Focus renewed on ‘missing link’ trail near Aspen

Roaring Fork Valley residents are being invited to weigh in on the missing link — in the upper valley trail network, not in the development of humankind.

The Pitkin County Open Space and Trails program will open an online survey today to gauge public opinion of a proposed trail link between the Brush Creek park-and-ride and the Aspen Airport Business Center. The county is assessing the feasibility of the trail in partnership with the city of Aspen Parks and Open Space and the Elected Officials Transportation Committee.

The county released extensive information Thursday on the project, including two proposed alignments. Officials hope people will bone up on that information then offer their input via the online survey and meetings that will be held through the summer.

“We just need the public to understand what the project is,” said Gary Tennenbaum, director of Pitkin County Open Space and Trails. “It’s a big project. It’s more expensive than it used to be.”

An engineering feasibility study last year placed the cost at between $20 million and $25 million. Realistically, Tennenbaum said, the cost could be more if the project is pursued since it will be a few years down the road and possibly phased.

The engineering study narrowed the options to two. Option 1 is called the Twin Bridges option because it would require building two pedestrian bridges over the Roaring Fork River to utilize the existing Rio Grande Trail. One bridge would be located near the Brush Creek lot, previously known as the intercept lot. The other bridge would be built roughly half-way between the parking lot and AABC. It would bring trail users back to a new trail that would parallel Highway 82.

The bridges would be similar to the pedestrian bridge previously built over Maroon Creek at Tiehack.

The Two Bridges option is currently estimated to cost between $20.04 million and $21.79 million.

Option 2 is known at the Highway 82 east alignment. No bridges would be built over Highway 82, but it would require extensive engineering elements.

“This alignment would use bridges, elevated platforms, and retaining walls along much of its length to cross the steep and rugged terrain,” according to a summary. “Eventually it would reach the flat bench east of State Highway 82 and follow that south until it connects with the existing infrastructure at the AABC.”

That option is currently estimated at $26.41 to $28.71 million.

That alignment “has major challenges,” the report said. “The Shale Bluffs area is extremely steep, rugged and prone to landslides.”

The user experience also would be degraded because of the proximity to Highway 82.

The Two Bridges alignment is the preferred option for the county and city. It “requires the smallest length of new trail construction, best utilizes existing infrastructure, provides the best user experience, causes the least environmental impact and requires the least agency coordination,” the summary said.

A third alignment descending to the west bank of the Roaring Fork River and following it to the south was eliminated because of environmental impacts.

Tennenbaum said a goal was creating a 10-foot wide, hard-surface trail that complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act and avoids large elevation changes. An existing trail departing from the Brush Creek lot and connecting to the Rio Grande Trail has steep grades and is only partially paved, he noted.

The stretch between the AABC and Brush Creek lot is considered a missing link because the network is otherwise widely completed through the upper valley. Tennenbaum likens the various paved and dirt trails as spokes in a wheel. Connecting the AABC to the Brush Creek lot would open all sorts of opportunities to recreation cyclists and hikers. For example, it would provide another way to connect Aspen with Snowmass Village. The trail could also offer an option to adventurous commuters. They could park or ride a bus to the Brush Creek lot and ride their own bike or a We-Cycle into Aspen.

Extensive information about the project can be found at www.pitkinostprojects.com and then clicking the link to projects.

Tennenbaum said the county and city don’t want to build the trail if the public doesn’t see a need for it. The online survey will determine the need. The survey will be open through July 31.

There will also be a virtual focus group meeting held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 20. To register for the meeting, RSVP via email to kathleen@prstudioco.com.

There will also be a neighborhood meeting on June 21 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Colorado Mountain College Aspen campus meeting room. Participants should RSVP to kathleen@prstudioco.com.

More outreach will be held in July.

The refocus on the upper valley trail doesn’t reflect a loss of interest in the Redstone to McClure Pass summit trail, which the open space program is studying. That project remains in the planning phase.

“We’re not trying to choose one or another,” Tennenbaum said.