SPI Insights

Colorado – A committee participating in the process to develop recommendations for airport improvements and expansion suggests the need for a multimodal transportation facility to be built near a new Aspen-Pitkin County Airport terminal and Highway 82.

The committee reports that to improve airport connectivity, more convenient ground transport should be considered. If feasible, this would include mass-transit modes such as light rail, monorail, gondola, and Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) buses.

The report also suggests that creating weather-protected facilities should be a priority to enhance convenient movement to and from the new terminal. Overall, the report says that there should be an appropriate balance of facilities to accommodate parking, car rental, shuttle, taxi, and private drop-off and pick-up.

A multimodal transportation facility could be created with help from design-engineering-funding consultants that have experience in multimodal airport ground-transport projects.

Major considerations that the committee suggests are providing public buses that loop through the airport; building a large European cable-car type gondola; and creating a designated structured parking facility to accommodate rental-car and long-term parking.

The report will be formally presented on December 5.