The free public parking lot and transit facility at the intersection of Brush Creek Road and Highway 82 are getting a multi-million dollar facelift thanks to a grant from the federal government and local matching funds. The $1.9 million Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) grant will be matched with funds from the Elected Officials Transportation Committee (EOTC). The committee is comprised of Pitkin County Commissioners, Aspen City Council, and Snowmass Village Town Council.
Preliminary concepts for the approximately $4 million park-and-ride improvement project will be presented to nearby homeowners for initial feedback in the coming weeks. The general public will be invited to view plans and provide input over the next few months.
“We are excited to be moving forward with long-overdue improvements to this valuable public parking and transit asset,” said Pitkin County’s Regional Transportation Administrator, David Pesnichak. “Public input will be essential in helping us fine-tune plans for additional paving, security lighting, and restroom facilities on the site,” Pesnichak said.
Park and Ride at the Intersection of Highway 82 and Brush Creek Road
Park and Ride at the Intersection of Highway 82 and Brush Creek Road in winter.
Improvement plans call for paving and striping the existing unstriped recycled asphalt spaces behind the existing paved parking, security lighting, permanent bathroom facilities with flush toilets to replace porta-potties, and additional landscaping. In addition to the aforementioned improvements, the City of Aspen is expected to move forward with plans to move the carpool kiosk from Aspen/Pitkin County Airport property to the Brush Creek Park and Ride. The kiosk move requires additional scrutiny by the Pitkin County Planning and Zoning Commission which is currently scheduled to be hearing the request in February.
There are currently 200 paved parking spots adjacent to the transit station and approximately 200 unstriped spaces on recycled asphalt. The paved spaces are heavily-used by workday commuters year round and skiers in the wintertime. The unimproved grass and dirt areas to the north and south of the improved parking are used for special event staging and attendee parking. During X-Games and the Snowmass Fall Concert Series, the entire facility is often filled to capacity. Other special events including Food and Wine, Tough Mudder, among others, have also made use of the parking areas and transit facilities.
Flush toilets will be among the improvements made at the Brush Creek and 82 Park and Ride.
After ample public feedback has been collected a final design will be drafted and presented to EOTC for final approval. Construction is expected to get underway in 2020. Parking and mass transit operations will continue during the improvement process.
MEDIA CONTACT:
David Pesnichak - Regional Transportation Administrator - 970-309-3188, david.pesnichak@pitkincounty.com