here
Most residents and visitors don’t want to ride bikes into town at night Cylists are
not following protocol
The whole lab is very confusing and more dangerous than it was before
7/11/22 Sunier6
via Aspen Community Voice
Retired full time in Aspen seven years ago and walk or ride my bike to town
nearly daily
Supports providing pedestrian zones and safe areas for cyclists but we also need
to be fair to the shops and tourists
The lab does not make me feel safer when walking or biking
Lots of angry motorists being aggressive
The garage is too far for people carrying bags from Gucci or Christian Dio
Maybe the garage can have a valet and stores can validate parking for special
customers
Very disappointed by the reduction in bike racks around town
7/11/22 Jason Suazo
via Aspen Community Voice
My car is too tall for the parking garage so I just keep driving around until I find a
parking spot.
Please find another solution.
7/12/22 Linda Whag
970-923-6388
The worst ideas the City has ever come up with.
Very hard for shop owners.
7/12/22 Martin Levine
1-917-533-1800
Important for the City to remember that commercial property is high.
Killing the goose that laid the gold egg.
Health of commercial tenants needs parking.
Forcing more traffic onto a busy intersection.
Needs traffic and police enforcement during high times to manage the flow of
traffic in the mornings and the evenings.Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/12/22 Scott Ferral Aspen is the only town that does not have a parking lot.
There is no where to park and people are leaving town.
7/12/22 Greg
970-989-4848
Would like to comment on the GCLL and know more about the program
Spoke to on the phone directly.
62
7/12/22 Tony Sherman
Tony.sherman@terrapinhospitality.co
m
I live in Aspen and everyone I know is outraged that the city has decided to
further punish local store owners and those not fortunate enough to live in a 15
m house that is within biking distance to town. Most of us have to drive and
park to buy things.
Take a look around; like it or not, there are many more cars in town than bikes.
So please stop the social engineering and let people park their cars, and not get
a $50 ticket.
7/12/22 SinCloud55
via Aspen Community Voice
GCLL bike lanes are awful
No bikes are using the lanes, only pedestrians
Taking away parking from people looking to shop and eat is stupid
7/13/22 Anonymous Agree with changing to parallel
Tuesday Cruiseday – lively and robust
People everywhere; make it a ped Mall
Yellow looks like wasted space
Come up with a modified version
7/13/22 Joanie Lee
970-379-7299
Worried about fires and clogging up the street with bikers and cars
Doesn’t like parallel parking in the lab corridor
Doesn’t like the lab
A lot of incompetence and this is short sited
Aspen is a big city
We need to go to appointments and can’t wait for a bus Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/13/22 Barry Bromka
970-379-5262
Building Manager at Aspen Elks
We request the solar charging station be moved south.Spoke to on the phone directly.
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7/13/22 Anonymous Lives in downtown Aspen and works on Hyman and Cooper.
Put in a stop sign at Hyman and Galena
More people are turning the wrong way onto Hyman than before
Concerned for pedestrians
Lived here over 20 years, never felt as unsafe as I do now; too dangerous
because of the new configuration
Parking creates an unsafe condition
Not able to control and the confusion of the bikers and drivers and pedestrians
Pedestrians are crossing in the middle of the street
Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/13/22 Judy Nespeca
judynespeca@me.com
Took 15 minutes to find a 2-hour spot at noon
Dodging bikes in the middle of the road through the Lab
Tourists and hotels need an education and locals need to change their habits
It is just as dangerous now for pedestrians and drivers as it has been in the past.
Parking is the issue - dig under Wagner park for a three level garage and close
the core to all vehicles
7/13/22 Peter Grannis
pgimaging@icloud.com
This experiment doesn't work
Bikes don’t use it and continue to ride all over the streets downtown
Enforcement is the solution
Most visitors on ebikes don’t know biking rules of the road
Pedestrians don’t use the lab and why would they instead of sidewalks
Parking loss impacts businesses, older folks, and families with small children.
Some auto traffic is necessary for local business access and has been restricted
excessively already.
Length of Lab is too long! A month max would have shown the problems this
doesn’t help with.
Please acknowledge failure and move on
64
7/13/22 Andrew Scott
andrewcorinscott@gmail.com
People who don’t live in Aspen mostly keep Aspen alive, from the trucks who
deliver our food, to the gas that is delivered to keep you warm in the winter, to
a whole lot of City and County employees who live “out there” beyond the
roundabout.
Most of the workers in town drive-in, maids, construction workers, people who
come every day, sometimes commuting for hours, with cars full of cleaning
supplies, tools, construction equipment, to keep the town running!
You expect them to park at the intercept lot, after they’ve driven an hour
already, and what, try to pack all that equipment and supplies onto the bus-seat
next to them?
7/13/22 Lara Whitley
relarajada@gmail.com
Aspen resident and cyclist
I regularly ride downtown but I don’t use the new bike lane in the Living Lab and
actually avoid it because I find it to be confusing and hence unsafe.
Bike safety comes from a shared understanding of rules. Multiple users —
drivers, bikers and walkers — know what to expect and keep each other safe by
abiding by that understanding.
The Living Lab feels like the Wild West of mobility. Do you ride there? Walk
there? What direction? Do drivers know where to park and not enter that
space? I’m not willing to find out by placing my bike and body on the line,
literally.
Part of being innovative is recognizing when things aren’t working and being
willing to respond. It’s time to pull the plug on this experiment.
7/13/22 ASD
via Aspen Community Voice
The lab is a slap in the face of downtown businesses, especially after the
pandemic and now a recession
Business need people to drive
This is dangerous – people walk in the bike path now and not the sidewalk
A car can take out a bicycle by opening their door on either side of the car and
people have to walk across the bike path to get into their car
Trying to parallel park is an accident waiting to happen
7/13/22 Dancerjessie
aia Aspen Community Voice
Make the Galena corridor 2-way again. Parking was parallel and there was no
confusion between bikers and pedestrians.
65
7/14/22 Ruth Harrison Bottom line; people who moved here from Texas don’t care about the fines.
The parking fines are not going to do anything – because rich people will just pay
it.
The only solution is towing and making the penalty an inconvenience.
The Galena Cooper Living Lab is pathetic and a joke.
Spring and Cooper intersection was a waste of money.
Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/14/22 Patricia Crawford
970-618-3048
80 years old and needs to drive sometimes
Does NOT want to see the lab become permanent
Some people simply need a car
80 years old and we need our cards.
35-year resident; this is awful and the worst debacle, no one gives a damn
Spoke to on the phone directly.
7/14/22 Beth Gable
Bethanne669@aol.com
The new parking layout is not cohesive with the current influx of visitors to the
city.
There are not that many bicyclists in the city center that I feel warrants the
change in parking spaces lost.
The merchants I have spoken to say that the bicyclists are not the ones
frequenting their storefronts.
7/14/22 Euroskin
via Aspen Community Voice
Ridiculous idea
Hurting local businesses
Elderly clients feel as if they’re being pushed out of town
7/15/22 Nancy Thornton Center
970-925-7205
Does not like the Lab
Aspen already doesn’t have enough parking
Has a business in town and clients are complaining that there’s nowhere to park
7/15/22 Mel Veronica
415-730-5544
Lab is not good for business or bikers business is not good for bikers
I hope to see the engineering department seriously considering revising this
courtesy plan immediately.
66
7/16/22 Jen Liddington
via Aspen Community Voice
I am enjoying less traffic in the downtown core.
Wish all of downtown was “malled” and cars had to park at Brush Creek and bus
in
Would love to see even more improvements to the lab
We should be forward thinking in our approach to the environment and the
livelihood of our local community while also maintaining a welcoming
environment for our visitors
7/17/22 303-246-4794 There's a whole bunch of cars parked in between the street and sidewalk where
people pop out.
It's just horrible I can't believe it's intentional but I think you should seriously
think about getting that out of the way
7/18/22 Megan Lisa
970-930-2012
My family is very concerned with what is happening in this very small little town
in which we have a vital interest
There are already plenty of bike paths. There is already plenty of nature.
What we need are parking places in town where businesses and restaurants and
people are running errands and need to accomplish things that they can't
always accomplish on a bike.
We need a lot of parking places.
7/18/22 970-710-9065
970-920-4166
Lab needs to be removed
It was a poor choice of time and money that you spent. Please remove it.
7/18/22 Cindy
970-618-7968
I work at the information booth on Cooper and Galena and I just wanted to give
you guys an update as to what I witnessed all weekend long here.
There’s so many things wrong with this living lab. One is that people are starting
to argue and yell at each because nobody really seems to know how to use this
curve here. People are stopping and dropping off people and just now a bike
almost ran right into a big SUV who stopped to drop people off literally on the
west side of Galena and Cooper
People are going around and round in circles looking for parking spaces and
that's not cutting back on any kind of pollution.
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7/18/22 Andrew Scott
andrewcorinscott@gmail.com
Until there is an alternative to cars (like a built and completed light-rail) we
should avoid removing parking spaces from downtown as we may end up
making traffic worse not better
7/18/22 Robert Goldstein
rgoldstein970@gmail.com
970-618-6618
As a bike rider I appreciate the living lab experiment in the core
Pedestrians are using the bike lane as an extra walking lane, which forces to me
to go back to the streets
Mopeds are parking in the bike lane
Can the APD walk the area or even bike riding to help educate the public? This
may also cut down on bikers riding on the mall
7/18/22 Alex Brough Taking away 44 parking spaces in the downtown core shows absolute disrespect
and an utter disdain for locals and local businesses
The city needs to stop trying to make this a bike only city. People generally only
bike around half the year and the other half we are buried in snow and it's
dangerous.
So far I have rarely seen bikers using this new lane. This is a problem that is
being created by the city and does not need a solution.
If the goal was to reduce car emissions, now there are more people circling town
for longer and driving their cars more
The Aspen parking garage seems to be full all of the time because the city
workers use all the spaces to support their new massive City Hall building
7/18/22 Anonymous Ever since the City has changed parking - sales numbers are down.
Local shop in town. Spoke to on the phone.
7/18/22 970-920-6530 Aspen resident for 50 years
Disappointed the lab was put in at the busiest time of the year
Even locals are confused
Very dangerous situation
This is the wrong approach to protect cyclists
7/19/22 Anonymous No spots in the core or the parking garage at 10a (on July 7)
Cars double parking are a hazard
Drivers don’t know where to look for bikers in the bike lane
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7/20/22 Jeff Oddo
joddo@gocitywide.com
913-207-5333
Very unhappy with downtown parking situation
Harming businesses
I will stop shopping downtown and will change my dentist and doctor and where
I eat because I am getting older and cannot walk as far as I used to
Bad for the environment to circle looking for parking spots
7/20/22 (John?) Glen Lerner
520 W Hallam
713-899-0043
Lived in the RFV since 1989
Stunned by the parking chaos created by the lab
Lab is creating more pollution by cars looking for parking Spoke to on the phone.
7/20/22 Jeff Oddo
973-207-5333
joddo@gocitywide.com
Via email
To whom it may concern, please accept this in the manner in which it is
intended which is to inform those individuals who make the laws the opinion of
not only myself but many people I have talked to. You are in charge, you can do
whatever you want, just know that many of us are very unhappy with the
downtown parking situation. We disagree with the proposed change and ask
you to go back to the way it was. Why? Because it harms the business owners of
downtown Aspen. How? Because people like me will stop going there. I am not a
prisoner, I have options, I will change my dentist, my doctor and where I eat and
shop because of this new law because I am getting older and cannot walk as far
as I used to, nor do I want to drive around doing laps, looking for parking which
is even worse for the environment than just parking.
We are not Vail. We are not a walking city, it is too big and we don’t have
enough parking garages to make up for the change, even if we did, I don’t want
to park in a parking garage and be more like Vail, I want to be able to drive into
our city, park, do my business and leave and my fear is that this proposed
change will further erode the business viability of the owners who already pay
exorbitant fees in real estate, are just now recovering from Covid and now you
want to hit them with less parking, sending people like me down valley.
Thank you for your consideration, I pray you make a decision that does not hurt
the town of Aspen.
69
7/21/22 Elyse Resnick
318-455-9864
Said the lab was installed without prior warning to the public or merchants
Thinks it’s an insane arrangement that appears to put bikes and people
entering/exiting cars in even more danger
We desperately need the parking spaces that were taken away
It would be nice to have fewer cars in town but we need more parking for the
crowds we have
We need to take care of the people we have here now and not do stuff like this
during prime visitor time
7/21/22 Mike
847-997-8604
GCLL is the most dangerous thing she’s ever seen in Aspen
She mostly takes the bus but even when she’s walking she notices that bikers
are not using the bike lanes
It’s hard for cars to parallel park without hitting a bike
7/21/22 Catherine Raven
713-417-2777
770 Castle Creek Drive
GCLL is the most dangerous thing she’s ever seen in Aspen
She mostly takes the bus but even when she’s walking she notices that bikers
are not using the bike lanes
It’s hard for cars to parallel park without hitting a bike
7/21/22 Randy Woods
970-379-5356
Submitted a public comment via email – saved in PRS/GCLL tracking folder
Sent detailed thoughts/comments on how/why the lab has him “upset about
many issues”
7/21/22 Josh Zeeb
jpzeeb@gmail.com
via email
Aspen resident
Support the lab and excited to see the results when it is complete
Two things I'm most interested in are traffic accident numbers before and after
the living lab and if available, the sales tax revenue before and after the living
lab.
7/22/22 Phyllis
404-371-5778
Unhappy about all of the lost parking spaces downtown
Happy to walk but sometimes they need to drive because they are shopping and
have packages, which she can’t carry on a bike
Please put the parking spaces back to parallel
70
7/24/22 John Seybold
via Aspen Community Voice
Participated in focus group sessions and half the members wanted a pedestrian-
only solution. But “instead we got the living lab exactly as it was originally
designed, as if the comments from all the focus groups were totally ignored”
“The original survey was deeply flawed because it only asked about car-centric
solutions” “There were no questions for those who would prefer closing the
street to cars entirely"
“If we really want safety for cyclists or pedestrians, fewer emissions, and a more
livable and walkable city, close the street to cars completely.”
7/25/22 Jeff Marquez
917-678-0932
Property owner and resident
Wants to talk about the new parking configuration
Terrible idea
I didn’t understand why we would eliminate 44 spaces and disadvantage
merchants of the town so a few bikers can ride through town
Aspen has a great bike trail system already
Retails and restaurants are life blood of town – employees are hard to find, and
so is parking
Doesn’t make sense
One positive: if you are in a small car and backing up next to a large vehicle and
it’s head-in parking then it’s unsafe. The parallel parking makes it a bit safer.
Spoke to directly
7/25/22 Martin Levine COA should take away parking in front of Hick House during afternoon rush hour
- that corner chokes up traffic
Hyman is now a busier choke point with no left turn from Galena - lab forces
more people into Paradise Bakery intersection, where there are two crosswalks
and it is arguably much, much busier
You put more cars in an already busy intersection
Made the safety issue worse Spoke to directly on the phone
71
7/25/22 Mike Maple (via email)Submitted a public comment via email – saved in PRS/GCLL tracking folder
In short, he “cannot support the Living Lab parking/bike lane, etc. re-
configuration as I believe it provides little improvement in pedestrian or cyclist
“safety” with substantial negative implications for the vitality of our community
and the success of Aspen’s retail & restaurant businesses.”
7/25/22 Petrina
via Aspen Community Voice
Frustrated and anxious driving down Galena on Saturday morning because of so
many cars, bikes, people on phones, etc.
Need more education and someone to direct and control what is happening
Build a parking garage underground
Put up more attractive barriers at the end of the malls instead of the “metal
tipped over signs put up doing Food & Wine”
E-bikes go too fast and dogs are off leash, causing mayhem
7/26/22 David
970-618-3312
Has a business on Main Street and lost parking; when will the no parking go
away?
7/30/22 Cindy
970-948-4195
Works at the ACRA information kiosk
Sees people passing left or right and says many motorists are treating the
Cooper Avenue corner as a dropoff/pickup spot
Seems very dangerous all the way around
8/1/22 Cindy
ACRA information kiosk
970-948-4195
“Everybody's wondering what the purpose of the black and white and green
things are. We heard a car ran over them. Looks like you take another couple
three spaces away from the public. It just looks terrible. It’s really an obstacle
course up here now. It’s really just looking worse and worse and worse and
we're just not happy about any of this. So that's my opinion of the week.
Horrible looking thing and do they harm people because it looks like that's what
they're kinda meant(?) to do.” What we really need up here to make this thing
work is enforcement and explanation. Police are never around.
72
8/3/22 Rebecca Borgess
via Aspen Community Voice
This new parking model has eliminated a huge number of parking spaces which
will take a great toll on the small businesses attempting to thrive here. The
computer generated depiction above is not indicative of the space that truly
exists here. The proportions are off and depict a much larger area than what is
available here. The bike lanes are creating such a tight space for RFTA buses and
other vehicles to move down the roads safely. It was not a good choice and the
previous parking model was much more conducive to a great city environment.
8/5/22 Scott
970-274-8115
I think it's ridiculous that we lost 40 or however many spaces
Green and white blocks are all over the place now
I refuse to ride my bicycle in in town now
People are riding bikes the wrong way on the street
It is unbelievably dangerous, especially at night because you can't see the
rubber curbs on your bicycle.
8/9/22 Beth Weissman
beth@bweissman.com
via email
I don't think the experiment is successful. Bike lines like that are confusing to
drivers, who don't expect bikes to be where they are. San Francisco put in
similar types of bike lanes and it caused a lot of car to bike accidents. The
parking situation seems a waste of space as it is now. All in all, I'm not a fan.
8/11/22 Scott
970-309-0100
My concern with the changes around the city is we keep taking more and more
parking places and availability for locals to actually live here and do work and
come into town and park.
We don't wanna turn this place i to Disneyland
You're never gonna get workers to work if they can't live here, get to the
pharmacy, get to the grocery store, get to their doctor's appointment because
there's no parking.
Please put it back the way it is. Please do not make this a bicycle-only
community.
8/18/22 Debbie Kelly
mtngardner55@gmail.com
via email
It empowers bicyclists of all kinds to go fast and ignore pedestrians. We need to
make pedestrians have the right of way and slow the bikes down.
73
8/18/22 Dana Presutti
dana@luganodiamonds.com
via email
I think it is the worst idea we have ever had in Aspen. No one really uses the bike
lanes and it takes away all of the parking spaces and just makes no sense in my
opinion. I do not know anyone that lives here or visits here or works here that
thinks it is a good idea and I highly recommend that we get rid of it and go back
to angled parking as we had before. Not to mention it is also not attractive.
8/18/22 Michael Buysse
aserealty@comcast.net
via email
“Against all”
8/18/22 Karen Lord
via Aspen Community Voice
changes that were made this summer. The reasons why are too many to list
here.
8/18/22 Anonymous
via Aspen Community Voice
Anonymous
It is unsafe to travel against traffic on a bicycle, and stop signs on a bike way are
inefficient and borderline ridiculous. Please revert!
8/18/22 Anonymous
via Aspen Community Voice
I was thrilled to watch Aspen installing a protected bike lane. Now let's
see that the network allows cyclists to safely get all the way across
town.
8/18/22 Heather Kroeger
via Aspen Community Voice
Aspen city council continues to destroy our town. This looks like totat crap with
McDonalds type signage and cheap plastic markers that are confusing and
visually annoying. How at the same time are the city leaders pretending to be
environmentalist when they go around making up problems that don't exist and
then making the place look like a Las Vegas strip with ridiculous and insult my
intelligence type neon signage and cheap looking obstacles. It feels less safe
than it was before. Tourists are not following any of these rules you try to put in
place no matter how you cut it. What amount was spent on the additional bike
lane over the bridge and every day I still see about half of people still ride on the
narrower south side of the bridge. Same idea here. So stupid.
74
8/18/22 Tim Mooney
via Aspen Community Voice
keep up the good work managing the growth impacts of the resort on the
community. What's good for the community is good for the resort.
-
Stop the commercialization of our historic ski town in a beautiful mountain
valley for Greed instead of Need.Stop the expansion of the airport.Create
sustainable balanced growth where the commercial growth is required to
mitigate their employee housing by buying Lumber yard units from the city.
8/18/22 Bob Freimuth
bobfreimuth@comcast.net
via email
I believe that the parking is more important to more people than the confusing
way the street is set up now. There are plenty of places in Aspen to ride bicycles
other than in the commercial core. Few people on bicycles are there to shop.
They are out site seeing. the commercial core is for shopping.
8/18/22 Lecie Resneck
lecie.resneck@gmail.com
via email
Have there ever been more visitors to our community?
Why on earth would the powers that be opt to test parking options, less
parking: parallel parking space removals, bike lane options, new 4 way stops, all
the sticks and green and white ‘boxes’,
In the middle of this busy time of year.
Have you seen pedestrians tripping on the large green and white boxes? I have.
We have people (visitors and or locals) running stop signs and red lights, u-
turning on main street, etc., biking down the middle of the street, vehicles
ignoring bikers and walkers, etc.
yes, there must be better ways to get in and out of our community,
to provide parking, to control pedestrian, vehicular and bike traffic,
to not remove parking for merchants and restaurants.
This “living lab experiment” is not the answer. And august is not the time to
experiment.
I appreciate the people who serve our community. But, I do not think this “living
lab” is an answer to our problems. And, I do think the timing of this “living lab”
is insane.
8/18/22 Anonymous
via Aspen Community Voice
I was thrilled to watch Aspen installing a protected bike lane. Now let's see that
the network allows cyclists to safely get all the way across town.
75
8/18/22 Karla Elges
karlaelges@gmail.com
via email
cyclists are in between peds and cars in the strata of vehicles, therefore they
should be in roadway, to the inside of cars, unless they need to turn left. This is
done in every other city in the world. Why would anyone put them between
parked cars, who need to exit said cars and get to the sidewalk and the
sidewalk? And on one side and not the other. This is my tax dollar at work.
8/18/22 lreede
via Aspen Community Voice
The streets need to be painted with directional signage if you want to have a
two-way system. This is how other cities do it. I am a cyclist with over 10,000
miles on my bike, and the way you have it set up currently with bollards is too
confusing/doesn't offer enough signage for bicyclists, cars, or pedestrians to
know who's coming from what direction. Additionally, I also think the stall
parking needs to be removed (where people back out of parking spaces), and
just have parallel parking instead; yes this will eliminate some spaces, but it's
too dangerous otherwise and it's a good compromise. Lastly, the
communication and rollout of this was abysmal. Nobody knew what was going
on until it just happened. Please communicate better with your constituents.
8/18/22 Karla Kelly
via Aspen Community Voice
Has anyone ever ridden a bike in any city ever? Who came up with this "novel"
idea? Aspen City Council sits around coming up with the worst ideas I have ever
seen. Please, someone with business acumen, run for council!! I love tennis
pros, but I want a former CEO to run a $100 million budget town.
8/18/22 John Fray
fraydo1@gmail.com
via email
This is such a joke! What a waste of time and money!
Time to focus on affordable housing!
8/18/22 John Galambos
via Aspen Community Voice
I finally had the chance to ride my bike in the lab area and i found it confusing
and not intuitive. i think it's overall not a good idea.
76
8/18/22 Heather Kroeger
Via Aspen Community Voice
Aspen city council continues to destroy our town. This looks like total crap with
McDonalds type signage and cheap plastic markers that are confusing and
visually annoying. How at the same time are the city leaders pretending to be
environmentalists when they go around making up problems that don't exist
and then making the place look like a Las Vegas strip with ridiculous and
insulting my intelligence type neon signage and cheap looking obstacles. It feels
less safe than it was before. Tourists are not following any of these rules you try
to put in place no matter how you cut it. What amount was spent on the
additional bike lane over the bridge and every day I still see about half of people
still ride on the narrower south side of the bridge. Same idea here. So stupid.
8/19/22 Anonymous
via Aspen Community Voice
I'd rather bike with cars than risk my safety in the lab
Thank you for always trying to reduce car traffic and increase pedestrian and
bike opportunities, which improves carbon pollution and community health.
However, this experiment, touted to improve safety, misses the mark by a mile.
As a cyclist, I choose not use this lane because I don't feel safe: too narrow,
going against traffic, poor signage (if any), and traveling with bikers who may or
may not have any clue about bike etiquette (see Maroon Creek Road + e-bikes
for more on this phenomenon). I'm not willing to put my body on the line to test
out this well-intended but misguided theory. Please go back to the drawing
board for a more intuitive and common sense solution.
8/19/22 Gloria Christal
gloriachristal@mac.com
via email
I actually like the new parking, but…
I’m not a fan of the bike paths going the wrong direction.
8/19/22 Anonymous
via Aspen Community Voice
I do not feel safe riding a bike in this lane, it's narrow, can't see, feel trapped. I
see no one riding in the lane, we want freedom!
8/19/22 Eboham
via Aspen Community Voice
It's time to build a huge parking garage at the Intercept Lot and have everyone
park out there and shuttle into Aspen. Only allow RFTA/Downtowner/lodge
shuttles to move folks around. This solves your parking issue. THEN you can start
creating bike paths on the roads. I see so many near misses when visitors
disregard the yield signs for people trying to cross Main Street. Get rid of the
cars in town. It's time.
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8/19/22 Jennydupree1
via Aspen Community Voice
This “lab” looks ridiculous, is confusing and took away many needed parking
spots. It looks like a kindergarten carpool lane.
8/19/22 Terri Caine
terricainetravel@gmail.com
The entire “living lab” is a total joke and failure. Pedestrians now walk in the
street instead of using the sidewalks. Bicycles are still in car lanes and don’t use
the bike lanes. We now have 44 less parking spaces, when downtown parking
was previously in short supply. The entire mess was stupid from the start and
should be immediately eliminated. I had out of town friends visit recently and
they couldn’t believe what they saw downtown. They were flabbergasted at the
stupidity of the “experiment.”
Please restore the 44 parking spaces and let bicycles follow the same rules as
cars — as they should. Pedestrians should walk on sidewalks — not in streets.
8/19/22 Kai
via Aspen Community Voice
These bike lanes have added absolutely nothing to the town and instead have
taken away far more. Not everyone is able to ride their bikes to work and this
takes the ability to drive into town almost out of the picture. While I think it is
good to create a town that has a smaller carbon footprint this is not the best
way of doing so. These lanes have taken so many parking spaces they will create
such a loss for certain businesses they will inevitably have to shut their doors.
And to take away a whole street that used to be able to be used just for the
“safety” of a biker is wild. Please fix your mistakes and help this town in ways
that will actually help.
These bike lanes are awful and for way to many reasons than able to put here.
8/19/22 Jasmine Tygre
jtygre@yahoo.com
via email
I appreciate the concept of alleviating congestion downtown and making this
popular section safer for all users.
The counterflow bikeway should be removed; bikes should travel with the flow
of traffic and follow the rules of the road for all vehicles. Then there would be
ample room for angle parking on at least one side of Galena. It is better to
accommodate more efficient parking design than to just remove spaces.
78
8/19/22 Bob Mineo
rjmineo@mineofhb.com
via email
“How about reducing development”
8/19/22 Rednewt via
Aspen Community Voice
Turn Aspen into a cycle/pedestrian only town
Add employee housing and solar panels over the parking. Great idea.
This is too confusing. Keep cars and bikes separate. It can be done with thought
and planning.
Diagonal Parking (maximized) on 1 side divided from both bike lanes by a
concrete barrier
8/19/22 Bret Hirsh
bret.hirsh@gmail.com
via email
I appreciate the thought and desire to continue to make our city safer for bikers
and pedestrians. I don’t think the new parking arrangement on Cooper is the
solution. I also think it will have a negative impact on businesses.
I encourage you to rethink this and repaint the parking places back to how it
was before 7/1.
8/19/22 Cori Berger
917-257-9522
cberger@bbrealty.com
Via email
1 - Unsafe for pedestrians who step off the sidewalk and don’t think to look for
the biker coming in the opposite direction of what makes intuitive sense
2 - Decrease in spots is bad for business owners and infuriating for people
coming to town to run errands
3 - Bad for the environment bc people will have their spouses run them into
town and circle the block while they run their errands
4 - Anyone capable of riding a bike is capable of jumping off it and walking it
through streets that feel hard to navigate whereas an elderly person (like my
father in law) will have a hard time walking from the newly metered spots
outside the core of town
8/19/22 Roger Moyer
Via Aspen Community Voice
Remove it!!
8/19/22 Rwittlin
Via Aspen Community Voice
This was the worst idea ever, and not at all safe.The loss of 44 spots has hurt
retailers/restaurants. So much for supporting the community.
79
8/19/22 kek
Via Aspen Community Voice
The decreased parking is terrible. The City Parking Garage often has "Full" at
1:00 pm and parking is being subtracted. The lanes are awkward. There are
bolted down bumps to stumble and get injured from. Businesses are losing
potential customers. Senior citizens do not ride bikes downtown, especially at
night and in snow and rain, and these impediments are there 24/7. There needs
to be a recall election for elected officials for implemented this proposal without
these considerations.
8/19/22 RichardE
Via Aspen CommunityVoice
It is yet another anti - business move by the City. Parking is more difficult.
Unloading deliveries is much more problematic. Just stupid!
8/19/22 81611 Person
Via Aspen Community Voice
Worst Idea Ever! Please revert back
Parking has historically been difficult for tourists and sadly many locals as well.
This new ridiculous system just takes it to another level of disaster. I have
personally tried the new bike "lane" and it is horrible. Too narrow and makes no
sense. Taking away much needed parking from people who need it for so many
reasons and adding more loading and unloading areas that are only used for a
few hours out of each day (MAX) is asinine. Please revert back to our old parking
system and add back 44 spots, if not more. Cars that are actually parked nicely
would allow for bikers to move about easier as well
8/19/22 bac88
via Aspen Community Voice I watched bikes, walkers & cars (also Parked wrong). I believe it is a
failure. People walk where bikes should be & vice versa! Wasted space
8/20/22 kevinram
Via Aspen Community Voice
Completely idiotic.
My parents are from a third world country and this feels just like that! Incredibly
unsafe and unclear. I’ve seen more accidents since this has been implemented.
Remove it!
8/20/22 StanClauson
Via Aspen Community Voice
Return diagonal parking on one side of street, widen sidewalks, provide curb
protected bike lane on other side. Current program was nice try.
80
8/20/22 Zalere
Via Aspen Community Voice
Return the parking to the way it was-the bicycle lane is a waste and a bad idea!
We need more parking spaces! The lab is a failure that increases traffic - it has
just more cars circling for parking, more confusion and narrow streets. I rarely
see any cyclists using the bike lane on Cooper, it's used by pedestrians and dog
walkers. It only goes one way anyway and the bikes still zip in and out of traffic
going both ways! The attempt to increase safety has created more opportunities
for accidents. And people still ride their bikes on the mall and sidewalks!
8/21/22 Catcruz
Via Aspen Community Voice
It is confusing, used incorrectly and illogical.
Please remove it and return to original parking format. Really stupid idea.
8/22/22 Concerned
Via Aspen Community Voice
Leave well enough alone. The cost of this project is a waste of taxpayer money.
Absurd traffic green and white dividers, cheapen us.
8/22/22 Concerned
Via Aspen Community Voice
Please go back to how it was. Constantly trying to improve which was working...
And gave more parking... Is not in the best interest
Go back to original layout...
8/22/22 Richard Felder
Via Aspen Community Voice
Reject this awful project and stop trying to make it impossible to walk or drive
downtown. This is confusing and counter-productive for all.
81
8/22/22 Susan Redstone
917-816-7474
Via voicemail
Lives in Aspen full time.
Parking in downtown is such a chaos.
It's such a mess I don't I don't have any questions it's just so obviously
counterproductive and not working.
A normal day for someone living just outside the core but within the COA,
subject to all city taxes, it’s not easy to live and conduct life. One needs one’s
car. We need cars with dogs, children, backpacks, products, services, etc.
I use my bike when it’s possible, it’s not workable what is currently in place for
an enormous amount of people who live just outside of reach of the downtown
core. We’re functioning people and need our cars. We use mass transit when
possible but to conduct normal life, a car is needed to patronize town.
COA residents in the core or exterior - need a sticker or identification for access
for their vehicles.
Please put parking back to head-in on both sides.
Local bike riders cannot travel through bike lanes in direction indicated by the
city – bikers want to use more straightforward route.
Spoke to her on 8/24/2022
8/23/22 M Katryniok
Via Aspen Community Voice
Remove it please, Living Lab is unsafe.
It should be called Galena Cooper Living Hell.
8/23/22 Voices of the People
Via Aspen Community Voice
This is a bad experiment solving a problem that does not exist by creating
confusion, circumstances that are opposed to logic and convention
8/23/22 Coates
Via Aspen Community Voice
The LL is a failure.
Parallel parking on the left in the middle of the road is ridiculous and a hazard.
Bicycles are all confused. Bad idea!
And bike lanes in the middle of the road? Makes no sense
8/24/22 Bjs
Via Aspen Community Voice
Allow restaurants to have outdoor space like they did during Covid. Maybe we
would not lose so many restaurants to downvalley.
I applaud your efforts to protect bicyclists in Aspen, unfortunately I have not
seen the lanes being used. We are losing so many businesses & restaurants I
would like to see something done to help keep them in town
82
8/24/22 Michael Stolper
mstolper@gmail.com
Via email
The lab would suggest this is an experiment. THE EXPERIMENT FAILED!
The idea is ill conceived and places the desires of bikers over the needs of most
of the community,i.e., locals shopping, tourists, delivery vehicles, merchants,
etc. It is ill conceived and is a monument to the current council’s apparent belief
that any action is better than no action.
It needs to be reversed rather than extended.
8/25/22 Barbara Cole Lee
Via Aspen Community Voice
The idea is to go back to the way it was...angle parking, a cute town that is easily
accessible to all, including walkers, cars, bikers.
The town has become unsightly! Get rid of those green markers!!!!
8/25/22 Melissa Stailey
nmmysticwynter@yahoo.com
The article in the Aspen Times said only part of the parking will return to what is
was pre- living lab? Even after backlash from business? This is a disgusting
misuse of power.
Put the streets back to what they were.
Businesses and patrons hate the living lab. I hear it every day as people complain
about the lack of parking. To keep ignoring the public is so disrespectful and
disturbing.
Truly disgusted.
8/31/22 Jcarlheck
Via Aspen Community Voice
Remove the dangerous black/green bumpers
This was the worst idea ever, and not at all safe. The loss of 44 spots has hurt
retailers/restaurants. So much for supporting the community
8/31/22 Karenann
Via Aspen Community Voice
Please put it back to what it used to be. Bring back the angle parking on both
sides of the street
83
8/31/22 Mike Tracey
Sergeant, Aspen Police Department
mike.tracey@aspen.gov
Via email
We started directed patrols in the Living Lab on 08/10/22 and have conducted
these patrols everyday/evening since then. I took out most of the
citizen/business owner comments that we received as they were all negative or
unsupportive of the project and you already know about them. The following
are observations from officers during those patrols:
Need another stop sign at Hyman and Galena for traffic turning left onto
Galena. The current stop sign is too high and right for people to see from a
vehicle. Suggest placing one in the middle of the road on the back of the ‘no left
turn’ sign.
Paradise owner shared that he has observed people tripping over the green
blocks when exiting vehicles. We also saw this.
Sports shop employee stated that ‘nothing about system is intuitive’. Added that
he appreciates effort to improve situation but wonders ‘why once identified as a
clear failure should community continue to be subjected to failed set up’. Our
observation from today is that very few pedestrians and cyclists know what they
are supposed to do.
No left turn onto Hyman is hazardous. As is the left turn from Hyman onto
Galena. Needs a stop sign on Galena for southbound traffic. City needs a
pedestrian crossing counter at Hyman/Galena as there are TONS of pedestrians
crossing all the time.
Sightline approaching Galena/Hyman intersection can be dangerous. If there
are vehicles parked on the left side of Galena (by the Ute Mountaineer), vehicles
travelling southbound only see pedestrians at the last second.
City just needs to shut it all down and making it a walking mall. Conditions are
incredibly unsafe.
84
8/31/22 Mike Tracey
Sergeant, Aspen Police Department
mike.tracey@aspen.gov
Via email
continued Observations revealed wrong way bikes, peds walking between
narrow yellow lines causing bikes (going wrong way) to slow.
No left turn onto Hyman Ave is difficult for vehicles to comprehend. Multiple
instances of aborted attempts to turn left there.
Signage confusing to everyone, bikes not adhering to signage, and a ton of
pedestrians doing their own thing.
Longtime unidentified local made a comment that ‘the living lab has caused
more near misses for them than they have ever had living here for 20 + years’.
Less pedestrian foot traffic due to weather/day of the week. Still confusion with
vehicle/pedestrian interactions and right of way designations. Still a visibility
issue for pedestrians not knowing which signs to prioritize. Bikers not following
the rules. Pedestrians operating as if they’re invincible.
There’s a possible line of sight issue for cars turning from Hyman onto Galena.
Issues were less apparent today due to weather.
Pedestrians and bikes are the least compliant when following signage. Received
compliments for presence and support for the living lab from various
pedestrians.
85
8/31/22 Mike Tracey
Sergeant, Aspen Police Department
mike.tracey@aspen.gov
Via email
continued Pedestrians and bikes still least complaint when following signage.
Had a vehicle turn the wrong way onto Hyman. Rain kept most traffic at bay.
Both locals and visitors have described it as “Busy” “Ugly” “Confusing” “sign
noise” “too much” “annoying”.
In several weeks of watching I have only seen three bikes use the dedicated
wrong-way bike path. Seen lots of pedestrian traffic in said bike path. I have
seen numerous people tripping over the green and white curb blocks or
whatever they are called.
I was on scene (and I called an ambulance) for a woman that broke her wrist in
front of the old Boogies (visible deformity) on the uneven bike rack area. Not
sure if connected to Living Lab, but nonetheless.
Observing Sat/Sun for approx. 4 hrs. I did not see (1) bike in marked bikeway.
Lots of bikes in roadway (both directions).
Continued confused chaos amongst all stakeholders believed to be a product of
the over signage.
Noticed that the parallel parking obscures pedestrian vision creating additional
hazards for pedestrians. Too much going on for all stakeholders (bikes,
pedestrians, vehicles).
Drivers struggling to parallel park on left side of Galena. Not used to that
type/direction of parallel parking as they park on the right side just fine.
Cyclists ride all over the place, mostly going the wrong way in the street on
Galena. Very few using the dedicated contra-flow bike lane.
8/31/22 Carl Heck
carlheck@icloud.com
Via email
carlheck@icloud.com
Via email
I was in favor of the lab but later realized those Horrible green bumpers block
the majority of motorcycle parking down town. I volunteer at the Thrift store
sometimes & it’s Dangerous trying to park my motorcycle now! I ride to avoid
bringing my car to town & taking up another parking space.
9/2/22 Charles/Chip Patterson
970-948-9566
Via voicemail
I'd like to know how the lab cost. I think it's an absolute waste.
I would like to find out what the cost of all that was with the labor and with
those little blocks and as a taxpayer, I believe I have that right to know that
information
86
9/3/22 John A. Carbona
john@carbonacapital.com
Via email
Thank you for your dedication and desire to make our community of Aspen as
great as possible.
If any of the contents of this email offends you or your work as an official in
Aspen, I opologize in advance.
This email is unfortunately a vote of dissent on the councils recommended
traffic, pedestrian, and bike lanes in the center core, "Galena Lab".
I am a resident and business owner at 428 E Hyman Ave. , The Kobey Building.
My garage is in the alley behind Hyman Ave.
Background:
Since the city changed the traffic flow on S. Mill to a one way, a few years ago,
I've been adversly affected and re-routed on my trip home, to access my car
garage. I've lived with this change, and endure the extra time, gas money and
traffic on Hopkins to Monarch to Hyman to the alley to get to the Kobey daily for
the greater good of the community.
But I must say something now about the Galena Lab.
The goals of the Galena Lab stipulated were:
1. Improve the convenience, safety, and quality of experience for bicyclists and
pedestrians on streets and
tr+C187+C183+C183:C185+C187+C183+C183:C187+C183:C186+C183:C187+C183
:C185+C183:C187
87
9/3/22 John A. Carbona
john@carbonacapital.com
Via email
continued We did not meet this objective. Nor did we include businesses and
homeowners in your objective, so it was flawed from the start.
It is not at all convenient or safe for humans using the Hyman alley daily.
Who uses the alley? Trash trucks, 2 times per day, (recycle and trash), deliveries
to commercial locations, FedEx Ups, furniture delivery for the gallery, food
service trucks for the restaurants, workers, construction crews, families living on
Hyman, etc. It's a busy Alley.
Previously we all would exit the one way Hyman alley, and turn right on Galena
and then left on Hyman to leave the core area ASAP.
I, and everyone using the Hyman alley are now required to drive all the way into
the core along with additional traffic to be routed in the wrong direction to exit
town.
This uses, more time, more fuel, electric and fossil, and increases chance for
safety issues, because we are driving into a more dense area of pedestrians.
9/3/22 John A. Carbona
john@carbonacapital.com
Via email
continued 2. Develop a strategic parking plan that manages the supply of
parking and reduces the adverse impacts of the automobile.
Your parallel parking plan, reduced core parking by 1/2, I don't think this is
managing, it is reducing parking. Commercial enterprises need more parking not
less. And parallel parking and bike riders are an accident waiting to happen.
When a car door is opened into the bike path, that bike rider, not paying
attention is going ass over tea kettle.
3. Encourage alternative forms of transportation to reduce reliance on fossil
fuels.
I don't think it's the councils responsibly to take a stand on reduction of fossil
fuel use, until it establishes an infrastructure for alternatives, like charging
stations that are convenient and plentiful. In addition, reducing fossil fuel use
will require people to purchase electric cars or ride or walk.
The council should not interfere with these household economic decisions.
88
9/3/22 John A. Carbona
john@carbonacapital.com
Via email
continued 4. Increase safety by providing safe, balanced, and dedicated spaces
for all users.
Let's start looking through a wider lense when making changes. This Lab is not
balanced for me or other like me. It didn't look at businesses or residential units
in the core.
The folks working and living on Hyman Ave walking mall feel the proposed
changes Do Not hit the mark established, negatively impact our commerce,
safety, and life experience in Aspen.
The council should identify areas of great need without expense to the tax
payers and solve those problems first before looking for things to fix that aren't
broken and stop spending money unwisely
89
9/3/22 John A. Carbona
john@carbonacapital.com
Via email
continued For example, the Hyman Ave. Alley is the most disgusting Alley in
town, looking more like an alley in a third world country, rather than what it can
be.
I've worked tirelessly with the Police, City Hall, engineering, local businesses and
pedestrians using the alley to improve the experience, but it's an uphill battle
and I could use some help.
We need a complete review of the trash and recycling bins to take place. The 8
yards of recycle containers is 1/2 of what's needed, evidenced by daily
overflowing of recycle trash. The alley is home to businesses on Hyman and
Hopkins Galena and Mill.
Finally:
I live in an historic jurisdiction, I can not make any renovations unless I bring my
plans to the Historic Preservation Committee.
How can the traffic flow or parking changes be exempt from the same oversight.
In my opinion your proposed changes have a greater or equal impact to the
History of our town than a window or door color change.
I think these and other changes within the core, should go through the same
hoops the residents do.
With humility and grace and extreme interest in the future of Aspen
John A. Carbona
90
9/4/22
Margaret Kaufman
megkauf@yahoo.com
Via email
The living lab is a complete mess. There is no reason for the bicyclist to have two
dedicated directions on a one-way street. To give up all the parking spaces that
were given up is indefensible from a pedestrian’s point of view from a driver’s
point of you and from a merchant’s point of view. It needs to go back to the way
it was!
I also want to protest the fact that bicyclists now believe that they do not have
to stop at stop signs!! I have seen so many near accidents it’s crazy! Bikes should
have to follow the same rules of the road as cars just like before. The E bikes
have only compounded this problem. Adults and children alike have no sense of
responsibility for the rules of the road that I have witnessed and they even go in
the middle of the road the wrong way on the road. When did bicyclists get
priority over everybody else? It is above and beyond reasonable!
9/6/22
Streck2
Via Aspen Community Voice
Love it!!
Thank you for putting it in. I loved that while biking I am more protected. It
reminds me of biking in Berlin, Germany, where the cars were there to protect
you.
9/6/22 Chefjeff
Via Aspen Community Voice
Revert back to previous parking allotment.
The short sighted parking idea of the Living Lab shows you how desperate the
city is to accomplish something of significance to improve our traffic gridlock.
Has any of the council negotiated the Lab on their bikes. Come on! It's suicide .
9/7/22 Mo
Via Aspen Community Voice
It’s a stupid idea. Waste of space. Stop wasting our money on your idiotic
meetings to make these kind of changes. It’s a stupid idea. Waste of space. Stop
wasting our money on your idiotic meetings to make these kind of changes.
91
9/13/22 Edward Sullivan I refuse to register for yet another account, so these are my comments:
#1 - Let cars and bikes turn left onto Hyman Avenue from Galena Street, or else
they will circle around several blocks to get to a final destination, adding to the
traffic in the one-way section of Galena Street.
#2 - At least now all of the bikes which used to ride illegally against traffic can go
north on Galena Street safely.
#3 - How much did each of those big blocks cost, particularly the ones with the
“bear on bike” artwork? Over $100 each, I’m guessing, for something which may
well be only temporary. And the total cost of those blocks?
92
9/19/22 Hillary Simon Hello City of Aspen,
This gentleman walking to his car tripped over the bike lane bumper. Twice.
(Pictures attached)
He was looking left to right for traffic not bumpers on the ground. He was not
happy and had a very sore knee.
His wife was ticked off! "Who puts giant legos on the street?"
Curious, do you want pedestrians parked along the Lego path to walk across
bikes and Lego's to get to their car, or, on the street?
If residents are confused how do you think the tourists are coping with this new
addition?
I watched with my own eyes ONE cyclist actually using the bike lane veer with
his front tire into a bumper then bonk into sidewalk curb and go down. It was
like a pinball machine. Embarrassing for all.
In an effort to promote green initiatives by encouraging biking in town there are
dangerous and unintended consequences.
Also, doesn't removing parking spots encourage idling, driving around looking
for the now more rare parking spot? Both of which waste fuel.
A solution:
Bike racks with signage "Please, park your ebike here and walk the lovely City of
Aspen".
(Parks are a great location for bike racks.. we have multiple to choose
from)Encouraging parking bikes and walking:
Increases foot traffic which helps restaurants and retailers.
Increases safety for car and bike "drivers" and pedestrians.
I realize that this is an experiment. I have not witnessed success with this just
two falls and a lot of complaining from eye sore to dangerous.
It is great to experiment and it's ok if the experiment does not work.
93
9/19/22 Hillary Simon Hey, at least we tried. :)
Thank you for all that you do!
Best,
Hillary Simon
Woody Creek
714-330-3856
Steve
850-368-3979
“I'm 85 years old and … parking in downtown is inconvenient and difficult.”
94
Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
APPENDIX C
95
Living Lab Data Analysis and Graphs September 29th, 2022
*Only data collected by Maya
Overview/Main Points:
-There is a need for more pedestrian space.
- The number of negative interactions between motorists and pedestrians has decreased
significantly with the installation of the lab.
-There is no correlation between number of bikes and the total number of negative
interactions, even though there was an in increase in bikers. The majority of negative
interactions are between motorists and pedestrians, and the number of negative
interactions caused by cyclists does not significantly affect the total.
-The data shows that the safety of the intersections has been improved with the
infrastructure of the lab in place.
-The intersections with infrastructure have improved cyclist behavior, and therefore the
Living Lab improved bike behavior compared to the control site of Monarch & Hopkins.
-There have been fewer traffic accident reports for the Living Lab blocks in 2022 than in
2021 or 2020 (during summer months).
96
General Statistics
-Total Average counterflow bikers: 9.57 (bikers per 30 min)
-Average counterflow bikers @ Galena/Hopkins: 11.11 (bikers per 30 min)
-Average counterflow bikers @ Galena/Hyman: 12.73 (bikers per 30 min)
-Average counterflow bikers @ Galena/Cooper: 7.89 (bikers per 30 min)
-Average counterflow bikers @ Cooper/Hunter: 6.53 (bikers per 30 min)
-Highest count of counterflow bikers in one 30-minute period: 26 (@ Galena/Hyman)
-Still get on average 1.93 cars (every 30 mins) turning left at the Galena/Hyman intersection and
going the wrong way down Hyman
➔ This graph is a sum of all negative interactions across all four intersections each day for a
2 hour period.
Field Observation: As people have been learning how the new street design works, there
have generally been fewer negative interactions.
The next four graphs show the number of counterflow bikers at each intersection for each day.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
6/226/246/276/286/307/17/57/67/77/87/117/127/137/147/157/187/197/207/217/257/277/288/28/38/48/228/238/248/268/298/308/319/69/79/89/99/13Number of InteractionsDate
Total Negative Interactions between Motorists & Pedestrians
<-Heavy
Install Day
Install
Castle Creek
Bridge
construction
started ->
97
0
5
10
15
20
25
Counterflow Cyclists (in 30 min)Date
Counterflow Cyclists at Galena & Hopkins Intersection
1st Install Day
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Counterflow Cyclists (in 30 min)Date
Counterflow Cyclists at Galena & Hyman Intersection
1st Install Day
0
5
10
15
20
Counterflow Cyclists (in 30 min)Date
Counterflow Cyclists at Galena & Cooper Intersection
1st Install Day
98
Parking Turnover Count:
On 7/1, a count of parked cars and turnover was conducted. At 11:00am all parked cars
on the Galena Cooper Lab were chalked (one small stripe on the rear driver’s tire). At 1:00pm,
the remaining chalked cars were counted as well as non-chalked parked cars.
➔ After the 2 hour period, 28 chalked cars remained parked (44%) and 36 non-chalked cars
had parked (56%). Total of 64 cars were counted.
0
5
10
15
20
Counterflow Cyclists (in 30 min)Date
Counterflow Cyclists at Cooper & Hunter Intersection
1st Install Day
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Cyclists per DayDate
Total Daily Cyclist Counts in Counterflow Lane
N/A
99
Peak Parking Occupancy in the Core 2022 September 26th, 2022
For the summer of 2022, there were no days where the parking occupancy in the core surpassed
the 85% occupancy threshold.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
12/30 1/29 2/28 3/30 4/29 5/29 6/28 7/28 8/27 9/26Parking Spot Occupancy Date
Peak Parking Occupancy in the Core 2022
85% Threshold
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1/1 3/2 5/1 6/30 8/29 10/28 12/27Percent Peak OccupancyDate
Daily Parking Occupancy in the Core 2019-2022
85% Threshold 2019 Occupancy 2021 Occupancy 2022 Occupancy
100
Galena Street Tube Counter Data September 29th, 2022
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Cyclists per DayDate
Daily Cyclist Counts in Counterflow Lane
101
Graphs from Brian Long
102
APPENDIX A: Tube counter raw data, Daily counterflow bike counts
Date
Galena Street Bike
Lane Counts Date
Galena Street Bike
Lane Counts Date
Galena Street Bike
Lane Counts
7/1/2022 143 8/1/2022 129 9/1/2022 112
7/2/2022 219 8/2/2022 173 9/2/2022 144
7/3/2022 206 8/3/2022 193 9/3/2022 220
7/4/2022 185 8/4/2022 177 9/4/2022 158
7/5/2022 106 8/5/2022 166 9/5/2022 164
7/6/2022 106 8/6/2022 245 9/6/2022 116
7/7/2022 152 8/7/2022 148 9/7/2022 122
7/8/2022 177 8/8/2022 189 9/8/2022 147
7/9/2022 206 8/9/2022 166 9/9/2022 143
7/10/2022 107 8/10/2022 165 9/10/2022 160
7/11/2022 175 8/11/2022 165 9/11/2022 127
7/12/2022 155 8/12/2022 166 9/12/2022 83
7/13/2022 167 8/13/2022 301 9/13/2022 106
7/14/2022 177 8/14/2022 174 9/14/2022 65
7/15/2022 137 8/15/2022 99 9/15/2022 74
7/16/2022 260 8/16/2022 70 9/16/2022 113
7/17/2022 182 8/17/2022 140 9/17/2022 135
7/18/2022 183 8/18/2022 154 9/18/2022 98
7/19/2022 181 8/19/2022 98 9/19/2022 112
7/20/2022 158 8/20/2022 115 9/20/2022 86
7/21/2022 199 8/21/2022 110 9/21/2022 72
7/22/2022 207 8/22/2022 86 9/22/2022 62
7/23/2022 249 8/23/2022 128 9/23/2022 127
7/24/2022 151 8/24/2022 133 9/24/2022 151
7/25/2022 203 8/25/2022 107 9/25/2022 104
7/26/2022 170 8/26/2022 75 9/26/2022 91
7/27/2022 214 8/27/2022 141 9/27/2022 116
7/28/2022 148 8/28/2022 96
7/29/2022 203 8/29/2022 145
7/30/2022 148 8/30/2022 117
7/31/2022 101 8/31/2022 130
103
Galena Cooper Living Lab 2022
APPENDIX D
104
Project Report
14 June 2016 - 09 October 2022
Aspen Community Voice
Galena Cooper Living Lab
Highlights
TOTAL
VISITS
1.4 k
MAX VISITORS PER
DAY
293
NEW
REGISTRATI
ONS
67
ENGAGED
VISITORS
310
INFORMED
VISITORS
594
AWARE
VISITORS
947
Aware Participants 947
Aware Actions Performed Participants
Visited a Project or Tool Page 947
Informed Participants 594
Informed Actions Performed Participants
Viewed a video 0
Viewed a photo 0
Downloaded a document 30
Visited the Key Dates page 7
Visited an FAQ list Page 0
Visited Instagram Page 0
Visited Multiple Project Pages 270
Contributed to a tool (engaged)310
Engaged Participants 310
Engaged Actions Performed Registered Unverified Anonymous
Contributed on Forums 0 0 0
Participated in Surveys 262 0 0
Contributed to Newsfeeds 0 0 0
Participated in Quick Polls 0 0 0
Posted on Guestbooks 0 0 0
Contributed to Stories 0 0 0
Asked Questions 16 0 0
Placed Pins on Places 0 0 0
Contributed to Ideas 56 0 0
Visitors Summary
Pageviews Visitors
1 Jul '22 1 Sep '22
500
1000
1500
105
Tool Type Engagement Tool Name Tool Status Visitors
Registered Unverified Anonymous
Contributors
Qanda Have a question about the living lab?Published 167 16 0 0
Survey Tool Experiencing the GCLL Draft 458 262 0 0
Ideas Comments Published 154 55 0 0
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
ENGAGEMENT TOOLS SUMMARY
0
FORUM TOPICS
1
SURVEYS
0
NEWS FEEDS
0
QUICK POLLS
0
GUEST BOOKS
0
STORIES
1
Q&A S
0
PLACES
1
IDEAS
Page 2 of 32 106
Widget Type Engagement Tool Name Visitors Views/Downloads
Document Galena Cooper Living Lab fact sheet_English_web.pdf 29 33
Document Galena Cooper Living Lab Update - September 22 2 2
Document City Council Work Session February 2022 Lab Logistics and Budget 2 3
Document Galena Cooper Living Lab fact sheet_Spanish_web.pdf 2 3
Document Galena Cooper Living Lab Phone and Email Log 0 0
Key Dates Key Date 7 7
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
INFORMATION WIDGET SUMMARY
5
DOCUMENTS
0
PHOTOS
0
VIDEOS
0
FAQS
0
KEY DATES
Page 3 of 32 107
Visitors 167 Contributors 16 CONTRIBUTIONS 17
Q Aspenmikey
It is actually worse than before…and to me it’s less safe
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Q Aspenmikey
It is actually worse than before…and to me it’s less safe
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
11 July 22
11 July 22
Page 4 of 32 108
Q pdhoffmann
Hello - Not sure where to submit feedback, but I have several comments below on the Galena / Cooper
reorganization: First of call, I think turning Hyman in front of Clark's, etc. into one-way is great and improves safety on
the busy corner of Hyman / Galena. However, the reorg'd parking and bike lane on Galena and Cooper seem to - am
ong other things - more than offset that safety gain. The counter flow bike lane is just dangerous - drivers,
pedestrians, etc. are expecting traffic from the right on a one-way street and it creates a real blind spot for people com
ing the opposite direction in the bike lane. This is how accidents happen. Not to mention cyclists themselves expect t
o go with the flow of traffic and ride the incorrect way in the bike lane causing bike on bike accidents. Not to mention
people in cars parking along the bike lane opening doors or just crossing the bike lane without looking. No amount of
signage is going to change this thinking - in fact more signage will just confuse people. Further, the parallel parking is
really unfortunate. The street was wide even with the angle parking - now with parallel parking its almost two full lanes
wide. I now see people double parking (because they can't find spots) - especially trucks or people dropping off. The l
ast spot on the corner in front of paradise is especially bad - trucks are parked off the back there regularly. If you must
keep the bike lane and parallel parking on the left side of the street, you still have more than enough room to return th
e right side to angle parking on Cooper. The extra wide street only increases the danger here. I really appreciate what
you are trying to do here - I am a long-time cyclist and often a pedestrian in town and a full-time resident. However, I c
ame from a big city with lots of bike lanes. They introduce TONS of issues unless they are extremely protected. They
are valuable on larger, fast traffic roads and again ONLY work when they are extremely protected on both sides. At th
e end of the day, it is MUCH safer for bikes to go with the direction of traffic and in the street. These aren't highways, i
ts a slow downtown street. Bikes need to be 1. very visible, and 2. where cars and pedestrians expect them to be (in f
ront of them, going with traffic). Please focus your attention on more critical areas for bikes / cars. How about eliminati
ng the West-End sneak or enforcing the one-block limit on the pedways? I was riding through there with my friend and
their 6-year old and its like a parking lot at 5pm. Cars blatantly ignore the one-block limit and drive wildly. Just block p
owerplant road for 2 hours at rush hour. Creating a counter flow bike lane for two blocks does absolutely nothing for c
yclist safety - in fact I'd argue it makes it much worse. Return Galena and Cooper to how they were and focus on area
s with real problems. How about building more four-way stops in the core? Overall, really disappointed with this projec
t. Lot of time and effort seems to have gone into a two block project with what seems like little to no thought or input fr
om actual pedestrians or cyclists. I am passionate about this because I'd like to enjoy going into town safely and have
had many friends hurt or killed in bike / car accidents. The answer is to make it as easy as possible for all modes of tr
affic - cars, bikes, people - to navigate. There are tons of distractions already (for everyone, including cyclists). Make t
hings as easy and intuitive as possible.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
11 July 22
Page 5 of 32 109
Q pdhoffmann
Hello - Not sure where to submit feedback, but I have several comments below on the Galena / Cooper
reorganization: First of call, I think turning Hyman in front of Clark's, etc. into one-way is great and improves safety on
the busy corner of Hyman / Galena. However, the reorg'd parking and bike lane on Galena and Cooper seem to - am
ong other things - more than offset that safety gain. The counter flow bike lane is just dangerous - drivers,
pedestrians, etc. are expecting traffic from the right on a one-way street and it creates a real blind spot for people com
ing the opposite direction in the bike lane. This is how accidents happen. Not to mention cyclists themselves expect t
o go with the flow of traffic and ride the incorrect way in the bike lane causing bike on bike accidents. Not to mention
people in cars parking along the bike lane opening doors or just crossing the bike lane without looking. No amount of
signage is going to change this thinking - in fact more signage will just confuse people. Further, the parallel parking is
really unfortunate. The street was wide even with the angle parking - now with parallel parking its almost two full lanes
wide. I now see people double parking (because they can't find spots) - especially trucks or people dropping off. The l
ast spot on the corner in front of paradise is especially bad - trucks are parked off the back there regularly. If you must
keep the bike lane and parallel parking on the left side of the street, you still have more than enough room to return th
e right side to angle parking on Cooper. The extra wide street only increases the danger here. I really appreciate what
you are trying to do here - I am a long-time cyclist and often a pedestrian in town and a full-time resident. However, I c
ame from a big city with lots of bike lanes. They introduce TONS of issues unless they are extremely protected. They
are valuable on larger, fast traffic roads and again ONLY work when they are extremely protected on both sides. At th
e end of the day, it is MUCH safer for bikes to go with the direction of traffic and in the street. These aren't highways, i
ts a slow downtown street. Bikes need to be 1. very visible, and 2. where cars and pedestrians expect them to be (in f
ront of them, going with traffic). Please focus your attention on more critical areas for bikes / cars. How about eliminati
ng the West-End sneak or enforcing the one-block limit on the pedways? I was riding through there with my friend and
their 6-year old and its like a parking lot at 5pm. Cars blatantly ignore the one-block limit and drive wildly. Just block p
owerplant road for 2 hours at rush hour. Creating a counter flow bike lane for two blocks does absolutely nothing for c
yclist safety - in fact I'd argue it makes it much worse. Return Galena and Cooper to how they were and focus on area
s with real problems. How about building more four-way stops in the core? Overall, really disappointed with this projec
t. Lot of time and effort seems to have gone into a two block project with what seems like little to no thought or input fr
om actual pedestrians or cyclists. I am passionate about this because I'd like to enjoy going into town safely and have
had many friends hurt or killed in bike / car accidents. The answer is to make it as easy as possible for all modes of tr
affic - cars, bikes, people - to navigate. There are tons of distractions already (for everyone, including cyclists). Make t
hings as easy and intuitive as possible.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
11 July 22
Page 6 of 32 110
Q repertoire
As a pedestrian and biker (and driver), I consider it highly dangerousness to be downtown due to the proliferation of c
ars and drivers disrespectful of the pedestrian nature of Aspen. Eliminating angled parking not only eliminates the soli
d close in visual wall that they create, but eliminates the highly dangerous process of backing out with limited visibility
of bikes and other cars. The vibrancy of the town is based on the mobility of pedestrians and bikers. E-bike and scoot
ers of all types now provide access to those who would not otherwise have access. For the most part, close-in
parking is a luxury for those choosing not to enjoy the outdoors and instead shop at the ubiquitous unaffordable “fashi
on” boutiques that minimizes my visits to the core of Aspen two blocks away from my residence on the top of South G
alena. I believe your latest traffic management changes are excellent and follow other inspirational municipalities that
add to their vibrancy by encouraging outdoor access unimpeded by unnecessary car traffic in pedestrian dominated lo
cations. Karl Friedman
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Q repertoire
As a pedestrian and biker (and driver), I consider it highly dangerousness to be downtown due to the proliferation of c
ars and drivers disrespectful of the pedestrian nature of Aspen. Eliminating angled parking not only eliminates the soli
d close in visual wall that they create, but eliminates the highly dangerous process of backing out with limited visibility
of bikes and other cars. The vibrancy of the town is based on the mobility of pedestrians and bikers. E-bike and scoot
ers of all types now provide access to those who would not otherwise have access. For the most part, close-in
parking is a luxury for those choosing not to enjoy the outdoors and instead shop at the ubiquitous unaffordable “fashi
on” boutiques that minimizes my visits to the core of Aspen two blocks away from my residence on the top of South G
alena. I believe your latest traffic management changes are excellent and follow other inspirational municipalities that
add to their vibrancy by encouraging outdoor access unimpeded by unnecessary car traffic in pedestrian dominated lo
cations. Karl Friedman
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
11 July 22
11 July 22
Page 7 of 32
111
Q tweeter01
Having observed the Galena Cooper Living Lab, I feel it is one of the "dumbest" things Aspen has initiated recently. Fi
rst of all, pedestrians are walking in the bike lanes when there are sidewalks available, cyclists are riding in the street
and trying to parallel park a car in a lane that is basically in the middle of the street would be close to impossible. At ni
ghts most residents and visitors would not be riding a bike to dinner anyway. Plus cyclists do not follow protocol, don't
stop at stop at stop signs and still ride 2-3 abreast. The entire set up is very confusing and probably more dangerous t
han the previous arrangement.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Q tweeter01
Having observed the Galena Cooper Living Lab, I feel it is one of the "dumbest" things Aspen has initiated recently. Fi
rst of all, pedestrians are walking in the bike lanes when there are sidewalks available, cyclists are riding in the street
and trying to parallel park a car in a lane that is basically in the middle of the street would be close to impossible. At ni
ghts most residents and visitors would not be riding a bike to dinner anyway. Plus cyclists do not follow protocol, don't
stop at stop at stop signs and still ride 2-3 abreast. The entire set up is very confusing and probably more dangerous t
han the previous arrangement.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
11 July 22
11 July 22
Page 8 of 32
112
Q Sunier6
I walk or ride my bike to town nearly daily and have done so for the 7 years since we retired full time here in Aspen. I
am in full support of providing pedestrian zones and safe areas for cyclists BUT I also feel we need to be fair to our S
hops and to the tourists who come here and want to purchase goods within our thriving community. The current set u
p does not make me as a pedestrian or cyclist feel safer at all - in fact I would argue that the reduction in parking mak
es me feel less safe as we now have angry motorists circling about the blocks looking for parking - and - well - there i
sn’t much more intimidating than an angry Aspen tourist. Most of the people who come visit us here or who have 2nd
homes here and visit us are accustomed to paying for garage or valet parking. Our garage is a tad far for people carry
ing bags full of goodies and - honestly - if you are dropping thousands on Gucci or Christian Dior - you won’t mind pay
ing a little extra to have your car valet parked for you and brought back to you. Whether this is something that can vali
dated for reduced rates by the shops if you purchase goods from them or is simply a money maker for our community
to provide extra money - well thats something that can be debated - what shouldn’t be in question is whether or not w
e need to provide parking so our restaurants and stores can stay thriving. On a separate note - I am really disappointe
d by the reduction in bike racks for those of us who use our bikes to ride to town. Yes its all great that you have put in
“bikes for hire” but where are those of us who want to ride to town for our errands to now park?
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
11 July 22
Page 9 of 32
113
Q Sunier6
I walk or ride my bike to town nearly daily and have done so for the 7 years since we retired full time here in Aspen. I
am in full support of providing pedestrian zones and safe areas for cyclists BUT I also feel we need to be fair to our S
hops and to the tourists who come here and want to purchase goods within our thriving community. The current set u
p does not make me as a pedestrian or cyclist feel safer at all - in fact I would argue that the reduction in parking mak
es me feel less safe as we now have angry motorists circling about the blocks looking for parking - and - well - there i
sn’t much more intimidating than an angry Aspen tourist. Most of the people who come visit us here or who have 2nd
homes here and visit us are accustomed to paying for garage or valet parking. Our garage is a tad far for people carry
ing bags full of goodies and - honestly - if you are dropping thousands on Gucci or Christian Dior - you won’t mind pay
ing a little extra to have your car valet parked for you and brought back to you. Whether this is something that can vali
dated for reduced rates by the shops if you purchase goods from them or is simply a money maker for our community
to provide extra money - well thats something that can be debated - what shouldn’t be in question is whether or not w
e need to provide parking so our restaurants and stores can stay thriving. On a separate note - I am really disappointe
d by the reduction in bike racks for those of us who use our bikes to ride to town. Yes its all great that you have put in
“bikes for hire” but where are those of us who want to ride to town for our errands to now park?
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Q Jason Suazo
I hate this. My vehicle is too tall for parking garage so I will just keep driving around until I find a parking space. Please
do something else but parking is an issue. Town is getting busier and busier each year.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
11 July 22
11 July 22
Page 10 of 32
114
Q Jason Suazo
I hate this. My vehicle is too tall for parking garage so I will just keep driving around until I find a parking space. Please
do something else but parking is an issue. Town is getting busier and busier each year.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Q SinCloud55
The new bike lanes on Galena and Cooper are awful. The three times I have been in town, No bikes were using the bi
ke lanes. There were a few people walking on the bike lanes. Taking away parking spots from people who want to eat
and shop in town was stupid.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Q SinCloud55
The new bike lanes on Galena and Cooper are awful. The three times I have been in town, No bikes were using the bi
ke lanes. There were a few people walking on the bike lanes. Taking away parking spots from people who want to eat
and shop in town was stupid.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
11 July 22
12 July 22
12 July 22
Page 11 of 32
115
Q ASD
This cannot be permanent. It is a slap in the face to the business that are downtown. They just endured years of the
Pandemic and now you throw this at them. We are in a recession as we speak. Is very quiet in town. We realize that i
s what you want to try to stop cars but that is not what business needs. It is dangerous. People walk in the bike path n
ow and not on the sidewalk. A car can actually take out a bicycle by opening their door on either side of the car. And p
eople have to walk across the bike path to get into their car. Also trying to parallel in that space is an accident waiting
to happen. Put it back like it was. Tory said they want to hear what we think. We don't really believe that as they do w
hat they want anyway. But this is the worst idea of a lot bad ideas by this council in years.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Q ASD
This cannot be permanent. It is a slap in the face to the business that are downtown. They just endured years of the
Pandemic and now you throw this at them. We are in a recession as we speak. Is very quiet in town. We realize that i
s what you want to try to stop cars but that is not what business needs. It is dangerous. People walk in the bike path n
ow and not on the sidewalk. A car can actually take out a bicycle by opening their door on either side of the car. And p
eople have to walk across the bike path to get into their car. Also trying to parallel in that space is an accident waiting
to happen. Put it back like it was. Tory said they want to hear what we think. We don't really believe that as they do w
hat they want anyway. But this is the worst idea of a lot bad ideas by this council in years.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
13 July 22
13 July 22
Page 12 of 32
116
Q dancerjessie
Why not make the streets two ways again? The parking was parallel then and there was no confusion between bikers
and pedestrians.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Q dancerjessie
Why not make the streets two ways again? The parking was parallel then and there was no confusion between bikers
and pedestrians.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Q Euroskin
This is maybe the most rediculous idea and execution I’ve ever seen. It is hurting local businesses. We have to have
parking in town or provide more garage space. I am hearing from my elderly clients that they are very unhappy and fe
el pushed out of town.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
13 July 22
13 July 22
14 July 22
Page 13 of 32
117
Q Euroskin
This is maybe the most rediculous idea and execution I’ve ever seen. It is hurting local businesses. We have to have
parking in town or provide more garage space. I am hearing from my elderly clients that they are very unhappy and fe
el pushed out of town.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Q Jenlid
I am enjoying less traffic in the downtown core, As a long time local, I have said for YEARS, why isn't all of the downt
own core, "malled". We should be forward thinking in our approach to the environment and the livelihood of our local
community, while also maintaining a welcoming environment for our visitors. I have vistited Many other small Colorad
o towns and our downtown is by far the most amazingly organized, and pedestrian/biker friendly. Can't we make it ev
en more so? My vote would be to mall the whole downtown area, make cars park at brush creek and bus in, but since
that is not on the table YET, and just this small change has caused some of the super wealthy to have a hissy fit, I wo
uld love to see this living lab improved upon and made even better. I am sure there is a way to make stores accessibl
e to all and allow for our kids, pedestrians, bikers, families to be safe as the wonder around.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report. We invite you to subscri
be for project updates by adding your email and submitting it through the "Stay Informed" box on the project page.
We will be adding a baseline survey later this week and hope you will also consider taking that.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
14 July 22
16 July 22
Page 14 of 32
118
Q Jenlid
I am enjoying less traffic in the downtown core, As a long time local, I have said for YEARS, why isn't all of the downt
own core, "malled". We should be forward thinking in our approach to the environment and the livelihood of our local
community, while also maintaining a welcoming environment for our visitors. I have vistited Many other small Colorad
o towns and our downtown is by far the most amazingly organized, and pedestrian/biker friendly. Can't we make it ev
en more so? My vote would be to mall the whole downtown area, make cars park at brush creek and bus in, but since
that is not on the table YET, and just this small change has caused some of the super wealthy to have a hissy fit, I wo
uld love to see this living lab improved upon and made even better. I am sure there is a way to make stores accessibl
e to all and allow for our kids, pedestrians, bikers, families to be safe as the wonder around.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Q johnseybold
I participated in the focus group sessions, and I would say half of the members in my group wanted a pedestrian only
solution. Instead we got the living lab exactly as it was originally designed, as if the comments from all the focus group
s (I can't imagine mine was unique) were totally ignored. The original survey was deeply flawed, because it only aske
d about car-centric solutions (e.g. "Would you prefer angled or parallel parking?"). There were no questions for those
who would prefer closing the street to cars entirely. So, yeah, maybe the new layout is a little better, or maybe not. W
ho cares? If we really want safety for cyclists and pedestrians, fewer emissions, and a more livable and walkable city,
close the street to cars completely.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for this feedback and for participating in one of the focus groups as part of the Safety and Mobility in the D
owntown Core project. Feedback from the focus groups, along with input received from other engagement efforts, wa
s incorporated into the Living Lab's design. In addition to the focus groups, a diverse representation of community tho
ughts was collected through two communitywide questionnaires and other stakeholder meetings. Those interested ca
n find a summary of all the previous engagement feedback here.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
16 July 22
24 July 22
Page 15 of 32
119
Q Petrina
Have any of you ventured down Galena in a car on Saturday mornings? I tried this week and was frustrated and anxio
us. There were cars, bikes, people on phones, We-Cycle stations, white pilons, and SIGNS all over the place. If this is
the way forward there needs to be more education and someone to direct and control. No one knows where to go or h
ow to get there. You want to get rid of cars in town then you should mall Galena from Hyman all the way around to E.
Hunter and figure out a way to access the alleys for trash. Build a parking garage under ground. Come up with
attractive barriers at the end of the malls instead of the metal tipped over signs that are put up during Food and Wine.
STOP people from riding their bikes on the mall, it's dangerous. Motorized bikes go down quite fast and then add in
dogs off leash and you have mayhem. As an aside, the signs in town are out of control, why do we need small blue te
mporary "No Parking" signs lining Main Street going out of town when there are already PERMANENT "No Parking" si
gns?? There were actually 2 signs on the same corner coming into town on Main Street: One said "End Construction"
the other said "Construction Ahead". Get out and look around town, it's not pretty. Other communities like Laguna and
Hermosa Beach in California have figured it out, why can't we?
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Q Ebohman
Kudos to you for creating this experiment. "Living Lab".....you need the public to experience this to see if it works.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
25 July 22
19 August 22
Page 16 of 32
120
Q Ebohman
To be honest, Aspen needs to be turned into a no car zone period. Build a mega big parking garage out at the Brush
Creek (Intercept Lot) lot and visitors must park out there and be shuttled in. Then increase RFTA/Downtowner shuttle
s to move folks around. You would still need to allow lodges to shuttle their guests around. It doesn't matter what you
do to improve the safety for folks walking and bikes. Visitors don't pay attention to the yield signs on main street so wh
y would they follow these rules? Get the cars out of town. Solves your parking problem and the risk of someone gettin
g hurt on their bike or walking. Personally, I don't ride my bike in town. I walk out of town on with my bike before I mou
nt and peddle home. Good luck and thank you for trying to make this town safer for bike riders and pedestrians.
A Publicly Answered
Thank you for your feedback. We will add your input to our outreach and engagement report.
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
QANDA
Have a question about the living lab?
19 August 22
Page 17 of 32
121
Visitors 458 Contributors 262 CONTRIBUTIONS 262
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
ENGAGEMENT TOOL: SURVEY TOOL
Experiencing the GCLL
Tell us about yourself (please choose all that apply):
I live in the downtown core.I own a business in the downtown core.I work in the downtown core.
I shop and eat in the downtown core.
Question options
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
225
61
32
85
208
Page 18 of 32
Mandatory Question (262 response(s))
Question type: Checkbox Question
122
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
As a user and participant of the Galena Cooper Living Lab, please rate how each of
the lab’s following design elements impacted your experience when/if interacting
with them:
Greatly diminished
Diminished
Neither improved nor diminished
Improved
Greatly improved
Question options
50 100 150 200 250 300
Counter-flow bike lane
Parallel parking
Curb extensions at
intersection
Formalized shared
roadway for cyclists
and ve...
Eliminating the left turn
from Galena onto Hy...
14
11
22
12
14
12
14
37
23
29
43
28
69
49
62
59
53
36
58
58
132
153
94
118
94
Page 19 of 32
Optional question (261 response(s), 1 skipped)
Question type: Likert Question
123
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
Tell us about your Galena Cooper Living Lab experience as a motorist:
21 (8.0%)
21 (8.0%)
28 (10.7%)
28 (10.7%)
198 (75.6%)
198 (75.6%)
9 (3.4%)
9 (3.4%)6 (2.3%)
6 (2.3%)
Not applicable Not sure yet Negative impacts on safety and mobility Neutral
Positive improvements to safety and mobility
Question options
Page 20 of 32
Mandatory Question (262 response(s))
Question type: Radio Button Question
124
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
Tell us about your Galena Cooper Living Lab experience as a pedestrian:
25 (9.5%)
25 (9.5%)
42 (16.0%)
42 (16.0%)
177 (67.6%)
177 (67.6%)
11 (4.2%)
11 (4.2%)7 (2.7%)
7 (2.7%)
Not applicable Not sure yet Negative impacts on safety and mobility Neutral
Positive improvements to safety and mobility
Question options
Page 21 of 32
Mandatory Question (262 response(s))
Question type: Radio Button Question
125
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
Tell us about your Galena Cooper Living Lab experience as a cyclist:
26 (9.9%)
26 (9.9%)
24 (9.2%)
24 (9.2%)
148 (56.5%)
148 (56.5%)
8 (3.1%)
8 (3.1%)
56 (21.4%)
56 (21.4%)
Not applicable Not sure yet Negative impacts on safety and mobility Neutral
Positive improvements to safety and mobility
Question options
Page 22 of 32
Mandatory Question (262 response(s))
Question type: Radio Button Question
126
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
What, if any, changes have you noticed because of the Galena Cooper Living Lab
(please choose all that apply):
More conflicts between motorists More conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists Circulation has not improved
Parking is more difficult Site lines and visibility have not been improved Fewer conflicts between motorists
Fewer conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists Easier to park Better circulation Better site lines and visibility
Question options
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
225
29
21
4
14 15
166
214
199
171
131
Page 23 of 32
Mandatory Question (262 response(s))
Question type: Checkbox Question
127
Visitors 154 Contributors 56 CONTRIBUTIONS 292
26 July 22
Kathleen
Wanatowicz
VOTES
0
03 August 22
rebeccaborgess
VOTES
11
18 August 22
john galambos
VOTES
10
18 August 22
karlakelly
VOTES
9
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
Hello, please add comments, suggestions, concerns
and ideas here.
Return to the previous parking model
This new parking model has eliminated a huge number of parking spaces which will ta
ke a great toll on the small businesses attempting to thrive here. The computer generat
ed depiction above is not indicative of the space that truly exists here. The proportions
are off and depict a much larger area than what is available here. The bike lanes are cr
eating such a tight space for RFTA buses and other vehicles to move down the roads s
afely. It was not a good choice and the previous parking model was much more condu
cive to a great city environment.
I finally had the chance to ride my bike in the lab are
a and i found it confusing and not intuitive. i think it's
overall not a good idea.
Why is one way different from the other?
Has anyone ever ridden a bike in any city ever? Who came up with this "novel" idea?
Aspen City Council sits around coming up with the worst ideas I have ever seen. Pleas
e, someone with business acumen, run for council!! I love tennis pros, but I want a for
mer CEO to run a $100 million budget town.
Page 24 of 32
128
18 August 22
tim mooney
VOTES
2
18 August 22
lreede
VOTES
2
18 August 22
ECE
VOTES
1
18 August 22
Up2zmtns
VOTES
12
18 August 22
karenlord
VOTES
10
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
keep up the good work managing the growth impact
s of the resort on the community. What's good for th
e community is good for the resort.
Stop the commercialization of our historic ski town in a beautiful mountain valley for Gr
eed instead of Need.Stop the expansion of the airport.Create sustainable balanced gro
wth where the commercial growth is required to mitigate their employee housing by bu
ying Lumber yard units from the city.
Better directional signage, aka the way it's done in o
ther cities
The streets need to be painted with directional signage if you want to have a two-way s
ystem. This is how other cities do it. I am a cyclist with over 10,000 miles on my bike, a
nd the way you have it set up currently with bollards is too confusing/doesn't offer enou
gh signage for bicyclists, cars, or pedestrians to know who's coming from what directio
n. Additionally, I also think the stall parking needs to be removed (where people back o
ut of parking spaces), and just have parallel parking instead; yes this will eliminate so
me spaces, but it's too dangerous otherwise and it's a good compromise. Lastly, the co
mmunication and rollout of this was abysmal. Nobody knew what was going on until it j
ust happened. Please communicate better with your constituents.
Grow the protected bike network.
I was thrilled to watch Aspen installing a protected bike lane. Now let's see that the net
work allows cyclists to safely get all the way across town.
It is unsafe to travel against traffic on a bicycle, and
stop signs on a bike way are inefficient and borderli
ne ridiculous. Please revert!
President Aspen Cycling Club
Revert back to the way the parking was prior to the
changes that were made this summer. The reasons
why are too many to list here.
Page 25 of 32
129
19 August 22
Kai
VOTES
11
19 August 22
Jennydupree1
VOTES
13
19 August 22
Ebohman
VOTES
1
19 August 22
xyz123XYZ
VOTES
11
19 August 22
81611
VOTES
9
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
Please get rid of this!
These bike lanes have added absolutely nothing to the town and instead have taken a
way far more. Not everyone is able to ride their bikes to work and this takes the ability t
o drive into town almost out of the picture. While I think it is good to create a town that
has a smaller carbon footprint this is not the best way of doing so. These lanes have ta
ken so many parking spaces they will create such a loss for certain businesses they wil
l inevitably have to shut their doors. And to take away a whole street that used to be abl
e to be used just for the “safety” of a biker is wild. Please fix your mistakes and help thi
s town in ways that will actually help.
This “lab” looks ridiculous, is confusing and took aw
ay many needed parking spots. It looks like a kinder
garten carpool lane.
Turn Aspen into a cycle/pedestrian only town
It's time to build a huge parking garage at the Intercept Lot and have everyone park out
there and shuttle into Aspen. Only allow RFTA/Downtowner/lodge shuttles to move folk
s around. This solves your parking issue. THEN you can start creating bike paths on th
e roads. I see so many near misses when visitors disregard the yield signs for people tr
ying to cross Main Street. Get rid of the cars in town. It's time.
I do not feel safe riding a bike in this lane, it's narro
w, can't see, feel trapped. I see no one riding in the l
ane, we want freedom!
unsafe
I'd rather bike with cars than risk my safety in the la
b
Thank you for always trying to reduce car traffic and increase pedestrian and bike oppo
rtunities, which improves carbon pollution and community health. However, this experi
ment, touted to improve safety, misses the mark by a mile. As a cyclist, I choose not u
se this lane because I don't feel safe: too narrow, going against traffic, poor signage (if
any), and traveling with bikers who may or may not have any clue about bike etiquette (
see Maroon Creek Road + e-bikes for more on this phenomenon). I'm not willing to put
my body on the line to test out this well-intended but misguided theory. Please go back
to the drawing board for a more intuitive and common sense solution.
Page 26 of 32
130
19 August 22
Rednewt
VOTES
3
19 August 22
Roger I Moyer
VOTES
9
19 August 22
Rwittlin
VOTES
9
19 August 22
kek
VOTES
8
19 August 22
RichardE
VOTES
7
19 August 22
81611 Person
VOTES
10
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
This is too confusing. Keep cars and bikes separate.
It can be done with thought and planning.
Diagonal Parking (maximized) on 1 side divided from both bike lanes by a concrete bar
rier.
Remove it!!
Seal Beach, CA has one and it is a nightmare for all including those hit by car door or o
ther bikers going in opposite direction.
This was the worst idea ever, and not at all safe. Th
e loss of 44 spots has hurt retailers/restaurants. So
much for supporting the community
This is a terrible 24/7 intrusion that disregards senio
r citizens, businesses, tourists and parking with false
premises.
The decreased parking is terrible. The City Parking Garage often has "Full" at 1:00 pm
and parking is being subtracted. The lanes are awkward. There are bolted down bump
s to stumble and get injured from. Businesses are losing potential customers. Senior cit
izens do not ride bikes downtown, especially at night and in snow and rain, and these i
mpediments are there 24/7. There needs to be a recall election for elected officials for i
mplemented this proposal without these considerations.
It is yet another anti - business move by the City. Pa
rking is more difficult. Unloading deliveries is much
more problematic. Just stupid!
Worst Idea Ever! Please revert back
Parking has historically been difficult for tourists and sadly many locals as well. This ne
w ridiculous system just takes it to another level of disaster. I have personally tried the
new bike "lane" and it is horrible. Too narrow and makes no sense. Taking away much
needed parking from people who need it for so many reasons and adding more loadin
g and unloading areas that are only used for a few hours out of each day (MAX) is asini
ne. Please revert back to our old parking system and add back 44 spots, if not more. C
ars that are actually parked nicely would allow for bikers to move about easier as well.
Page 27 of 32
131
19 August 22
bac88
VOTES
9
20 August 22
kevinram
VOTES
5
20 August 22
StanClauson
VOTES
3
20 August 22
Zalere
VOTES
7
21 August 22
Catcruz
VOTES
7
22 August 22
Concerned
VOTES
8
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
I watched bikes, walkers & cars (also Parked wrong)
. I believe it is a failure. People walk where bikes sh
ould be & vice versa! Wasted space
Completely idiotic
My parents are from a third world country and this feels just like that! Incredibly unsafe
and unclear. I've seen more accidents since this has been implemented. Remove it!
Return diagonal parking on one side of street, widen
sidewalks, provide curb protected bike lane on other
side. Current program was nice try
Return the parking to the way it was-the bicycle lane
is a waste and a bad idea!
We need more parking spaces! The lab is a failure that increases traffic - it has just mo
re cars circling for parking, more confusion and narrow streets. I rarely see any cyclists
using the bike lane on Cooper, it's used by pedestrians and dog walkers. It only goes o
ne way anyway and the bikes still zip in and out of traffic going both ways! The attempt
to increase safety has created more opportunities for accidents. And people still ride th
eir bikes on the mall and sidewalks!
It is confusing, used incorrectly and illogical.
Please remove it and return to original parking format. Really stupid idea.
Leave well enough alone... The cost of this project is
a waste of taxpayer money... Absurd traffic green an
d white dividers, cheapen us
Page 28 of 32
132
22 August 22
Concerned
VOTES
7
22 August 22
RichardFelder
VOTES
7
23 August 22
M Katryniok
VOTES
5
23 August 22
VoicesofthePeople
VOTES
4
23 August 22
Coates
VOTES
4
24 August 22
Bjs
VOTES
2
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
Please ho back to how it was. Constantly trying to i
mprove which was working... And gave more parkin
g... Is not in the best interest
Go back to original layout...
Reject this awful project and stop trying to make it i
mpossible to walk or drive downtown. This is confusi
ng and counter-productive for all.
Remove it please, Living Lab is unsafe
It should be called Galena Cooper Living Hell
This is a bad experiment solving a problem that doe
s not exist by creating confusion, circumstances that
are opposed to logic and convention
The LL is a failure. Parallel parking on the left in the
middle of the road is ridiculous and a hazard. Bicycl
es are all confused. Bad idea!
And bike lanes in the middle of the road? Makes no sense
Allow restaurants to have outdoor space like they di
d during Covid. Maybe we would not lose so many r
estaurants to down valley.
I applaud your efforts to protect bicyclists in Aspen, unfortunately I have not seen the l
anes being used. We are losing so many businesses & restaurants I would like to see
something done to help keep them in town
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133
25 August 22
barbaracolelee
VOTES
3
31 August 22
Jcarlheck
VOTES
3
31 August 22
Karenann
VOTES
3
06 September 22
streck2
VOTES
0
06 September 22
Chefjeff
VOTES
2
07 September 22
Mo
VOTES
2
08 September 22
bwildinaspen
VOTES
2
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
The idea is togo back to the way it was...angle parki
ng, a cute town that is easily accessible to all, includ
ing walkers, cars, bikers.
The town has become unsightly! Get rid of those green markers!!!!
Remove the dangerous black/green bumpers
Please put it back to what it used to be. Bring back t
he angle parking on both sides of the street
Love it!!
Thank you for putting it in. I loved that while biking I am more protected. It reminds me
of biking in Berlin German where the cars were there to protect you.
Revert back to previous parking allotment.
The short sighted parking idea of the Living Lab shows you how desperate the city is to
accomplish something of significance to improve our traffic gridlock. Has any of the cou
ncil negotiated the Lab on their bikes . Come on ! It's suicide .
Stupid
It’s a stupid idea. Waste of space. Stop wasting our money on your idiotic meetings to
make these kind of changes.
Not a fan for so many reasons
As a biker around town, I appreciate the bike lane. However this lab has been an exerci
se of overthinking the issues, making more of a mess of DT and access. From locals to
out of town visitors I have heard what a chaotic mess we have. Please remove and let'
s get to rethinking this.
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134
09 September 22
Progress
VOTES
1
15 September 22
Aspenmom
VOTES
1
19 September 22
rbone
VOTES
2
22 September 22
Asher Popeil
VOTES
1
22 September 22
Melissa Stailey
VOTES
0
22 September 22
Jcarlheck
VOTES
0
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
Remove living lab
I’m curious to know how many accidents involving pedestrians and bikes have occurre
d since implementing this. I’ve personally seen two! Pedestrians waking in front of bike
rs. It’s unsightly and dangerous!
So Frustrating!!! Ugh!
I live on the east side of town and bike often to run errands etc. On more than one occa
sion, I have had near collisions with pedestrians in the bike lane. It is confusing and ine
ffective. I would rather go safely with the flow of traffic in the street. Also, I have an elde
rly father who visited a few weeks ago and the lack of parking was extremely frustratin
g. We drove around for approximately 30 minutes trying to find a place to park in order
to have a farewell lunch. This experiment is negatively effecting our locals, visitors and
business alike. Leave well enough alone and go back to the previous traffic pattern and
more parking.
Please make it go away - thank you.
While I appreciate the City's efforts to keep making Aspen a better place - in my opinio
n, this one didn't work. It's confusing for drivers and bikers - not safer. Plus it is really a
n eyesore. Cones and signs and posts and people parking in the middle of the street. B
ikes, including me, are in increased conflict with cars, pedestrians and other bikes - wit
h less visibility than riding in the street. I don't feel unsafe or unwelcome when I ride m
y bike in town. The new lanes and parking make me feel less safe. Please go back to a
ngle in parking on both sides and let me ride in the street.
Get rid of this!
This is the most ridiculous project I have ever seen in the down town, revert back to the
old way! If you ask me it’s more unsafe than ever before. I haven’t seen one person us
e the bike lakes next to those silly green marker and it’s become even more of a hassle
to get into town.
Please restore angle parking on Galena and Cooper
. Customers and locals and shop owners are livid ov
er the current situation.
restore angle parking- remove bicycle lanes
This disaster with the green/black bumpers are dan
gerous & horrible looking. Plus you have Ruined mo
torcycle parking at the corners!
Page 31 of 32
135
23 September 22
AK
VOTES
0
23 September 22
tracymurtagh
VOTES
0
Aspen Community Voice : Summary Report for 14 June 2016 to 09 October 2022
IDEAS
Comments
The most unpopular, ugly, counterintuitive, dangero
us, unwanted poorly designed waste of tax payers d
ollars. Stop hurting local businesses.
Restore the core to its original aesthetic
Make bike lane the same as one one Mill St. one wa
y section! Better signs to keep out peds from bike la
ne!
Consistency matters.
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