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RESOLUTION NO. M
Series of 1999
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN
ENDORSING THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE SELECTED BY THE UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANS~ORTATION, FEDERAL HIGHWAY
ADMINISTRATION, AND THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION AS SUBMITTED IN THE RECORD OF DECISION FOR THE
STATE HIGHWAY 82 ENTRANCE TO ASPEN TRANSPORTATION
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT DATED AUGUST 3, 1998, AND REQUESTING THAT
CDOT EXPEDITE FUNDING FOR THE COMPONENTS OF THE PREFERRED
ALTERNATIVE EUGillLE FOR STATE FUNDING.
WHEREAS, the Entrance to Aspen has been a matter of significant debate and
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discussion for over the past twenty-five years; and
WHEREAS, State Highway 82 at the Entrance to Aspen is the most congested
two-lane highway in the State; and
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WHEREAS, the City Council pledges to work together cooperatively with CDOT
to resolve the upper Roaring Fork Valley transportation issues; and
WHEREAS, in November 1993, the Pitkin County electorate approved a 1/2 cent
sales and use tax for the purposes of increasing bus service, constrUcting park-and-ride
facilities, acquiring the valley rail right-of-way, and developing a fixed guideway
transportation solution to connect Aspen, Snowmass Village and downvalley locations;
and
WHEREAS, on November 5, 1996, the City of Aspen electorate approved ballot
question 2A regarding the use of City owned property for a two lane parkway and a
corridor for a light rail transit system subject to certain conditions; and
WHEREAS, a Final Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation
n ("FEIS") was issued on August 1, 1997; and
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WHEREAS, the Record of Decision was issued on August 3, 1998; and
WHEREAS, the City Council fully recognizes and appreciates CDOT's
responsiveness in addressing the community's concerns, and
WHEREAS, the City Council supports the creation of a Rural Regional
Transportation Authority in the Roaring Fork Valley to create an equitable, permanent
funding mechanism for long-term sustainability of a regional public transit system; and
WHEREAS, as further evidence of local support for transit, in 1999 the Roaring
Fork Transit Agency will carry more than 3.9 million passengers throughout the Valley,
with an annual operating budget of $10.5 million; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to communicate to CDOT and FHW A its
commitment to undertake the actions necessary to implement the transportation solutions
as described in the Record of Decision; and
WHEREAS, on October 12, 1999 the City Council approved Resolution #97,
recommending to the citizens of Aspen support of State Referendum A, the TRANS
referendum, as a means of more efficiently managing transportation fmances by allowing
the constrUction of projects on an accelerated schedule and in larger, more efficient
segments with the result that the entire state will benefit from the planned expenditures;
and
WHEREAS, the City of Aspen and Pitkin County are completing certain Maroon
Creek Road/SH82 intersection improvements, including a roundabout, a transit center
and related pedestrian facilities as the first major constrUction components of the Entrance
to Aspen project; and
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WHEREAS, the City Council gratefully acknowledges and appreciates the
Transportation Commission's August 18, 1999 approval of Resolution Number TC-768
regarding the Intergoverrunental Agreement to provide for future CDOT reimbursement
of $4.8 million of the Maroon Creek Road/SH82 intersection improvement costs; and
WHEREAS, the Record of Decision states that, "The Preferred Alternative is a
combination of highway and intersection improvements, a transit system, and an
incremental transportation management (TM) program. . . , The transit component
includes an LRT system that, if local support and/or funding are not available, will be
developed initially as exclusive bus lanes."
WHEREAS, the components of the Preferred Alternative that are eligible for state
funding, including a new two-lane parkway on a modified alignment, two new bridges,
intersection improvements, and a cut-and-cover tunnel across the Marolt-Thomas
property, will greatly enhance roadway safety and capacity by eliminating the bottleneck
at the "S-curves," eliminating the Cemetery Lane traffic signal, restoring an historic
railroad bridge, and building a new low-maintenance bridge designed for highway use to
replace it;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF ASPEN, COLORADO, THAT:
1. The City Council hereby reaffIrms its support for the August 1998 Record of
Decision.
2. The City Council respectfully requests that CDOT expedite funding for the
components of the Preferred Alternative eligible for state funding, so that construction
of the Entrance to Aspen project can proceed at the earliest possible date.
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Dated: ~ P'V-;-1999.
I Kathryn S. Koch, duly appointed and acting City Clerk do hereby certify that the
foregoing is a true and accurate copy of that resolution adopted by the City Council of the
City of Aspen, Colorado, at a meeting held~/3 , 1999.
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Kathry . Koch,/Clerk
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