Why did I decide to leave Aspen at 3:30 p.m. to swim/water exercise at the Aspen Recreation Center?
All I heard was “honk, honk” as I drove around the roundabout to get to the ARC. Lines of cars coming out of Maroon Creek and Castle Creek roads were being bullied by the cars, buses and trucks trying to get into Aspen as well as cars, buses and trucks trying to get out of Aspen.
Mayoral candidates Torre and Ann Mullins were asked by The Aspen Times (“Aspen mayoral candidates offer ideas on transportation,” Feb. 7) if Aspen has a traffic problem.
Their answers were different.
Torre — “Yes, we have a local traffic problem. … “Our main traffic problem is a local condition known as the Entrance to Aspen. … Possible effective roadway improvements could include a new downvalley slip lane at the roundabout, allowing travelers heading out of Aspen to bypass the roundabout, expediting traffic flow.”
I cheered — slip lanes. Now that is a real solution. Slip lane going out of town, slip lanes for Castle Creek and Maroon Creek roads. The question is: How soon can we get the city traffic engineers to redesign the roundabout?
Mullins — “We have been talking about this for the last several years and it is clear there is no quick fix or guaranteed fix. We should continue to work regionally with RFTA, EOTC and CDOT for new and innovative ways to address congestion.
“We need to rethink the tools that came out of the Community Forum on Transportation and Mobility and the mobility lab. We can use these one at a time, or in some combination to keep chipping away at the problem until we find the bigger idea, the bigger solution.”
I moaned. More talk. Aspen needs real solutions now.
Honk, honk. Torre for mayor.
Toni Kronberg
Aspen