The Aspen City Council agreed with several recommendations for improving transportation and parking that were reached through the recent “Aspen Gets Us There” study.
At a work session on Monday, council members generally supported combining the Crosstown and Mountain Valley shuttles, and were open to expanding the Galena Street shuttle for summer operations and expanding the WE-Cycle bike-sharing program. They also discussed loosening current limitations on the Downtowner car service.
But they did not support changing parking rates in the Rio Grande parking garage if it meant turning drivers away in favor of less expensive street parking.
Ben Weber, a curb management, parking and mobility planner with Walker Consultants, presented the findings from the 1.5-year “Aspen Gets Us There” study during Monday’s meeting. The city council gave staff direction on which recommendations to work toward implementing to improve mobility in the city.
The study was intended to create “more durable systems to be more resilient with (Aspen’s) transportation options,” Weber said.
“Your key measure here is, are your constituents, your visitors, your residents, your workers, other people coming here, are they using these other mobility systems, the provided mobility systems you have to get around because they’re recognizing it saves them time and money and heartburn,” Weber said.
Among the recommendations was a proposal to expand the Downtowner service, potentially increasing operating hours and making more vehicles available. Weber suggested expanding the service area of the Downtowner, and potentially using it to take riders to specific hubs instead of directly to their destination.
Councilman Bill Guth supported expanding the Downtowner’s geographical territory and operating hours, but only if it meant keeping the existing model of taking people to specific destinations in place.
“I think the overwhelming majority of people who are taking the Downtowner have cars sitting in their driveway, and the only reason they’re taking the Downtowner is because it’s easier and more convenient,” Guth said. “If you have to walk two blocks or take a bus or a shuttle, it’s just not happening … I don't think this will enhance the success of this program.”
Weber also suggested expanding the city’s Car To Go service and hiring a private operator. Mayor Torre suggested placing additional Car To Go vehicles near affordable housing hubs, especially the upcoming Lumberyard affordable housing development, to make the best use of the service.
The city council was split on a recommendation to expand “employer services transportation demand offerings,” such as supporting employers financially to offer electric cargo bikes and providing further discounts on bus fares as an disincentive to people driving solo, without passengers. Torre and Guth both said they did not see much of an impact with such a program, while Councilmen John Doyle and Sam Rose said there could be room for an expansion of those programs.
Councilman Ward Hauenstein suggested partnering with WE-Cycle to determine if there was a market for employees to use electric bikes over their cars.
All council members supported the suggestion that WE-Cycle expand its services. Weber recommended focusing on expanding the WE-Cycle electric bike fleet, or converting fully to electric bikes.
Each recommendation should take into consideration future changes to the entrance to Aspen, council members said. The city is currently gathering data to aid a decision on whether to pursue new environmental impact statement for the entrance.
“Just thinking about, as we go into a new EIS potentially, and talking about the transportation corridor and especially from the airport and thinking about multimodal transportation, whatever that looks like … anything that would help people from the other side of the bridge get in, since we’re focusing so much on the downtown, I just would love to be able to solve that issue as best we can,” Rose said.
Weber also presented recommendations to update the city’s parking enforcement and rates around the downtown core. He suggested several ways to increase rates in the Rio Grande parking garage, which he said could discourage more single occupancy vehicles coming into town.
But council members were opposed to the idea, especially if it meant fewer people would park in the garage in favor of parking on less expensive side streets. The garage is largely used by the commuting workforce, Aspen Public Works Director Tyler Christoff said. The Hotel Jerome also uses the garage for overflow parking.
Weber suggested updating downtown signage to make the parking rules easier to read and understand.
“It’s particularly useful in a city like yours where you have a lot of first-time visitors,” he said.
Weber also suggested updating the municipal parking code. Council was in favor of both suggestions.
