ASPEN CITY COUNCIL NEEDS TO STOP THE WEST END SNEAK NOW

Aspen City Council

The traffic situation in Aspen’s iconic and historic West End is a crisis severely impacting both the safety and quality of life of those who live, walk, and bike there. Thousands of cars travel through the area each day on neighborhood streets not designed, constructed, or engineered to accommodate such heavy traffic. Residential streets, where kids play and people walk, should not be major commuter arteries for traffic in and out of Aspen just so they can avoid traveling on a major state highway or taking public transit.

Allowing the West End traffic crisis to continue is dangerous and environmentally irresponsible. People have been struck by vehicles, and we must act before anyone else is hurt. The Aspen City Council has addressed traffic issues in other parts of Aspen, and it should take similar action for residents of the West End, Power Plant Road, Cemetery Lane, and McLain Flats. Aspen residents have repeatedly expressed their concerns to the Aspen City Council and presented numerous options for reducing or eliminating commuter traffic in the area.

We are open to other solutions, but sensible options include:

  1. Increasing the number of four-way stop signs to cover every intersection in the West End;
  2. Adding speed bumps, like those on Cemetery Lane and elsewhere;
  3. Creating well-painted pedestrian crosswalks along West Smuggler Street;
  4. Vigorously enforcing moving violations, including by adding Aspen Police Dept. patrols and speed cameras (capable of automatically issuing tickets for violating stop signs and speeding).

The time for action is now. The Aspen City Council must act in the interest of public health and safety by implementing effective traffic mitigation and deterring and ending the “West End Sneak” immediately.

Petition by

To: Aspen City Council
From: [Your Name]

The traffic situation in Aspen’s iconic and historic West End is a crisis severely impacting both the safety and quality of life of those who live, walk, and bike there. Thousands of cars travel through the area each day on neighborhood streets not designed, constructed, or engineered to accommodate such heavy traffic. Residential streets, where kids play and people walk, should not be major commuter arteries for traffic in and out of Aspen just so they can avoid traveling on a major state highway or taking public transit.

Allowing the West End traffic crisis to continue is dangerous and environmentally irresponsible. People have been struck by vehicles, and we must act before anyone else is hurt. The Aspen City Council has addressed traffic issues in other parts of Aspen, and it should take similar action on West Smuggler Street and Power Plant Road. Aspen residents have repeatedly expressed their concerns to the Aspen City Council and presented numerous options for reducing or eliminating commuter traffic in the area.

We are open to other solutions, but sensible options include:

Increasing the number of four-way stop signs at intersections in the West End;
Adding speed bumps, like those on Cemetery Lane and elsewhere;
Creating well-painted pedestrian crosswalks along West Smuggler Street;
Vigorously enforcing moving violations, including by adding Aspen Police Dept. patrols and speed cameras.

The time for action is now. The Aspen City Council must act in the interest of public health and safety by implementing effective traffic mitigation and deterring and ending the “West End Sneak” immediately.