The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Tripling the bathroom capacity
By Mark Reaman
The Crested Butte Town Council on Monday gave the go-ahead to begin the process of approving a new and expanded transit center/bathroom facility at the Four-way Stop at Sixth and Elk.
Currently just two bathrooms are located on the outside of the Visitors Center at that location. The upgrade would bring in eight more toilet fixtures and construct an 800-square-foot building with an additional 200 feet of covered bike parking. The current bathrooms would be configured as “family” and “gender-neutral” bathrooms. The cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $400,000.
Four options were considered but the staff strongly encouraged the approved option, given future needs at the site. Architect Andrew Hadley said the cost was expected to be about $350 per square foot.
Councilman Jim Schmidt expressed disappointment that the other options presented to the council weren’t as detailed and didn’t contain cost estimates.
Councilman Chris Ladoulis said it felt like the new building was duplicating the current Visitors Center. Hadley said he designed that building more than 20 years ago and it was never designed to be a bus stop building. “We looked at expanding the current building but the roof line doesn’t make for an easy extension. It is easier to build a new building,” Hadley said.
Town building and zoning director Bob Gillie said the recommended option would leave the current building intact and operable during construction.
Gillie said that the town of Crested Butte would likely be responsible for maintaining the new bathroom facilities, while the chamber of commerce and town would negotiate who maintains the current ones as part of the chamber’s lease.
Mayor Glenn Michel said he appreciated “family” restrooms and advocated for renovating the current facilities to accommodate families or gender-neutral people.
“If we have the space I would support that as well,” said councilman Roland Mason. “I think overall this is a good step for the future.”
“This could encourage more parking and bus ridership from the Four-way,” noted councilman Paul Merck.
“It could also help take some pressure off the impacts on the local backcountry,” suggested Michel. “People can utilize the facilities here.”
“It just feels like a very luxurious bathroom solution,” said Ladoulis. “Going from four toilet fixtures to 12. This seems more expensive than renovating the current building. No one seems particularly enthusiastic about this.”
“This is probably a 20-year solution for the Four-way,” said Gillie.
“It’s not only about bathrooms,” added Michel. “There will be a nicer, well-lit place for people to wait on the bus out of the weather. Covered parking for bikes will be used. I’m enthusiastic about this.”
Town planner Michael Yerman also pointed out that with the council moving toward plans to pave the nearby parking lot in 2017, moving ahead with this project will tie in with that paving and will save money in the long run.
The council voted 4-1 to move ahead with the development of plans for the new building and begin the BOZAR (Board of Zoning and Architectural Review) process. Ladoulis voted against the motion.
