Safety vs. urbanization: Snowmass debates new roundabout

Snowmass is considering building a new roundabout at one of the busiest intersections in town. 

But council was split when town staff presented their latest renderings Monday of a Brush Creek-Owl Creek roundabout, debating if current safety concerns at the intersection outweighed construction fatigue felt by the town, and if the new design would fit with the Snowmass aesthetic or detract from its character. 

“I have a hard time hearing all the list of safety fixes this has and not doing it,” said Snowmass Council member Susan Marolt. “God forbid something happens and we just decided we didn’t want to do it because we want the old Snowmass or we want the old intersection.”

The town expects to spend $8 million on the roundabout. The addition would slow traffic and reduce the grade of the intersection connecting the two major roadways in and out of Snowmass, which saw 42 crashes over the past five years, according to Snowmass Police Chief Brian Olson. 

“That’s probably our busiest accident intersection,” Olson said. 

Most of the crashes result from slide offs in the winter, when cars attempt a right while driving downhill from Brush Creek onto Owl Creek, Olson said. While the current grade of the intersection is 6% to 7%, the roundabout would level the turns to 2%.

“So you don’t slide off,” said Snowmass Public Works Director Anne Martens.

It would also improve safety for pedestrians catching the bus at the intersection. As it stands, Olson said cars use the bus pullouts on Brush Creek at the existing intersection to pass traffic waiting to turn on or off Owl Creek. 

“For people standing there waiting for a bus, (it’s) extremely dangerous,” Olson said. 

He said the bus stops would be moved out of the intersection and provided with curbing and elevation protection.

“That would make the bus stops a lot safer and kind of vehicle free,” he said.

Slower traffic through the roundabout would improve pedestrian crossing safety at the intersection, as the majority of traffic currently travels well over the speed limit down Brush Creek Road past Owl Creek, Olson said. 

The design also includes three “refuges” — triangular islands on each road extending away from the roundabout — to allow pedestrians to stop in a protected outlet halfway across the street. Pedestrians currently have to cross as many as five lanes at once, including the bus lanes, with no island to find reprieve from oncoming cars, according to Olson.

But with the improvement in safety comes the question of construction burnout, project aesthetics, and council priorities. 

Council member Britta Gustafson worried the current rendition of the roundabout was a move away from town character, as the rural quality of the roads make the town pleasant.

“I think that when we create the urban-suburban effect at this roundabout we’ve lost that pleasant rural experience,” she said.

She asked if the town could make more minor improvements to the intersection to address safety concerns. Staff said to truly improve intersection safety they would have to make changes drastic enough to warrant construction of a roundabout.

Council Member Tom Fridstein worried that the town would experience fatigue with upcoming construction plans like the Draw Site workforce housing project, a 60-plus unit building to be located uphill and adjacent to Town Hall, the Little Red School House renovation plans, and a number of private construction projects. 

“For me, it’s an issue of priorities,” Fridstein said.

Town staff estimated project construction would take from April to October. They suggested the town begins in 2026. But council directed staff to first do more research about its concerns to be discussed in a future meeting.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.