Disincentives might be the way to cure Highway 82 traffic qualms.
The Roaring Fork Transportation Coalition discussed this conclusion with the Carbondale Board of Trustees at a work session Tuesday evening, part of an effort to gather feedback throughout the Roaring Fork Valley on their initial congestion solutions.
Currently, 34,500 empty seats enter Aspen every day, said representatives of the 28-person coalition, composed of current and former elected officials, business leaders, commuters and more. Filling 7% of those seats would essentially cure the Valley’s congestion, they told trustees. Orchestrating ride sharing, enhancing Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus services and improving aspects of the roadways are necessary steps — and part of the coalition’s plan — to improve congestion. But while these measures would improve traffic in the short term, drivers return to the road when they see congestion improving, eliminating the progress, Coalition Member and Snowmass Town Councilor Susan Marolt told The Sopris Sun on Wednesday.
“So you need some sort of a disincentive to make sure people don’ t fill those lanes back up after the overall volume was reduced by those solutions,” she added.
This disincentive could come in the form of tolls and congestion fees, according to the coalition. They presented a two-phase approach to disincentivize low-occupancy vehicles and incentivize carpooling or public transit usage.
Phase one would introduce a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Express Lane, in which cars with three or more occupants could use for free at their leisure. When space allows, vehicles with two or less occupants could use the lane for a fee. The fee to use the lane would be dynamic, changing every five minutes depending on congestion, Coalition Member and Former Aspen Mayor John Bennett said.
“They’re based on traffic levels,” Bennett said. “When the speed [of traffic] slows down, the algorithm increases the fee.”
He added that the community would set a minimum speed for the lane. When the traffic speed of the HOT is too slow, low occupancy vehicles would be barred from using it, Marolt told The Sun.
The HOT would not always have to be an express lane. It could be put to use, for example, during rush hour upvalley in the morning, and rush hour downvalley in the afternoon, Marolt said. The coalition plans to study where it would be most effective, but has not yet determined specific locations for the lane.
Phase two of disincentivizing low-occupancy vehicle use would introduce a Peak Hour Congestion Reduction Fee, charging all vehicles with two or less occupants, regardless of lane, in certain areas of the Valley. The fee would be calibrated to keep traffic from slowing below a desired speed.
He added that, from a financial perspective, this phase would save the average commuter in winter and summer seasons 2.5 to five billable hours per week.
“That’s more time than you could spend with your families,” Bennett said. “And it’s also more time you could work.”
The fees would also generate revenue that could be reinvested into rideshare systems, public transit or roadway improvements. The coalition estimated that the HOT lane would generate $5 million to $10 million, annually, while the two-lane congestion fee would generate $10 million to $20 million, annually.
Trustee Ross Kribbs asked how the lanes and fees would be enforced, especially given the “surveillance state concerns that we have already.”
The coalition said the restrictions could be enforced using an app that tracks the numbers of cell phone signals in a car at a given time.
Trustee Chris Hassig asked how bus lanes could be legally changed to account for the coalition’s plan.
“It’s a new question. It’ll have to be studied,” Bennett said, adding that if worse came to worst they might have to ask the Federal Highway Administration for an amendment to change the bus lanes to “transit only” so they could include rideshare systems.
Public comment
Retired physical therapist Sue Zislis spoke on behalf of Age-Friendly Carbondale about the need for an accessible push button at the entry to town hall, which she said members of the community have asked the town to install for the past three years.
“Those doors are heavy and awkward, and pulling them out is a problem for anybody that is recovering from an injury, using crutches, carrying a child, transporting packages,” Zislis said. “This barrier is more than an inconvenience; it denies people the dignity, independence and equal opportunity to participate in their civic life in this community.”
Town Manager Ryan Hyland said the town is striving to install the accessible push button no later than the end of September.
Illene Pevec emphasized the need for an emergency siren in town, given Carbondale’s increasing fire risk and aridification.
Patricia Warman asked the Town to enforce its ordinance requiring non-bear-proof bins to be kept indoors, a rule she said her neighbor repeatedly has disobeyed, prompting bears to damage her fence on multiple occasions while attempting to access the trash.