Basalt trail will be ‘shovel ready’
Aspen, CO Colorado
BASALT ” The Basalt town government will do whatever expansion work it can afford this year on a main midvalley trail.
The Town Council directed its staff Tuesday night to proceed with engineering and design for improvements to the Willits Trail, which parallels Willits Lane. The route is popular with pedestrians and cyclists, and provides a link from the Willits residential areas to City Market and other shops.
About half of the trail, the portion on Willits Lane’s western end, is paved. The part of the trail that connects the Aspen-Basalt Mobile Home Park to the intersection of Willits Lane and Highway 82 is unpaved.
The estimated cost of improvements is $2.5 million. Basalt officials are uncertain at this point how much funding will be available for trail construction this year. They are seeking funds from a variety of sources, including a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado. The town also has a 1 percent sales tax dedicated to open space and trails.
The council wants the design work completed by this spring so the town can proceed with construction as funds become available.
Aspen City Council considers additional increases to food tax refund
Just as everyone was getting used to the $15 increase in the food tax refund, Aspen City Council unanimously agreed that they’d like to see it increase even more.