Snowmass Mall Transit Center plan remains in limbo

The Snowmass Village Town Council is weighing the next steps in a long-discussed overhaul of the Snowmass Mall Transit Center, with council members split Monday over whether they’ve received enough community feedback to move forward with the project.

Monday’s meeting followed an Aug. 27 roundtable on the proposed transit center, where the council presented both one-level and two-level design options to key stakeholders such as the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, the Aspen Skiing Company and local businesses.

Council members said they heard unexpectedly strong support from mall business owners at the August meeting. 

“I didn’t hear as much hesitation as I thought I would,” said Council Member Britta Gustafson. “In fact, I hear ‘let’s rip off the Band-Aid and do it all at once,’ rather than prolonging it.” 

But Mayor Alyssa Shenk noted that relatively few business owners attended the roundtable, which was instead attended by stakeholders who have already made their support for the project clear. 

Much of Monday evening’s discussion focused on the question of whether the council has received enough public feedback.

“I need more input from the general community before we decide to move forward with the project,” said Council Member Susan Marolt. 

Council Member Cecily DeAngelo agreed, adding, “I need a bigger public process before this is something I can get behind.” 

Council Member Tom Fridstein and Gustafson, however, disagreed, wanting to keep the project moving forward. Fridstein noted that the community has been “talking about it for 40 years,” while Gustafson wanted to set a deadline for public input. 

“This is one of those projects that’s going to enable everything else that’s coming down the pipe,” said Gustafson.

And it’s been a long time coming. An Aspen Times article from 1986 mentions town officials considering a project called the “Daly Lane Alternation,” which would have built a new transit center on Daly Lane. Even then, the project goals were the same as they are today: “to improve the flow of traffic and pedestrians in the Snowmass Mall area.”

After a long pause, movement on the project picked up again in 2019, when the town conducted a feasibility study. While numerous designs were later presented and discussed, the plan was put on hold once again until 2024, when, after conducting an engineering study, Snowmass Director of Transportation Sam Guarino came back with a two-level design that was estimated to cost $39.3 million. 

But with concerns over cost, the council and design team have been weighing a phased approach that would bring a short-term improvement as phase 1, according to January 2025 agenda document. 

In 2025, however, Snowmass then decided to cut the preliminary construction from their 2026 budget, citing a lack of interest from the community and construction fatigue.

Still, $9.3 million remains allocated for continued designing and planning, with the budget stating, “The Mall Transit Center is currently being evaluated to ensure the proposed first phase of the project can be constructed in such a manner that it sets the stage and paves the way for a more comprehensive two-story facility.” 

No decisions were made in Monday’s meeting, as the council continues to debate design plans, phasing and whether they have enough public input to move forward with the project.