JAS learned lessons from Lionel Richie evacuation

Dear friends of JAS, community members and visitors who attended the Aug. 31 Lionel Richie concert:

With the JAS Labor Day Experience now behind us, JAS has collected extensive feedback from attendees, staff and local police, fire and transportation personnel about the evacuation process Aug. 31, including buses, pedestrian/traffic flow and communication once the concert was halted.

JAS has heard clearly from many attendees, and is sorry for the inconvenience, discomfort and fear that they experienced during the “force majeure” emergency event evacuation Friday night, the first such event in the (28-year) history of JAS. Thank you to everyone who shared feedback, all of which will help us improve in the future.

The Snowmass chief of police, Brian Olson, was quoted extensively in the Aspen Daily News on Sept. 3 emphasizing about the egress: “Any time you empty a concert venue in one immediate action, you’re not going to have a natural response that everybody’s used to. … We don’t plan buses for an immediate evacuation. You just can’t do that.” He added: “The new (entrance) configuration (driven by public safety improvements) is something we are going to stick with. We think it’s a success. It’s a safer environment with everybody moving back and forth. Implementing it this year came with some lessons learned.”

Immediate changes were implemented Saturday and Sunday following the Friday night evacuation to increase the efficiency of pedestrian and auto/bus traffic flow Saturday and Sunday, and there were no delays or issues on egress from the site.

Thank you sincerely for your support, attendance and passion for the live music experience at JAS now and in the future.

Jim Horowitz

President & CEO

Marianne E. Powers

Chairman

Rick Crandall

Chairman-Elect