Public can weigh in on airport’s future at Oct. 22 meeting

Pitkin County will host a workshop concerning the future of the airport from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Limelight Hotel in Aspen.

The workshop will allow the public to get its first look at several preliminary terminal concepts for the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.

The concept drawings, ranging from a single-story building to a two-story configuration, incorporate public input gathered at community-visioning meetings in the spring.

On Oct. 23, the public can offer comments about the drawings at http://www.pitkincountyconnect.com.

“We heard from the community that it wants an airport terminal with features that maximize views, one that is intimate with a small-town feel, appropriately sized and that celebrates the arrival and departure experience for travelers,” Aspen-Pitkin County Airport Director John Kinney said.

The options will be presented to the public with emphasis on massing, terminal layout and function and view opportunities from the different configurations.

“These are preliminary drawings that mostly show the footprint of the different terminal configurations,” Kinney said. “These are in no way final designs, and they don’t show any internal or external design features, but they will help us refine the building possibilities, and we continue the (environmental assessment) process. Public input is critical at this stage.”

Other information that will be shared at the workshop is preliminary information on aircraft loading and vehicle parking and circulation around the terminal.