The name “Intercept Lot” has been officially banished.
Instead, the parking lot east of Aspen, henceforth, will be known as the Brush Creek Park and Ride lot, which has been its official name since it was first established during the expansion of Highway 82, said David Pesnichak, regional transportation director for the Upper Roaring Fork Valley.
“We’re not moving forward with the ‘Intercept’ name in the future,” Pesnichak said Tuesday.
Area elected officials made the decision last month because work is beginning on improvements to the lot, located at the intersection of Brush Creek Road and Highway 82, and a standardized name was needed for signs associated with it, he said.
In addition to settling on a preferred name, members of the Elected Officials Transportation Committee decided on a location for permanent bathrooms planned for the lot, Pesnichak said. They will be located mid-station directly across from the bus platform on the parking lot side, he said.
That area will make the bathrooms conveniently located for both transit users and carpoolers, Pesnichak said. Transit users, however, will have to cross the bus traffic lanes to access the bathrooms. Currently, the lot features portable bathrooms.
Preliminary plans for the lot include relocating the car pool kiosk from the Aspen airport to the Brush Creek Lot in the next couple months, he said.
The improvements are part of nearly $4 million worth of improvements planned for the parking lot, which plays an integral part in the transportation strategy for the Upper Roaring Fork Valley. Plans call for paving another 200 spaces that are now partially paved, adding security lighting and additional landscaping and installing a variable message sign downvalley of the lot that will provide real-time traffic updates.
The lot provides free parking for commuters, tourists and those attending special events, who can ride free buses from there into Aspen or Snowmass Village.
The public will have a chance to comment on the project and ask specific questions of project officials at an open house scheduled for next week at Colorado Mountain College in Aspen, Pesnichak said. The event is scheduled for April 10 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the art room at the CMC campus next to the Aspen Business Center.
The $3.9 million in improvements will be paid for with a $1.9 million federal grant and $2 million in matching funds from the EOTC, which is made up of the Pitkin Board of County Commissioners, Aspen City Council and the Snowmass Village Town Council.
The Brush Creek lot is owned by the Colorado Department of Transportation, but leased by the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and the city of Aspen. Beyond the 200 paved spaces and 200 partially paved spaces, the 27.2 acre site also features 1,400 dirt parking spaces.
Construction on the improvements likely won’t begin until summer 2021, Pesnichak said.