Three presentations during the first week of September will kick off the next round of discussions on the proposed Carbondale to Crested Butte Trail.
First up is a Sept. 5th presentation on the Clear Creek Canyon Trail in Jefferson County, which serves as a case study on trail construction in an environment not unlike the Crystal River Valley. Then, on Sept. 6th and 7th, are a pair of presentations that will provide the public with its first look at the analysis that has been done on potential alignment of a Carbondale to Crested Butte Trail.
Tom Hoby and Scot Grossman of Jefferson County will present information on the planning, design and construction of the Clear Creek Canyon Trail during a presentation to Pitkin County Commissioners and the Open Space and Trails Board on Sept. 5th at 3:15 p.m. in the commissioners’ Pitkin County Library meeting room. The session will be televised on GrassRoots TV and available for later viewing at www.pitkincounty.com.
Members of the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails staff recently toured the ongoing Clear Creek project with Grossman, who is heading up the project. There are similarities between Clear Creek Canyon and the Crystal Valley, noted Dale Will, director of acquisitions and special projects for Open Space and Trails.
“They have a narrow river canyon, wildlife concerns and engineering challenges,” Will said.
On the following two evenings, Open Space and Trails, along with environmental and engineering consultants who have been studying the Crystal Valley trail alignment alternatives, will present the data that has been collected. The presentations will be Sept. 6th at the Redstone Inn and Sept. 7th at the Carbondale Firehouse. Both sessions, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., will begin with presentations by the consultants, followed by a short question-and-answer session. Each evening will conclude with an open house, during which attendees may ask questions of individual consultants and Open Space staff members, peruse displays and provide written comments.
The presentations will kick off a public comment period during which citizens are invited to fill out an online survey with their comments regarding potential trail alternatives. The compiled data and survey will be posted to www.pitkinostprojects.com following the two presentation evenings. The deadline for comments is Oct. 2.
After the comment period closes, a draft trail plan will be produced. It will be presented Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. to the Open Space and Trails Board, Pitkin County Commissioners and the Carbondale Town Board. The meeting will take place at Carbondale Town Hall.
A second round of open houses, focused on the draft plan and its recommendations, will be held during the first week of November, followed by another round of public comment. The final plan is scheduled for presentation to the Open Space Board and County Commissioners on Dec. 12.
The drafting of the Carbondale to Crested Butte Trail Plan is a year-long effort that began in January with open houses to collect initial public feedback.
While work has continued on a plan for the trail within Pitkin County, trail route efforts have also been underway in Gunnison County. A single-track connection between Crested Butte and the top of McClure Pass is partially constructed and planning work is ongoing for the missing segments. In Pitkin County, the possibilities for a paved or crushed gravel trail have been explored between the terminus of the existing Crystal Trail and Redstone. A single-track connection from Redstone to the top of McClure Pass has been studied.
Contact: Lindsey Utter, Open Space and Trails Planning and Outreach Manager
lindsey.utter@pitkincounty.com
970-920-5224