Council to reconsider closing RV Dump May 17

Staff presenting two alternatives

[ By Kendra Walker ]

Since voting last month to close the RV Dump Station for the summer, the Crested Butte town council has received much feedback from the community and regional partners asking them to reconsider the decision and keep it open until a viable alternative has been identified for the north end of the valley. Council will revisit the topic during their May 17 meeting, and should they reverse their decision and keep the station open, town staff has refined two proposed design alternatives to help mitigate neighborhood traffic and congestion.

In a memo to council, town staff said, “Based on the overall feedback, Staff recommends Town Council commit to keep the RV Dump Station open with neighborhood mitigation for no more than two years to allow the Town and our regional partners, through the STOR Committee, to identify a regional solution. As such, Staff has further analyzed and refined two design alternatives based on additional feedback heard from the community.”

Staff will look to council’s direction on May 17 for which preferred mitigation alternative to proceed with, if council decides to reopen the dump station. Both alternatives include an Option A and Option B.

The first alternative includes the development of a queue lane along the east side of Eighth Street. The queue lane would be 255 feet long and could accommodate up to six large RVs. A temporary barrier (Option A, estimated cost of $3,500) or concrete curbing (Option B, estimated cost of $44,000) would channel RVs to the dump from one direction. The current exit route would be maintained.

The second alternative includes reversing the traffic flow where vehicles would approach from the east, queuing and entering the station on Butte Avenue and Ninth Street. It would reverse traffic and route traffic through the Paradise Park neighborhood along Teocalli Avenue and then Ninth Street, with exit options from Pyramid Avenue, Butte Avenue or Eighth Street.

Option A for this alternative includes a temporary seasonal reconfiguration of Butte Avenue between Eighth Street and Ninth Street into a one-way westbound street. A 217-foot queue lane, which could accommodate up to five large RVs, would be striped and coned on the south side of the street. The one-way street will be delineated with temporary barriers, signage and striping. The estimated cost is $2,500.

Option B would include constructing a 223-foot-long queue lane on the Town right-of-way along the north side of Butte Avenue along the fence of the wastewater treatment plant. The lane would accommodate up to five large RVs; however, the amenities and hookups would be shifted to the south side of the facility to provide the hookup on the driver side of the vehicle. The estimated cost is approximately $45,000.

“The impacts facing the neighborhood from the RV Dump/Fill Station have noticeably increased and should be addressed and eliminated over time, as a regional solution is developed,” read the memo. “The Town is committed to work with its regional partners to address backcountry waste issues and bring a new station in a different location online.”

Staff encourages additional input and invites the public to tune in to the town council meeting with feedback on Monday, May 17.