TRAIL PLAN WINS FINAL APPROVAL Pitkin County Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the Carbondale to Crested Butte Trail Plan on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018. Click HERE to watch the meeting, including the public hearing and commissioner deliberations on the plan. Planning for the first phase of the trail, between Redstone and the top of McClure Pass, is expected to begin early in 2019 with the start of a federal NEPA review of trail sections that are proposed on the White River National Forest. Details about the process to come will be posted here as they become available.
The final version of the adopted trail plan, including Appendix A - the plan for the Gunnison County portion of the trail - is posted below.
Commissioners adopted a resolution approving the trail plan on a first, initial reading at a Nov. 7, 2018 meeting in Carbondale. The second and final reading of the resolution took place on Dec. 19. Also on Nov. 7, the Open Space and Trails Board conducted a public hearing on the plan and then voted 4-1 to approve the plan and recommend its approval by county commissioners. Click HERE to view a taping of the joint Open Space Board / county commissioner meeting on the 7th.
Also below are the public comments submitted in response to a draft of the plan earlier in 2018. The draft plan was released on April 24 and a public comment period was open through July 27, 2018. Following the public comment period, a revised draft of the plan was presented to county commissioners and the Open Space and Trails Board on Sept. 4. Click HERE to watch a recording of the Sept. 4, 2018 discussion.
VIDEO: JUNE 26TH LISTENING SESSION The Open Space and Trails Board and Board of County Commissioners hosted a June 26th listening session in Carbondale for members of the public who wished to speak on the draft trail plan. CLICK HERE to see the video of that session.
INTERACTIVE STORYMAP CLICK HERE to view an interactive Storymap that details the Planning Actions and Proposed Trail Alignment contained in the draft plan.
WATCH THE MAY 21ST PRESENTATION Posted below are environmental and engineering reports that are appendices to the draft plan, as well as the results of a public survey and letters that were received in advance of the drafting of the plan. A schedule of this planning process as it moved forward is also posted below. Two presentations on the draft plan took place. The second one, on May 21st, is available for viewing - CLICK HERE to watch.
PREVIOUSLY... Below is information (Map Boards, Segment Summaries) that was presented on the potential trail alignments at a pair of open house presentations in September 2017. These alignments were the focus of a public survey in the fall of 2017. Public input on the potential alignments helped inform the recommendations now contained in the Draft Plan. Also provided below is a link to a video of one of the September presentations by environmental and engineering consultants who studied the alignment alternatives, and a video link on the history of travel in the Crystal Valley. The consultants' reports can be found above in the Appendices and Timeline section (Environmental Report, Engineering Feasibility Report).
Click here for a video of the presentations by environmental and engineering consultants on Sept. 7, 2017.
Click here for a video on the history of travel in the Crystal Valley.
SEGMENT SUMMARIES AND MAP BOARDS FROM THE OPEN HOUSES Below are downloadable files of the map boards that were on display at the presentation/open houses on Sept. 6 and 7, 2017 in Redstone and Carbondale, and easy-to-read summaries of each segment.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Available below are a number of frequently asked questions (and answers), including questions that were posed by members of the public during an Oct. 17, 2017 meeting of Pitkin County Commissioners, the Open Space and Trails Board and Carbondale Town Council in Carbondale.
HOW IT BEGAN The Carbondale to Crested Butte Trail is one of 16 trail projects across Colorado that was chosen for a statewide trails initiative called Colorado's 16. Subsequently, Great Outdoors Colorado in December 2016 awarded a $100,000 grant to the planning phase for this trail. In addition, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails budgeted $200,000 in 2017 for the planning, which included engineering and natural resource studies. ERO Resources was hired to conduct the environmental data collection while Loris and Associates Consulting Engineers handled the engineering feasibility work. The results of the consultants' analysis were unveiled at a pair of well-attended public presentations/open houses, on Sept. 6, 2017 in Redstone and Sept. 7, 2017 in Carbondale. The presentations kicked off a public comment period and an online survey that closed Nov. 15, 2017.
INITIAL INPUT Two open houses took place in January 2017 to collect initial public feedback and start the planning process. Available below are the displays and survey responses collected back in January 2017 at the kick-off open houses.
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