Pedestrian safety near Whetstone housing is a concern

Underpass won’t be ready until end of next summer…but units could be ready to rent in January

[  by Mark Reaman  ]

Figuring out how to safely allow the first tenants of the new Whetstone community housing project near Brush Creek Road to access the RTA bus transit system is a problem at the moment. By the end of next summer, an underpass should be completed that will allow pedestrians to travel beneath Highway 135 to catch the bus or hop off to return to Whetstone. But given some delays in the roundabout and underpass construction project, that underpass won’t be done until about a year from now. And renters could go into units as early as January.

Representatives of Gunnison County came to the Crested Butte town council on Monday to get feedback on possible solutions to the issue. Under the utility agreement between the two entities, the town was clear it would not turn on the water and sewer utilities until the underpass was completed in order to have safe passage for renters. The county is asking to amend that contract if a solution determined to be almost as safe as an underpass, can be implemented. 

The council was clear they were open to ideas, but most emphasized the primary need for safety. The county was pleased with the direction of the conversation which appeared to center on utilizing some sort of safe surface crossing as opposed to using a shuttle.

Assistant Gunnison County manager for operations and sustainability John Cattles told the council the underpass won’t be done before occupancy of Whetstone can begin. “The county wants people to live on the site before that underpass is completed at the end of next summer,” he said at the September 21 meeting. “The county wants the situation to be safe, so we are looking at a variety of options. We want to get feedback from you on what’s acceptable and then go back and work on the possibilities.”

Cattles basically outlined five options. The first was to do nothing during the interim period between January and when the underpass is completed in the fall of 2027; the second was to improve the surface crossing at Whetstone and Highway 135. 

He said there could be ways to slow traffic by using things like rumble strips and a reduced speed limit; the third idea was to have the operator of FirstTracks, Via, run a regularly scheduled van between Whetstone and the Four-way Stop in Crested Butte, but Cattles said that was very expensive; the fourth idea was to have the county purchase and operate a van and use it on an on-call basis between Whetstone and the Four-way; and the final option was to not rent any of the units until the underpass construction was completely finished. 

Cattles said once the roundabout and underpass construction begins next summer, the area should be safer since there will be a reduced speed limit and flagger personnel directing traffic on the site given the use of bypass traffic lanes.

Mayor Ian Billick asked if the county had communicated with the school district about providing service with a shuttle to students going to the Crested Butte Community School. Cattles said they had not. 

Councilmember Kent Cowherd asked how long a shuttle would be used. Cattles said since they had to purchase the van, the county would likely run it until the underpass was completed. 

He also told Cowherd they have talked to professional drivers about how to best handle the left turn out of the project. “During the peak highway use hours, turning left is hard,” Cattles admitted. “The wait can be unacceptable, so the idea is to turn right to make a safe left. Drivers could use the Riverland roads and then come out and use the acceleration lanes on the highway to head north. Apparently, that is a common professional driving strategy.”

Billick asked the council where they came down on the ideas given the two extremes of letting the county start renting with no town oversight concerning the safety issues, not letting the county rent the units until the underpass is completed or being okay with something in the middle. 

“I would advocate to give them the go-ahead,” said councilmember Beth Goldstone. “Pedestrian safety is incredibly important, but five months of construction will result in a mess anyway. I’m not a traffic expert but I see this as a small glitch we can get over knowing the underpass will be coming. Five more months of people crossing that highway there is not that concerning to me. It happens all the time. I’d ask them to do their best to get people to the RTA safely, but I don’t want to micromanage how they do it.”

 “It interests everyone to get people in these units,” said councilmember John O’Neal. “But safety is the issue. I’d prefer a shuttle option. That seems doable. People do walk across the road up and down the valley and I have to hit my brakes because of it sometimes. I’m in the middle category.”

So were most of the other councilmembers. 

“To me, the middle standard selected has to roughly be the equivalent of the underpass in terms of safety,” said Billick. “We are getting state and federal funding for the roundabout because safety is a concern there. There have been some significant accidents in that area, but I am open to solutions.”

“My question is — if we can’t meet the council’s safety requirements then we don’t want people moving into Whetstone?” asked Goldstone.

“Housing is hugely important but the argument that there are people running across the highway now doesn’t cut it with me,” indicated councilmember Gabi Prochaska. “Now we are talking hundreds of people. We’re not talking the same scenario as before or like at Ohio Creek. With Whetstone we are increasing the numbers having to do that. I would love to see measures put in place to provide true safety alternatives. If it can’t be met, it could be a hard line to cross, but I am open to exploring ideas.”

“I agree,” said councilmember Kate Guibert. “The ideas are interesting, but they must be safe.”

“I agree that the increased density is a big factor with safety,” said Cowherd, a former local volunteer firefighter who has responded to accident scenes. “It must be as safe as possible. If we accidentally hurt or kill someone, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth it at all.”

Magner said she has personally used the RTA bus on a winter’s night to get to Riverland. “It was really scary,” she said. “It was snowing, it was dark, there were berms and I was wearing a black coat. I was shocked at how incredibly unsafe and frightening it was. I am a bit hesitant with thinking the shuttle idea is best. People coming up from the south will not want to go into town and take the extra time. They’ll not wait and get off to cross the road.”

“You might need more than one of the solutions,” Cowherd told Cattles.

“We want something similarly as safe as the underpass,” reiterated Billick. “The solution has to be designed for how people actually do things and not what you want them to do. Safety is paramount.” 

Billick said he wasn’t comfortable limiting the hours of a shuttle and mentioned potential van overcrowding in the mornings when workers and students wanted to get into town at the same time. He said he hoped the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) might be flexible and allow some sort of safe surface crossing to access the RTA.

“We understand. No one wants to take a penalty lap into town, so maybe Kent is right and it takes two solutions,” said Cattles. He said the latest communication with CDOT officials indicated they could be open to a reduced speed limit in the area if it could be accomplished with tools like rumble strips. “We are exploring a limited bucket of ideas with CDOT, and we have a meeting with them coming up soon but it’s up to them for what they accept.”

Riverland neighbor John Murphy had some qualms with the solutions being discussed. “I’m surprised to hear you want to use the north entrance to Riverland to help make your left turns safer,” he said. “There are already a lot of accidents there. You might want to get the industrial park into the conversation. There should also be a safe route from Whetstone to that north entrance. And, as a neighbor—I had a vehicle stolen off my property by a worker at Whetstone two weeks ago. There needs to be overall safety measures considered. Not just for pedestrians but for the whole neighborhood.”

County commissioner Jonathan Houck said as underpass and roundabout construction ramped up, more safety measures would be seen in the area. “We have time to plan this out,” he said.

“I am frankly surprised at the council support for a surface crossing,” said Cattles. “But this conversation can help direct my path.”

Billick emphasized the council was not set on any outcome. “The council is open to solutions but there is a range of opinions on what works and what people might find acceptable,” he summarized. “There is some ambiguity to be aware of.”

“I am hearing council is open to amending the agreement,” concluded town attorney Karl Hanlon. “CDOT is the elephant in the room. Let’s see where they are and get back together. I can work with Matt (county attorney Matt Hoyt) and start adjusting the agreement.”

“The common goal is to house people and now we need to find an acceptable interim step,” said Houck.

Cattles said the hope is that even after the roundabout is finished, CDOT will keep the speed limit between Whetstone and Crested Butte low, with a max speed of 45 mph or less. He also projected that while some units could be done and ready to lease in January, it usually takes another 90 days to get people in the units. “With Sawtooth, it took us three months to fill the units even though we had leases and a waiting list two weeks after completion.”

The two entities agreed to meet again at the October 19 council meeting after the county’s meeting with CDOT officials.