Heavy traffic expected for the Fourth 

Pitkin County has sent out two alerts over the past two days reminding residents and visitors that Aspen is expecting high traffic on the 4th of July and throughout the weekend. 

With those warnings in mind, many may be wondering how to navigate their way in and out of Aspen before and after Friday’s parade. 

According to Parker Lathrop, Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy of operations, anyone who can should try to avoid coming into Aspen by car when possible. 

“If you can ride a bike or walk into town, use the Rio Grande trail if you have a bike,” said Lathrop. “There’s just different ways of the fewer cars on the road, the faster everyone’s gonna move.”

Lathrop acknowledged, however, that people are still going to be using cars to get into town. For those that need a car in town, traffic is likely to be bad at the common choke points like the roundabout. Per the Pitkin County alert, traffic may begin slowing down as early as 7 a.m. 

“We have traffic this time of year and there’s no rhyme or reason to it,” said Lathrop. “It can be (going) both directions in the middle of the day.”

Traffic on the 4th, in particular, is not caused by a marked increase in vehicle traffic into town but because of traffic redirections as a result of the parade. In fact, due to a moratorium on commercial traffic into town on the Fourth, the number of vehicles coming into Aspen will actually be down over a normal day. 

Last year there were approximately 7,000 vehicles that came into Aspen on the Fourth, according to data shared by Lathrop. On a normal day between 11,000 and 13,000 vehicles come into Aspen. 

The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority will be conducting its usual bus schedule and will be staging backup buses if they are needed. According to Jamie Tatsuno, RFTA’s public information officer, 

“We do expect a lot of people riding up from downvalley and getting on at the Brush Creek Park and Ride,” said Tatsuno. “We had a big operation memo out yesterday to all the operators about all the detours, getting everybody up to speed, and we do expect people to be riding the bus, which is great.”

If, for any reason, people in Aspen need to leave in a hurry, Lathrop suggests considering one of the many foot and bike routes out of town. 

Additionally, Aspen Mountain Road will be closed from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the 4th of July for the evening drone show. Fireworks are prohibited in Aspen and Pitkin County.