The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Council intrigued by idea
By Mark Reaman
The Crested Butte Town Council will explore the idea of trying out a pedestrian-oriented Elk Avenue this summer. Councilwoman Candice Bradley said the idea has been broached at some of the economic recovery subcommittee meetings and the idea excited her enough to bring it to the council at the April 20 meeting.
“The idea is to perhaps allow outdoor sales and broader outdoor restaurant seating onto Elk Avenue,” Bradley told the council. “There probably won’t be the need for as much parking as we’ve had on Elk Avenue in the previous summers so this is an opportunity to try something. Instead of people waiting to go into a small retail store the business could put a rack outside, for example. The idea of a pedestrian-only Elk Avenue has been discussed in the past and this summer might be an opportunity to try it out.”
“It sounds intriguing,” said councilwoman Mallika Magner.
“I thought the idea was neat,” said Bradley. “It is appealing to me. People could be spread out. It would be open air. You could put some nice lighting there and make it quaint. It could bring us together.”
“It would be a way to address the current coronavirus situation,” said Magner.
“I like the open Elk concept. I think it could help businesses thrive,” Bradley said.
Mayor Jim Schmidt agreed the idea was intriguing. “Maybe we leave one lane open down the middle of Elk Avenue for the Mountain Express buses,” he suggested.
The council was open to discussing the concept further but understood there could be issues with ADA compliance and things like delivery vehicles.
Town manager Dara MacDonald said the staff would begin digging into the details and come back to the council with some discussion points. She will put it on the agenda for a special meeting scheduled for Monday, April 27.
