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The environment desk at Aspen Public Radio covers issues in the Roaring Fork Valley and throughout the state of Colorado including water use and quality, impact of recreation, population growth and oil and gas development. APR’s Environment Reporter is Elizabeth Stewart-Severy.

Oklahoma Flats Trail reopens with safety improvements

Aspen Public Radio News

The Oklahoma Flats Trail, one of Aspen’s busiest commuter paths, reopens today with several improvements.

The short connector runs from the Oklahoma Flats neighborhood near Hunter Creek to the Rio Grande Trail by Herron Park, and it sits almost entirely on private land. The City of Aspen teamed up with homeowners to realign and improve the trail.

The old trail had a steep 19 percent grade with sharp turns; it’s now wider in places and averages a 12 percent grade. Matt Kuhn with the parks department said this will help with safety, allow easier access up and down the trail, and improve snow removal.

Every week, up to 4,000 pedestrians and bikers use this path during the height of summer, and Kuhn said those numbers don’t drop too much seasonally, unlike most city paths.

“This one is used by residents in Hunter Creek and Smuggler throughout the year as an alternative transportation corridor,” Kuhn said.  

The trail has been closed since late May, and restoration of the vegetation will continue for several weeks.

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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