Snowmass ponders new gondola or bridge to connect town focal points
Town discussed transport between the Snowmass Center, Base Village, and Snowmass Mall

DJ&A/Courtesy image
Snowmass visitors and residents may soon find themselves with less need for a car.
Council on Monday discussed constructing a bridge or gondola between the Snowmass Center and the Base Village to increase the connectivity of the town in a Monday council meeting. But first they will focus on some smaller improvements between town nodes.
The town hopes to connect the three major Snowmass focal points — or nodes: Snowmass Center, Base Village, and Snowmass Mall. They discussed ways to increase ease of transport between the nodes with small scale foundational improvements or large infrastructure investments.
“The goal should be to put the foundational (improvements) in place as soon as we can because there’s a need,” Council member Tom Fridstein said in the meeting.
The need comes due to the challenging elevation change between the nodes, the heavy traffic on Brush Creek Road and Carriage Way during rush hour as well as the lack of certain pedestrian routes, according to DJ&A, a consulting firm hired by the town to work on the project.
DJ&A Senior Project Manager Bill Delo suggested the town tackle these problems through a combination of foundational improvements and grand investments, based on a survey the company conducted in collaboration with the town in September and October.
Foundational improvements could include increasing signage, adding more direct shuttle routes, or improving pedestrian access around the roundabout at the intersection of Brush Creek Road and Kearns Road.
Council member Susan Marolt suggested adding a shuttle route that connects just the nodes and is not affiliated with larger transport routes.
“And if that was also something that was clear, so people wouldn’t have to figure out the entire bus system,” Marolt added.
She suggested they color code signs, bus stops, and bus routes to make transportation paths obvious.
The survey included four grand investment solutions to address the disconnect between Snowmass Center and Base Village: stairs, an escalator, a gondola, or a bridge.
The stairs and escalator would connect Wood Road to the Base Village plaza, while the bridge and gondola would run from the Snowmass Center to the Base Village, Delo said.
Regarding a gondola, he said they could either repurpose and relocate the existing Sky Cab, known as Skittles, which currently runs from the village to the mall, or construct an entirely new gondola.
Council members agreed that stairs or an escalator leading from street level to the Base Village plaza wouldn’t address larger connectivity issues.
“I am a big proponent of a big solution there, so either the gondola or the bridge,” Council member Cecily DeAngelo said of the grand investments.
Survey respondents, too, favored the bridge and gondola over the alternatives, but Fridstein worries about a lack of participation in the poll.
Only 50 of roughly 3,000 Snowmass residents participated in the survey, according to DJ&A.
“I mean, when we do these surveys, we’ve got to figure out a way where we can get much more input,” he said. “Fifty is not a statistically relevant number out of our population.”
Snowmass Mayor Alyssa Shenk suggested they reinvigorate the survey in the winter to try and get more community engagement.
Finances also pose a challenge.
The bridge and gondola would each cost about $20 million, according to Town Engineer Mike Horvath.
“I don’t think anyone is in the mood to pull the trigger on $20 million tomorrow,” Fridstein said.
In the immediate future, council members agreed they will move forward with foundational improvements. They asked Horvath and DJ&A to present specifics after the new year to get a better idea of what they could change immediately to improve connectivity.
They also requested another survey to gauge community interest in the connectivity project and grand investments.
“I do think that the connectivity there is a problem worth a grand investment,” DeAnglo said of the expanse between the Snowmass Center and Base Village. “So I’m a big proponent of that.”
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
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