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A group of citizens wants to pose a ballot question to Aspen voters that would affirm the Colorado Department of Transportation’s authority to use a portion of the Marolt and Thomas open spaces for new highway alignments.
The ballot question would grant CDOT “use of designated portions of the Marolt and Thomas properties, as identified in the 1998 entrance to Aspen Record of Decision for the purposes of realigning Colorado State Highway 82, enhancing mass transit, reducing idling traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, and establishing a second Wildfire Emergency Evacuation route out of Aspen,” according to the ballot language approved by the city clerk last week. The group behind the petition was concerned about another citizen petition that aims to increase the vote threshold for changing the use of city open space from a simple majority to 60%.
“It seems very premature and clearly intended to limit the options our community has to solve the entrance issue in the future,” said Rachel Richards, a former Aspen mayor and council member who is part of the group gathering signatures for the new petition. “Specifically, it bothers me that we’re going to try to create a superminority where 40% of the people can decide the future, even if 59% of the people want and choose a different option.”
The group behind the open space ballot question wanted to ensure a potential vote on the entrance to Aspen is not decided by a handful of votes. Aspen’s 1998 Record of Decision, a federal- and state-approved document, proposed realignment for Highway 82 that would replace the Castle Creek Bridge once it reached the end of its useful life. The realignment, called the preferred alternative, would reroute Highway 82 over a portion of the Marolt Open Space to cross Castle Creek and bypass the S-curves to merge directly with Main Street.
The preferred alternative as it is currently proposed would require Aspen voters to approve a new use for the Marolt Open Space. A 1996 vote approved the use of light rail over the open space, but an updated version of the preferred alternative replaces light rail with two bus lanes. The change would require another vote approving the use of buses instead of light rail.
The city is gearing up for another environmental impact statement for new entrance to Aspen alternatives. Engaging with a new National Environmental Policy Act process for a new EIS would reassess project needs and intents and community goals. City council members will also decide in the coming months whether to put a question about changing the use of the open space to allow bus lanes on the March ballot.
Richards said the citizen petition to grant CDOT use of the designated Marolt and Thomas open spaces would preserve those properties if a future EIS finds a new alternative for the Castle Creek Bridge.
“We worked to find the best language we could that would preserve the options for our community to solve its transportation problems going forward,” Richards said. “Should (city council) put the preferred alternative question on the ballot and it fails, this measure would preserve those properties for use in a future EIS.”
“It’s about the future and preserving options for the future, whether or not the ‘98 preferred alternative is even asked by our council, or if a new alternative comes up,” she added.
The committee consists of Richards, Scot Woolley, Ann Mullins, Ward Hauenstein, Warren Klug, Kelly McNicholas Kury and Mike Maple.
They have until Dec. 4 to collect signatures from 5% of registered Aspen voters, or around 325 signatures.