HomeMy WebLinkAboutInformation Update 121625AGENDA
INFORMATION UPDATE
December 16, 2025
5:00 PM,
I.Information Update
I.A Clean River Program Urban Runoff Management Plan 2025 Update Follow Up
Report
I.B ACRA November 2025 Destination Marketing Report
I.C Info Only Report - Street Smart
12.16.2025 Follow Up Memo_URMP Update.docx
November2025_DMReport.pdf
Info Only Report_Street Smart.docx
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FOLLOW-UP REPORT
ORIGINAL MEETING DATE: November 17, 2025
FOLLOW-UP MEMO DATE: December 16, 2025
SUBJECT: Clean River Program Urban Runoff
Management Plan 2025 Update
PRESENTED BY: Kyla Smits, CFM Project Manager
PJ Murray, PE, Clean River Program &
Stormwater manager
Tricia Aragon, PE, City Engineer
Andrew Earles, PhD, PE, PH, BC.WRE, Wright
Water Engineers
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Richards and All Members of Council
______________________________________________________________________
WORK SESSION DISCUSSION SUMMARY:
The Urban Runoff Management Plan (URMP) update aims to reaffirm Aspen’s
commitment to protecting the Roaring Fork River, a vital environmental and economic
resource. Since the 1970s, the URMP has guided stormwater management for public and
private development, ensuring runoff does not compromise water quality or increase
flooding risks. With evolving regulations and new technologies, the 2025 update seeks to
keep the plan effective and relevant. City Council approved the update last August,
focusing on modernizing stormwater control measures, incorporating technical
improvements, and enhancing usability for stakeholders such as developers,
homeowners, and planners.
The update emphasizes three core goals; first, it will expand options for on-site
stormwater treatment, promoting innovative solutions like pervious green spaces and
advanced treatment technologies adaptable to diverse project types and budgets.
Second, technical revisions will integrate updated rainfall data, improved mudflow and
runoff analysis, and refined design and maintenance standards. Finally, the manual will
be reorganized for clarity and accessibility, consolidating city policies into a streamlined,
ADA-compliant digital format. These im provements aim to make compliance easier,
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encourage best practices, and ensure the URMP remains a practical and forward -thinking
tool for managing stormwater in Aspen’s urban landscape.
City Council broadly supported the direction of the current update and the overall mission
of the Clean River Program. City Council encouraged staff to continue to work on the
Urban Runoff Management Plan Update. Staff received direction from council to take a
further look into the interior remodel thresholds that are curre ntly in place. Specifically,
the intent was to focus on impacts to affordable housing and less expensive interior
remodels.
NEXT STEPS:
City staff will continue to work on the update as directed. Staff and the consultant will
update the manual following the three main goals: Modernizing stormwater control
measures, technical updates, and improved readability and usability.
Staff will prepare for a spring work session to further discuss how the 50% interior
threshold is applied. Staff will do targeted analysis around how this threshold applies to
various projects, especially focused on affordable housing.
CITY MANAGER NOTES:
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November 2025 Des.na.on Marke.ng Report for Council
Destination Marketing: The team has been busy preparing for the winter season. Winter content
advertising is live and in market across the country, including in the new direct fly market of CLT. We
have been working on the website redevelopment items and are still tracking for a February 2026
launch. ACRA in collaboration with Snowmass Tourism was awarded the Colorado Tourism Office’s
Accessible Travel Grant in partnership with Wheel the World. The grant aims to amplify accessible
destinations across the state. We provided some swag items for inaugural Delta flights on the E175 on
November 9th. We hosted the Local Media Dinner in collaboration with Snowmass Tourism and Aspen
Skiing Company on November 18; it was well attended and the destination is ready for the snow to
fly! Please click to view the October Public Relations Report and the Month at a Glance Data report is
available here.
The sales team is creating a new meeting planner FAQ webpage. Google AI search overview has changed
SEO search results. Having an FAQ page creates efficiency for commonly asked questions from meeting
planners and will help with search results. ACRA will support several early winter leisure and
international trade FAMs in partnership with Aspen Skiing Company and Aspen Meadows. All October
meeting planner FAM survey participants indicated they are extremely likely to consider Aspen for a
future group event. Eighty percent noted Aspen exceeded expectations as a group destination. Every
participant reported their host hotel exceeded expectations and identified the hotel room tours as the
most valuable element of the FAM. The team is working on the second annual Women’s Edge FAM in
January in partnership with Aspen Skiing Company and Aspen Meadows. This will be a corporate and
incentive FAM for a select group of targeted planners. The arts and culture organizations expressed
interest in an updated economic impact study. ACRA is working with the research vendor and local
organizations to establish a timeline and funding for the study.
Special Events: The Events Team + Debbie attended the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston, Nov 14 –
16. It was another successful exhibitor experience for us – we had “great bags and cute cocktails”
that kept the attendees seeking us out. In addition, we handed out $500 discount cards to attend the
Aspen Classic. We will also be extending that offer to the community as a “friends & family” rate, if
interested please reach out! We are officially 17 days away from the Icebreaker Bash (where our royalty
will be officially crowned) and kick off to Wintersköl, Dec 11 – 14. The calendar is bursting with NEW and
returning favorites; we hope to see you out and about throughout the weekend. Happy Thanksgiving to
you and your family!
Airport Guest Services: A recent retirement celebration for two of our staff was an excellent way for the
entire crew to get together during the month of November. There were gifts and speeches and lots of
laughs. We are so grateful to our team who have spent many years with us and excited for the season
ahead with a few new hires. The month was on the quieter side with less daily flights and
fair weather. The flight loads were still medium to high, and the staff continued to assist in
transportation needs, lost and found items and flight-related questions. Delta introduced the E175 and
now AA is the only airline left with the CRJ700.
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Visitor Centers: November was a quieter month for the number of visitors but busy behind the scenes.
Staff are cleaning out old brochures and replacing them with winter literature in preparation for the
busy times ahead. We have also been sending resources and surveys to the staff to continue education
and gather feedback. Independence Pass has closed for the season.
Save The Date:
December 11 Wintersköl Icebreaker Bash member event Buy Tickets
Sales Tax Reports: As of the September 2025 Consumption Tax Report, released in November, the 2025
Tourism Promotion Fund came in 3.81% above projections and 4% ahead of 2024 collections.
Recent Press Coverage
Occupancy statistics and commentary, as well as visitor center counts, website data and air service
information can now be found on the following page in the Defy Ordinary Dashboard. All data points are
sourced from our monthly report with Blue Room Research and can be found in the Data Center on the
website.
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HOTEL
OCCUPANCY
ASE
PASSENGER
DATA
VISITOR
CENTER
COUNTS
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
WEBSITE
STATS
NOVEMBER 2025
•Occupancy increased by 5.8% YOY to 54.5%
•Average Daily Rate increased by 7.7% YOY to $442
•Room Nights Available decreased by 2.3% YOY
•Room Nights Booked increased by 3.4% YOY
In October, total passengers increased by 2.3% YOY. Total passenger numbers YTD are pacing 1.8% ahead of 2024.
In early November, the government shutdown resulted in an FAA mandated flight
reduction; ASE was minimally impacted.
American Airlines is expanding its presence at ASE, offering more daily flights this
winter than ever before.
Semi-private jet service, Aero, will offer non-stop flights between Aspen and New
York City on select dates throughout the winter, in addition to non-stop service
between Los Angeles (VNY) and ASE.
Aspen website top performing blogs and pages for October 2025
Blogs:
1. Everything You Need to Know About Independence Pass
(2,397 views)
2. Hiking Around the Maroon Bells (1,544 views)
3. This Week in Aspen (1,462 views)
4. Top Ten Reasons to Meet in Aspen (1,427 views)
5. Halloween in Aspen (833 views)
Pages:
1.Maroon Bells Reservations (18,529 views)
2. Maroon Bells (8,648 views)
3. Aspen Event Calendar (6,575 views)
4. Aspen: Defy Ordinary (4,979 views)
5. Plan Trip | Aspen (2,549 views)
o “Summer is done, and it finished better than we feared when it started.”
o “And while bookings in October didn’t exactly shoot the industry out the gate for winter at record speed,
there was evidence of some rate resilience for December bookings that helped push ADR and revenue
numbers high enough above flat for some breathing room.”
o “Americans recognize the broader risks, but they continue to plan trips.”
o “Early November tells a different story. With constraints on major airports, cancellations pushed domestic air
travel down 3.8% from November 1st to 15th year-over-year—almost 1.4 million fewer trips.”
o “Inbound travel continues to underperform. October marked the sixth straight month of decline, putting 2025
on track to be the first year of reduced inbound travel since 2020.”
Sources: DestiMetrics, Blue Room Research Report & Fly Aspen Snowmass
Regional Insights and U.S. Market Review
In October 2025, Aspen's lodging
properties reported the following:
ACRA's 4 Visitor Information Centers experienced a
9.6% increase in traffic in October 2025 compared
to October 2024. Staff assisted 8,447 individuals this
month.
*Due to a recent change in ACRA’s phone system, this number reflects only in-person and
trackable calls.
- DestiMetrics & U.S. Travel Association, Blue Room Research
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INFORMATION ONLY REPORT
TO: Aspen City Council
FROM: Jack Danneberg, P.E., Senior Project Manager
Simeon Britting, Project Manager
Emily Ford, Communications Specialist
Brian Long, Trail System Manager
Kim Ferber, Chief of Police
THROUGH: Tyler Christof, P.E., Deputy City Manager
Tricia Aragon, P.E., City Engineer
MEETING DATE: December 16, 2025
SUBJECT: Street Smart Program Update
INTENDED OUTCOME & SUMMARY:
This memorandum is to inform City Council of the significant education and enforcement
efforts conducted in 2025 under the City’s Street Smart program. No action is requested
from council at this time.
While this memo focuses on education and enforcement, it also emphasizes the essential
role of continued infrastructure investment in improving safety for pedestrians, bicyclists,
and motorists.
In 2025, the Street Smart program was implemented collaboratively by Parks, Police,
Engineering, and Communications to substantially expand outreach, enforcement, and
interdepartmental coordination to promote safer multimodal travel. Staff increased
bicycle-related enforcement by more than 50%, conducted dozens of outreach events
and media campaigns, improved signage and wayfinding, strengthened rental bike shop
education, and partnered with outside agencies to align messaging across the valley.
Data from 2022–2025 indicates overall traffic collisions are decreasing; however,
pedestrian and bicycle injuries remain steady. This reinforces the need for a
comprehensive safety approach that blends public outreach and education, enforcement
and data analysis, and infrastructure improvements all central to the Street Smart
program.
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Staff intends to continue this effort in 2026 with targeted outreach and enforcement
activities that will improve safety for all traveling public.
DISCUSSION:
The Steet Smart program focuses on leveraging a multi-department approach with public
outreach and education, and enforcement with the goal of improving safety for the diverse
traveling public. Below is a summary of these efforts.
PUBLIC OUTREACH & EDUCATION
Public outreach and education remain central components of the Street Smart program,
supporting safer behavior on Aspen’s streets, trails, and pedestrian corridors. In 2025,
staff across Parks, Communications, Engineering, and the Police Department
coordinated a broad, citywide effort to inform residents and visitors about rules of the
road, trail etiquette, and safe travel practices. Through expanded pop-up events, targeted
communications, business engagement, and high-visibility signage, the program reached
a wide audience and strengthened awareness of shared-responsibility travel. These
efforts create the foundation for long-term behavior change and complement enforcement
and infrastructure improvements.
Parks Department Education & Trail Etiquette Outreach
Parks advanced its long-standing outreach program with quantifiable efforts in 2025:
Field Outreach:
Conducted 17 pop-up events (8 trail etiquette, 4 Hallam ped-bikeway, 3 joint APD
pop-ups, 2 Rio Grande Trail events) plus daily ranger contacts throughout peak
season.
Business & Media Outreach:
Annual visits to all bike rental shops, contributions to Street Smart ads, and radio
safety messaging.
Signage & Wayfinding:
Installed or refreshed dozens of speed-limit signs, etiquette sandwich boards,
permanent “Slow and Announce” signs, and expanded pavement markings
including the Maroon Bells green stripe.
Interagency Coordination:
Held at least 3 planning meetings with APD, Pitkin County OST, RFTA, and
Engineering to align safety messaging and data collection.
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Communications Campaign
The Street Smart communications campaign (April–October)
delivered:
Citywide media coverage through radio, print, digital ads,
newsletters, social media, cycling publications, pocket
maps, and WE-cycle branding.
In-person engagement at multiple community events,
including Bike to Work Day, Arbor Day, pop-ups, and
Saturday Market.
Partnership activation via We-Cycle, ACRA, local shops,
and regional cycling organizations.
This is an example of a Street Smart advertisement. Using
consistent messaging staff is working to create recognizable
safety messaging across the community.
ENFORCEMENT
Enforcement is a key pillar of the Street Smart program, providing a visible and consistent
presence that reinforces safe behavior and compliance with traffic and trail regulations.
In 2025, the Aspen Police Department significantly increased its enforcement activity,
improved data tracking, and strengthened coordination with Park Rangers to address
high-risk behaviors among cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists. These efforts focus on
reducing unsafe travel behaviors, supporting the City’s education and out reach work, and
ensuring that Aspen’s streets and trails remain safe for all users.
Aspen Police 2025 Enforcement Summary
APD bicycle-safety enforcement:
419 contacts (up from 272 in 2024 — 54% increase)
199 patrol hours targeted to bike patrol operations (up from 119 in 2024 — 67%
increase)
Primary violations: riding on the mall, vehicles on pathways, and stop-sign
violations.
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Supplemental Enforcement Improvements
Technology upgrades: Added dedicated E-Bike and Bike categories to CAD
system for improved tracking capabilities and deployed a new Stalker LIDAR unit
enhancing our speed enforcement capabilities on trail system s.
Education tools: Distributed e-bike and bike etiquette educational materials to
officers, shops, hotels, and the school district.
Interagency enforcement: Conducted multiple joint operations with Park
Rangers.
DATA
Effective enforcement begins with accurate, consistent, and transparent data. This
section outlines existing data trends.
Total traffic collisions (Jan–Oct) declined nearly 24% over four years.
During this period, 2.6% of all reportable traffic collisions involved either a bicyclist
or a pedestrian.
Pedestrian/bicycle collisions remain steady year over year at 1.7%–4% of all
incidents between 2022 and 2025.
Approximately 69% of pedestrian and bicycle collisions resulted in injuries,
ranging from minor to severe. Over the past four years, 25 out of 36 reported cases
involving a cyclist or a pedestrian resulted in a report of injury.
These trends highlight progress in overall safety, but also the vulnerability of non -
motorized users and the need for continued investments.
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Pedestrian and Bicyclist traffic collisions have remained relatively steady over th e years.
Notably, 2024 saw the highest proportion of these incidents relative to total accidents.
NEXT STEPS:
Staff will continue the Street Smart program’s multi-pronged public outreach, education,
and enforcement approach while expanding the efforts that are showing the greatest
impact. This includes maintaining regular pop-up outreach, continuing inter-departmental
coordination between Parks and APD, and enhancing visibility through targeted
communications and improved signage. Enforcement will continue to focus on high-risk
behaviors, supported by improved technology, interagency patrols, and directed
enforcement efforts. Together, these actions will reinforce safe travel behaviors and
provide a stronger foundation for long-term safety improvements in Aspen.
Staff will work to bolster the current data collection process to better inform policy
decisions and allocate resources. By establishing clear data -collection standards, staff
can efficiently document activities, track outcomes, and provide reliab le records that
strengthen both internal operations and public trust.
Infrastructure as a Critical Next Step
While 2025 saw significant improvements in education and enforcement, staff emphasize
that infrastructure changes remain essential to long-term safety. This includes:
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Additional painted centerlines and wayfinding
Speed-calming measures on trails and ped/bikeways
Consistent speed-limit signage
Delineation to separate modes in high-conflict areas
Opportunities to expand temporary and permanent vehicle deflector installations
on Hopkins Ave, Hallam St and Lake Ave ped-bikeways based on 2025 pilot
program
Engineering, Parks, and partner agencies continue to coordinate systemwide speed
management and trail safety planning.
ATTACHMENTS:
CITY MANAGER NOTES:
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