Safety & Mobility in the Downtown Core Project

GALENA COOPER LIVING LAB:

The City of Aspen is taking a big step this summer towards increasing Safety and Mobility in the Downtown Core for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. A Living Lab installed on South Galena Street from Main Street to Cooper Avenue and Cooper Avenue to Hunter Street, will allow the City to temporarily test the project and make modifications prior to any permanent safety and design improvements. This lab will be in place through September 2022.

Learn more at aspen.gov/LivingLab.

Experience it! If you have biked, walked or driven through the Galena Cooper Living Lab we want to hear about your experience. Please share your feedback.

Email: GalenaCooperLivingLab@aspen.gov
Call the hotline: 970-340-4334

PROJECT UPDATE:

Staff will provide an update on the Safety and Mobility in the Downtown Core project, including discussion on proposal for the living lab, at the February 15 City Council Work Session. You can attend the meeting in City Council Chambers or watch online by clicking the "View Event" link here.

PROJECT INFORMATION:

The “Safety and Mobility in the Core” project is a vision for a safe, connected, and active downtown core in Aspen.

For over a year, the City of Aspen has been exploring how right-of-way (ROW) space could be allocated differently to increase safety for all pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. Whatever your mode of transportation, predictable behavior and communication with your fellow travelers are among the best ways to enhance safety; how space is used can reduce the risk of an unexpected situation and support safer traveling behaviors.

Staff also has looked at how the ROW space use could improve mobility and connectivity, invite vitality into the public ROW, and prioritize transit and/or shared mobility options in the Downtown Core.

The project team has followed up on Council direction and incorporated feedback from various public engagement opportunities such as questionnaires and focus groups as they refined concepts regarding a Living Lab in the core for Summer 2022. This proposal includes a range of options from a plan to test on Galena and Cooper to parking and transit programming enhancements to help mitigate any potential negative impacts.

As the city refines the living lab proposal, community members input on all these elements are needed. Please take the survey below or leave us an idea, comment, or question so all voices can be heard and input collected for consideration.

Currently, the team is preparing to bring the project back to Council in February and invites you to get reacquainted with the project, review work progress to date, and share your input and ideas on a proposed preferred option for implementation this summer.

PARKING CONSIDERATION:

Part of prioritizing space is looking at how to allocate it for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles, options which also involve discussions on parking such as spaces along Galena and Cooper. The current proposed plan available for feedback now does not propose removing parking spaces from the core, although distribution may look different. The proposed living lab maintains parking spaces, so someone can drive into the core and find parking if they choose that mode of transportation. It also proposes addressing direct impact of parking in areas through mitigation and programming options. For example, the city is exploring reclassifying spaces in the commercial core area or adjacent to the boundary from residential to core parking spaces. This approach could generate 47 core parking spaces by reclassifying these areas for a net gain of three spaces in the core area. Programming approaches could include options like enhancements to the valet parking program, progressive timing based on locations (e.g., reducing the time allowed to park in one spot based on turnover demand needs), progressive fees (higher fees in higher use areas), limiting construction parking, adding pick-up/drop-off spaces.

For reference, the city observes a consistent 85% occupancy level on parking in the core. This figure is calculated by comparing the number of spots used through payment tracking with the number of total spots available. What that means is that usually, there are 15% of the parking spaces in the core available for someone to park in. This may not be right in front of the business someone is headed to, but parking in the core can be found.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

• Subscribe to receive project updates
• Take the 2022 Winter Questionnaire
• Volunteer to participate in a small focus group
• Share your questions and comments below through the "Question and Comments" tab
• Email Project Manager, PJ Murray, Civil Engineer at pj.murray@cityofaspen.com