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August 18, 2000

Aspen Downtown Enhancement
Pedestrian Project

Boulder, Colorado August 18- The 23-block core of Aspen has served the community well both functionally and as a world-class resort, but had began to suffer. Physical improvements to streets within Aspen's downtown core were a key recommendation resulting from the overall enhancement and pedestrian plan. To test the effectiveness of the conceptual design, a two-block area of a key primary street, Mill to Hyman between Hopkins and Monarch, was selected as the first project. As stated by Ed Sadler, Assets Manager for the City of Aspen, "This piece of the project was selected because it was the most extensive and expensive."

LORIS, a Boulder civil and structural engineering firm, was selected as lead consultant working with landscape architects from Design Workshop to complete civil, structural, lighting, mechanical engineering, and streetscaping for this downtown pedestrian improvement project. Peter Loris, Principal of LOIRS, summed up the project well, "The project is a melding of civil engineering and sensitive streetscape architecture using correct and safe technical expertise while meeting the aesthetic intent."

The Project

The main goal of this project was to provide more pedestrian walking, sitting and window shopping space without affecting parking - no net gain or loss of parking spaces. The width of the sidewalks was widened from 6' to 10' in most places by changing the nose-end parking design to parallel parking. In addition, local shop owners and pedestrians were growing unhappy because the varying thresholds and the dramatic variation of the sidewalk slopes were causing walking hazards. Many sidewalks sloped into the historical buildings or had no slope, causing severe drainage problems during snowmelt.

On most street projects such as this, the crown of the road is set first and then the sidewalk is adjusted to meet the road. This project was different - the sidewalk determined the crown of the road. Also, due to the drastic variations of grade along the sidewalk in front of each historic storefront, each section began with a sketch, then check, then revisions, resketch, recheck, more revisions and so on. The goal - to make the sidewalk "pedestrian friendly."

In addition to widening the sidewalk, a new brick and stonework pattern was added as well as snowmelt systems. The brick used was "endicot, " a Danish hand-molded brick with a rough texture. This fit well into the mountain town setting as well as providing additional traction for pedestrians in the winter. Some storeowners also had existing snowmelt systems in front of their stores, but many did not. Therefore, storeowners were surveyed to determine the desire and need for installing snowmelt systems in front of all the stores. They were also asked about the capability of current systems to handle the added square footage from the sidewalk widening. In the end, the City paid to replace existing systems and storeowners paid any additional costs.

Once the grade of the sidewalks was determined, the curbs and gutters followed. Again the height of the curbs varied from 4" to 6" on the north and south sides of the street, respectively. This piece of the Aspen downtown area was also missing a complex piece of the storm sewer system and other underground utilities. Additional storm inlets were incorporated into the curb and gutter system and a conduit for future utilities were stubbed into alleys.

The redesign of the road itself came last. In some places, when regrading the road, the cut was up to 1 foot in depth. Phasing and construction sequencing was prepared to keep one lane of traffic open at all times during construction. Left and right turn bays were added to the road and feasibility studies were done to assess turning movements of delivery trucks into the alleys and around corners.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

After much design and redesign of the grading of the sidewalks, and curbs and gutters, construction began. Careful communication and engineering were critical to success because of the impact of construction on the businesses, tourism, and residences. The construction window was short because it had to begin after spring skiing and not interrupt the summer tourist season. Once many of the sidewalks were lifted, 10' by 15' holes were exposed that lead into the historic Wheeler Opera House at the corner of Mill and Hyman. These holes were vaults, old window wells, and coal shoots that were covered up many decades ago by concrete now buckling. These openings were unknown until construction began, so new systems had to be designed and constructed to cover them. Pedestrian safety and complete coverage to deny access the Wheeler through the openings, were of utmost concern.

The Finished Product

Once the storefront thresholds and sidewalk grades were aligned, drainage problems fixed, utility systems added onto and adjusted, the roadway crown set, snowmelt systems in place, and parking configurations designed, then it was time to put the street back together as a pedestrian haven.

Design Workshop was in charge of the design of the pedestrian amenities. As Richard Shaw, Partner at Design Workshop stated, "We created an important civic street in which pedestrian amenities, traffic flow, and parking were balanced into a great and rich chemistry." The design of, and positioning of, each design element including street trees, leaning rails, street furnishings, paving materials, and special historic stone bands were all combined to create the street chemistry. Seating arrangements were set to take advantage of sun, shade and breathtaking views. Special structural soil and irrigation systems were used to provide street trees with longer, healthier lives. The Aspen Historical Society contributed to the project by creating stone bands set into the walk in front of historic buildings which detailed the structure's original uses and ownership.

The Community

The project has just been completed to a happy community. As Ed Sadler stated, "Much of the community was in favor of this project, and those who were not are now glad it was done. It worked out marvelous." The public process proceeded smoothly before and during the project thanks to open communication channels and careful construction phasing which helped keep businesses operating as smoothly as possible. A survey will be sent out to residents and storeowners in Aspen to get their feelings about the project now that it is complete. The results of that survey will pave the way for future similar projects for Aspen.

# # # LORIS is a full service structural/civil engineering firm offering engineering services to a wide array of projects from buildings, bridges, roads, trails, special structures, and building sites to clients across Colorado. Our offices are located in Lafayette, Colorado.  At LORIS we are "Mastering the Art of Engineering Structures and Infrastructures." For more information on LORIS, contact Ashley Giron at (303) 444-2073 x 602 or agiron@lorisandassociates.com.