VAIL \u2014 Housing and parking are near the top of residents\u2019 ideas for Vail\u2019s civic area. But so are improvements to treasured town assets.<\/p>\n
The Vail Town Council on Tuesday heard a report on what\u2019s been learned from consultants reaching out to residents through the EngageVail.com<\/a> website. That effort to hear from the public has had good results.<\/p>\n Danica Powell of the Trestle Strategy Group told council members that hundreds of people responded on the website. The planning team \u2014 Powell, Tom Braun and architect Louis Bieker \u2014 reached out at public open houses and meetings of community groups including the Vail Economic\u00a0Advisory Council and local youth groups.<\/p>\n All of that was an effort to learn what people would like to see for the area including the Vail Public Library, Dobson Ice Arena, the Lionshead Parking Structure and the town\u2019s municipal complex.<\/p>\n There are no firm plans \u2014 and no funding in place \u2014 but when the plan is ready later this year, it should guide town officials\u2019 thinking.<\/p>\n The ice arena drew a lot of interest, both for its current needs and what could be there in the future. One of the biggest needs residents pointed out is for better pedestrian access to the facility, as well as easier ways to drop off and pick up kids.<\/p>\n Tom Boyd \u2014 the Vail Valley Foundation\u2019s\u00a0communications director \u2014 grew up in Vail and still lives in the valley. Boyd spent much of his youth playing hockey at the arena\u00a0and spends time there now with his own kids.<\/p>\n \u201cI applaud the effort to make a pedestrian-safe, walkable area a priority,\u201d Boyd told council members. Boyd also said the arena has a lot of potential if a second ice sheet could be added to the facility.<\/p>\n Now a mid-valley resident, Boyd told council\u00a0members that the primary reason he comes to Vail outside of working hours is to go to the arena.<\/p>\n The arena in many ways is the \u201cheartbeat of the community,\u201d said council member Kim Langmaid, who also grew up in Vail. \u201cIt brings families in from throughout the valley.\u201d<\/p>\n Expanding the arena \u2014 or building on the charter bus parking lot on the southeast corner of the Lionshead parking structure \u2014 could also allow the town to build something many residents have long requested \u2014 some sort of meeting and events facility.<\/p>\n Beth Slifer, of the Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council, told council members the town needs look into finding space for 1,500 people in the same place.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been turning away groups that need (room for) 1,500,\u201d Slifer said.<\/p>\n In addition to the main space, Caitlin Murray of the Bravo! Vail Music Festival told council members there\u2019s also a need for smaller spaces for smaller meetings or small-group rehearsals.<\/p>\n The civic area plan is also looking at the site of the current town hall and the building just to the west that houses the Vail Community Development Department.<\/p>\n Both of those buildings date to the 1970s, and the town is spending a good bit of money on upkeep and upgrades. What might replace those buildings on a roughly 2-acre site is still a matter for discussion.<\/p>\n But, Braun said, the idea behind what facilities could be upgraded or replaced is only part of the point of the planning.<\/p>\n Braun said what\u2019s important is to breathe life in the area between the resort villages and the \u201cspaces in between\u201d the buildings.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not about how much stuff we can build, but how it works,\u201d Braun said.<\/p>\n That was good news to Langmaid, who talked about a drawing former Vail Mayor John Dobson once created. That drawing depicted skyscrapers dwarfing the hillsides, Langmaid said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to not just make (Vail) a resort,\u201d Langmaid said. \u201cWe need to make it unique, and not just another roadside attraction.\u201d<\/p>\n Vail Daily Business Editor Scott Miller can be reached at smiller@vaildaily.com<\/a> or 970-748-2930.<\/em><\/p>\n By the numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n 566: People who registered on the EngageVail.com<\/a> website.<\/p>\n 367: People contributed comments and information to that site.<\/p>\n 84.6 percent: Participants who own homes.<\/p>\n 34.4 percent: Participants from households with children living at home.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nRecommended Stories For You<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n