Park Avenue - Safety & Connectivity

The City of Aspen’s Engineering Department has been working to address safety and infrastructure issues in the Park and Midland corridor in direct response to neighborhood concerns. The project remains a priority, with construction anticipated to begin in late 2023.

COMPLETED

• Install stop signs
• Engineering survey
• Project team meetings with Park Avenue homeowners
• Conceptual design approved by City Council

WHAT’S NEXT

• Finalize design elements
• Meet with affected property owners to review detailed plans
• Prepare bid documents and present them to Aspen City Council (fall 2022)
• Begin construction and improvements (summer or fall 2023)
• Complete the sidewalk connection on the east side of Park Avenue by slightly shifting the roadway
• Regrade to convey and collect drainage more effectively
• Install a stormwater pipe and outlet to serve this block of Park Avenue and the greater east-end neighborhood that will eventually tie into it

The project team will continue to share updates through this email newsletter and on the project webpage. Thank you for your continued involvement; please reach out with any questions.

Best regards,

Park and Midland Project Team

aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Park and Midland Project Update:

Hello to all. The City of Aspen Engineering Department is preparing to go before Aspen City Council at its next work session on Monday, September 20, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. to present a preliminary conceptual design for the road and sidewalk improvements in the Park and Midland neighborhoods. A video link of the design will be emailed and posted on Aspen Community Voice by Friday, September 17.

The City’s engineering team spent months working through the sidewalks' design and conceptual layout, including road widths, sidewalk widths, grading, and assessing right-of-way. While unique conditions presented design challenges, widths were finally determined for the road and sidewalk. Coming soon will be designs schemes for intersection and stormwater improvements.

The Park and Midland project was launched in 2020 with a comprehensive study of traffic and neighborhood movement, data from which is now used to enhance safety and mobility for the Park and Midland neighborhoods. Concerns in the area that are being addressed include snow storage, rising foot, bike, and vehicular traffic levels, and pedestrian and intersection safety.

The project team will continue to share updates through this email newsletter and on the project webpage. Thank you for your continued involvement; please reach out with any questions.

Best regards,

Park and Midland Project Team

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Park and Midland Project Update:

Happy summer to all. Over the last several months, the City of Aspen Engineering Department has been designing the Schematic Design phase of the improvements to Park and Midland, focusing on the Conceptual Design of the sidewalk on the east side of the north portion of Park Avenue.

Design work includes:

• Improvement survey
• Initial topography
• Right-of-way review
• Sidewalk design
• Drainage considerations
• Engineering Standards
  

The design team continues to work through the sidewalks' conceptual layout, including road widths, sidewalk widths, and grading. Unique conditions present design challenges that the project team is working through to determine the best solution for the Conceptual Design ahead of outreach meetings. Much of the summer will be spent designing improvements; in late August and September, we will be scheduling meetings with neighbors before presenting the conceptual plan to City Council in September.

The project team will continue to share updates through this email newsletter and on the project webpage.

As we get closer to determining specifics on the conceptual design solutions, we will connect individually with impacted neighbors. Thank you for your continued involvement, and please reach out with any questions.

Best regards,

Park and Midland Project Team

Phone: 970-618-9251 (Call or Text)

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Hello all,

We are reaching out to recap the January work session with City Council and share what is up next for the project.

WORK SESSION RECAP

At the work session, City Engineering reviewed options for improving safety in the Park and Midland neighborhood. After reviewing all the information, including public feedback, Council directed staff to begin the schematic design for a sidewalk connection on Park Ave between Midland and Hopkins that would maintain two-way traffic and incorporate improvements to the Hopkins and Park Avenue intersection and Hopkins trail drainage. Council also asked that drainage concerns on Midland Avenue be addressed in an earlier timeframe.

View the January 25 work session »

NEXT STEPS

There is still a lot of work to be done for this project, but we are very grateful for your participation up to now and we look forward to continuing the process with you.

City Engineering staff is now starting the design process for the sidewalk. The first step in this design process will be to obtain an improvement survey which will detail important boundaries. This will likely be conducted in late-April after snow and winter conditions have cleared. Staff plans to incorporate drainage concerns along Midland Avenue as part of the 2022 budget discussion this fall.

City Engineering will contact property owners along Park Avenue, between Hopkins and Midland Avenue via mailed letters to encourage involvement in the schematic design process. The project team hopes to work with property owners so that the design is as equitable as possible while prioritizing safety and engineering best practices.

The project team will continue to share updates through this email newsletter and on the project webpage. Thank you for your continued involvement and please reach out with any questions.

Best regards,

Park and Midland Project Team

Phone: 970-340-4334

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Hello all,

The agenda and call-in information for the Monday, January 25 work session with City Council is now posted. You can find that information at https://www.cityofaspen.com/1225/Current-City-Webcast-Meetings-Agendas.

Please reach out with any questions.

Best regards,

Park and Midland Project Team

Phone: 970-340-4334

Email: ParkandMidland@cityofaspen.com

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Hello all,

City Engineering is scheduled to meet with City Council during the January 25, 2021 work session to discuss a number of projects including the Park and Midland project. A staff memo that reviews all the options, data, input, and best engineering practices, will be made publicly available at cityofaspen.com by Friday, January 22.

During the work session, Engineering staff will review improvement options for this corridor including pros and cons, present the results of the community survey and the traffic study, and feedback submitted through Aspen Community Voice. Ultimately, City Council will make the decision on if additional action will be pursued and what that action may be.

We sincerely appreciate how involved everyone has been throughout this process. This is a challenging area and we heard very passionate discussion on what the best path forward would be. Thank you for your continued involvement and please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Best regards,

Park and Midland Project Team

Phone: 970-340-4334

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Hello all,

Thank you to all who participated in the community survey. Below is a link to the final survey results.

View Community Survey Results: https://www.aspencommunityvoice.com/4586/widgets/14674/documents/16268

Engineering staff will meet with city council to review options including pros and cons, present the results of the community survey and the traffic study, and feedback submitted through Aspen Community Voice at the January 25, 2021 work session. Please reach out with any questions.

The next community update will go out in January. In the meantime, Happy Holidays and best wishes to you and yours.

Thank you,

Park and Midland Project Team

Phone: 970-340-4334

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Hello all,

Thank you to all who have already completed the community survey. To date, we’ve received 35 responses. If you haven’t yet taken the survey, please submit your responses by 7 p.m. this Monday, November 23.

TAKE COMMUNITY SURVEY >>

Read Neighborhood Huddle Memo >>

Watch Neighborhood Huddle Video Recording >>

View Neighborhood Huddle Presentation Slides >>

In other news, the stop signs at Park and Hopkins have been installed. Our team will make observations of how this impacts the corridor, but please feel free to share your observations on the project webpage.

Also, we are tentatively confirmed for a January 25, 2021 work session to meet with City Council to review options on this project including pros and cons, results of the community survey and the traffic study, and feedback submitted through Aspen Community Voice. More details to come on this, so please stay tuned.

Please reach out with any questions.

Thank you,

Park and Midland Project Team

Phone: 970-340-4334

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Hello all,

Thank you to all who joined us for the virtual Park and Midland Neighborhood Huddle on October 28. We covered a lot of information and there were a lot of questions, so the project team put together a memo to follow up on key information and your questions.

TAKE COMMUNITY SURVEY >>

Read Neighborhood Huddle Memo >>

Watch Neighborhood Huddle Video Recording >>

View Neighborhood Huddle Presentation Slides >>

The next important step for the project is the community survey which opens today, November 9 and will remain open until 7 p.m. on Monday, November 23. This survey feedback, the findings of the traffic study, safety improvement options, and feedback submitted through Aspen Community Voice will be shared with Council during a work session this winter.

Please reach out with any questions.

Thank you,

Park and Midland Project Team

Phone: 970-340-4334

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland

Hello all,

Please see below for the latest on the Park and Midland neighborhood project.

As a reminder, we are moving all project updates to be sent through Aspen Community Voice. If you haven’t already, you must activate your subscription to receive future updates. Please subscribe at aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland.

PARK + MIDLAND OUTREACH UPDATE: 10/15/20

During the October 6 engineering budget discussion, City staff connected with Council on next steps for Park + Midland. City Council approved funds to implement safety improvements in this neighborhood which will be further discussed in a council work session this winter – stay tuned for details. Meanwhile, the project team is using updated data from the traffic study to move forward with a couple immediate modifications.

City engineering will soon be installing stop signs on Park Ave. at the intersection of Park and Hopkins. Additionally, City Engineering plans to place a temporary, driver feedback device to measure real-time speeds and alert motorists heading north on Park Ave. This device will be placed between Hwy 82 and Hopkins Ave. in relation to the traffic study’s findings. City Engineering will assess the impact of both the stop signs and driver feedback signs, and we also encourage neighbors to share any insights on the project webpage.

VIRTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD HUDDLE

Thank you to those who have RSVP’d for the virtual Neighborhood Huddle on Wednesday, October 28 at 11:30 a.m. A calendar invitation with call-in information will be sent shortly.

The focus of this meeting will be to review the findings of the traffic study and to touch base on next steps. This meeting will be recorded for those who are unable to attend.

COMMUNITY INPUT SUMMARY

For reference, the project team has assembled an overarching infographic to summarize community input we have received to date. This brief graphic pulls out general themes and ideas we have received through our neighbor interviews, phone calls, emails, and Aspen Community Voice to date. There are a lot of nuances to the feedback we’ve received, but we wanted to report back on some common themes.

View Community Input Summary Infographic >>

Please let us know if you have any questions and thank you for your continued engagement.

Regards,

Park and Midland Project Team

Phone: 970-340-4334

Webpage: aspencommunityvoice.com/parkandmidland