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Aspen Highlandr S/cj Aua - Draft En'lirolllMnlaJ impacl SlaletNnJ. employee audit if the implementation of Alternative C is approved and after the design and operation structure of the Merry-Go-Round and Loge Peak restaurants have been fmalized. POTENTIAL MITIGATION MEASURES If the nlJIIllJc7 of skiers begins to approach the upper management limit of 3,480 SAOT set by the ASC for Aspen Highlands, a mutually acceptable strategy for limiting the number of visitors to the area will be devised by the Forest Service, Pitkin County, the City of Aspen, and the ASC. To offset the shonage of affordable employee housing in Pitkin County, the ASC could provide some fonn of housing or transponation subsidy for new employres who are frn=l to live downvalley from Aspen. To aven increased pressure on visitor accommodation during peak periods as a result of increased skier numbers, incentive packages that encourage skiers to visit during off-peak periods should be developed and promoted. TRANSPORTATION AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT Access to Aspen Highlands is provided exclusively by Maroon Creek Road, a two-lane facility. Land use along this road includes residential development, the Aspen School District's Maroon Creek Campus, Aspen Highlands Ski Area, and the T -Lazy-7 Guest Ranch. During the summer, Maroon Creek Road also provides access to the WRNF including the Maroon Bells Wilderness. Major intersections along Maroon Creek Road include Castle Creek Road and SH 82. The Maroon Creek Road/Castle Creek Road intersection is aT-intersection with Maroon Creek Road as the major street, while the Maroon Creek Road/SH 82 intersection is aT-intersection with SH 82 as the major street. These intersections are only 220 feet apan, resulting in traffic from the Maroon Creek/SH82 intersection occasionally backing up into the other intersection. There are a total of 742 parking spaces at Aspen Highlands, Mrlch are provided mainly by the Highlands and Thunderbowllots and by two smaller areas. During the 1994/1995 ski season, an average of 354 vehicles parked in these lots on a weekday and 467 vehicles on a weekend. The RFf A provides free bus service year-round between the city of Aspen and Aspen Highlands. During 49 monitoring days (including both weekdays and weekends) during the 1994/1995 ski season, the average daily number of skier transit trips on the Aspen Highlands ski shuttle was 1,365. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES For the No Action Alternative. existing traffic volumes, and parking and transit demand were adjusted to year 2000 using a growth rate of two percent for traffic and one percent for skiers. Both the SH 82/Maroon Creek Road and the Maroon/Castle Creek Road intersections would continue to operate at an acceptable level of service. While traffic volumes on Maroon Creek Road from SH 82 to the schools are projected to operate pooly ("E" level of service), they are considerahly below this roadway's calculated capacity. Without developing the base area, traffic would back up from SH 82 to Castle Creek Road 5 percent and 35 percent of the time, during a.m. and p.m. peak traffic periods, respectively, while with the base area development, backup would occur 11 percent and 44 percent of the time during the same peak traffic periods, respectively. Maximum parking demand would be 495 in the year 2000, which is within the current parking capacity at Aspen Highlands but, due to reduced parking capacity, parking demand would exceed parking capacity by 10 percent if the base area is developed. Daily total peak transit demand would be 2,840 riders without base area development and 4,090 riders with base area development, including 1,435 skiers in both cases. Under Alternative B, the only element that would increase traffic at Aspen Highlands is the improved access capacity of the Thunderbowl Lift. It was estimated that this and the other improvements would result in an increase in 176 skier trips per day, 84 of which would be new peak-hour skier trips including 38 that are likely to use transit transpon, and 46 that would arrive in an average of 18 extra cars per day. The added traffic volume resulting from the ski area expansion would result in very little change in intersection and roadway operations. Overall intersection and roadway levels of service would also not be greatly impacted by the traffic generated by 30 S~clion III TranspoTlaJion