The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Flower boxes and free permits to residents
By Mark Reaman
At the recommendation of town staff, the Crested Butte town council agreed to basically keep the same municipal parking and traffic calming plans in place for both the coming summer and next ski season.
Council had asked for a regular spring review of the plans and on Monday, March 3 special projects/senior community development advisor Troy Russ presented the update.
“Implementing transportation policy is one of the more sensitive topics for residents so every spring we provide an update,” he told the council.
He said when it comes to calming traffic in the busy summer season, town uses its 47 flowerboxes, 10 mid-block crosswalk signs and its 23 mid-block “pop-up” speed limit signs to slow traffic in residential neighborhoods. While budget cuts prevented a third-party analysis of how traffic calming worked in 2024, Russ said staff previously analyzed the effectiveness of the “chicane configurations” and found they reduced traffic speeds by 2-4 miles per hour.
Russ told the council there were no crashes or injuries reported as a result of the flower box placements. He said public feedback varied with both appreciation and concern over the calming measures. He said staff was basically recommending town do what it did last summer.
As for parking management, he said the two-hour limits on Elk Avenue and nearby side streets has worked to turnover spots in the main business district. He characterized the winter expansion of the two-hour parking limits to streets along Sixth as working. He said to date, 287 so-called free skier permits had been issued to Gunnison County residents so they can park in that area without fear of being ticketed. Another 109 applications are on hold until they provide proof of residency.
Russ indicated the low snow year has generally resulted in low demand for parking in town. He said during the blizzardy President’s Day weekend however, the parking spots in the Four-way parking lot by the Visitor Center and tennis courts were 100% full at times. The side streets were also full much of the time given the powder days and the fact the CBMR parking lots on the mountain were often full.
“The skier permits help manage the parking and it is a good policy,” he said. “I recommend keeping that plan for the coming season and probably until the alternative park-and-rides at Brush Creek and the school parking lots are built and available.”
Mayor Ian Billick informed the council that both Mountain Express and RTA buses were often full during the snowy President’s Day weekend. “The buses are reaching capacity at certain times, so we need to be super careful in restricting parking more,” he said.
Councilmember Anna Fenerty said given the lack of snow it made sense to continue with the current parking plan and monitor how it works.
Councilmember Kent Cowherd wondered if the two-hour limits on and near Elk Avenue were long enough to accommodate tourists shopping and eating in town. The council felt it was.
While making small, targeted tweaks to some of the permit parking to accommodate a few residences, the council agreed to maintain the current parking plan for the next year.
