CB South Park and Ride progressing

Long-term planning for the Hwy. 135 corridor

Park and Ride stations are commonplace in urban settings and mountain towns alike, and are used both to promote the use of public transportation and to address safety concerns for bus drivers and riders. The Crested Butte area is now getting on board—a proposed Crested Butte South Park and Ride would create a pullout for the RTA bus on the east side of Highway 135, and a few parking spaces for commuters.

While the exact location is yet to be determined, the RTA is moving forward with the project by hiring a consultant to submit a categorical exclusion proposal to the Federal Transit Administration to evaluate the environmental impacts of the project, and to determine whether or not conducting an environmental assessment will be necessary.
“If the FTA grants the ‘cat ex’ we don’t have to go into an environmental assessment,” said Scott Truex, executive director of the Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority. “Then the feds will pay 80 percent of our costs up to $389,000. For the FTA to obligate the funds to the project, the environmental review process needs to be completed, and the FTA has to approve it by September 30, 2010. All of these costs we’re taking on right now are reimbursable—if we meet the deadlines.”
The grant money will cover reimbursement for the consulting, acquiring the land, and constructing the facility up to the 80 percent level. The RTA has asked the county to contribute the remaining 20 percent, which amounts to roughly $90,000.
Some people would prefer to have the buses pull into the Crested Butte South subdivision, thereby minimizing bike and pedestrian traffic on the 600- to 700-yard stretch of road between the subdivision and the highway. “It’s not the ideal solution for CB South,” said Chris Behan, manager of Crested Butte South Property Owners Association. “But it’s the best way to address the current safety concerns.”
“We’ve allocated funds to help explore the Park and Ride project, and try to determine its value and environmental impacts, if there are any,” Behan said. “I think it’s good long-term planning for the 135 corridor.”
Down the road, the RTA’s vision is to have a series of four Park and Ride locations at key junctions along Hwy. 135: one just north of Gunnison; another at Ohio Creek Road; the Cement Creek location; and a fourth at Brush Creek Road.
“If parking gets more restricted in Crested Butte, people will need other options,” Truex concluded.