Summer traffic in ski towns

[Ron]

Holy Jesus. Routing I-70 traffic on CO-82 is a Colossally. Bad. Idea. Independence Pass has SINGLE LANE sections on it.

I can't even imagine I-70 traffic on that. It is bad enough as it is without cross country traffic.

Cottonwood Pass (Not the one West of Buena Vista, the one between Gypsum and Glenwood) is the way to go when the canyon is closed, and it closes for a few days almost every year. This route is a graded dirt road.

Given that Glenwood Canyon closes almost every year (usually due to rockslides), CDOT should really suck it up and pave Cottonwood so they have an alternate route that doesn't add 4 hours (US 40).

There's a major construction project going on in Glenwood adjacent to the existing ancient bridge over the Colorado River. I don't know yet if they are widening the old bridge or gradually replacing it or what. All I know is that it's always been mighty claustrophobic driving over that thing for as long as I can remember.

PALEEEEZZE! the traffic in town last week with Glenwood closed was insane. its really crazy when you think that people are diverted that far off 70.

 

[Don in Morrison]

We'll be passing through Glenwood tomorrow on our way to Utah, and then back through Glenwood to Carbondale on Friday. Maroon Bells on Saturday, but probably stay out of Aspen. We'll be back and forth across that bridge a few times before coming home Sunday evening, unless they've rerouted traffic elsewhere.

 

[Monique]

<insert semi-political commentary on how the lack of bridge and highway funding is going to lead to some pretty big disasters. Just a matter of time>

 

[scott43]

<insert semi-political commentary on how the lack of bridge and highway funding is going to lead to some pretty big disasters. Just a matter of time>

I don't know much of anything, but that money getting flushed into Wall Street from the Fed might have been better used in infrastructure..

 

[Mike King]

I don't know much of anything, but that money getting flushed into Wall Street from the Fed might have been better used in infrastructure..

Depends on whether you were long equities or not.

But Trump is going to solve it. By spending a trillion dollars on infrastructure. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/us/politics/trump-clinton-infrastructure.html?_r=0

 

[Tricia]

Wow, this is interesting, from the Denver Post
I knew there was a lot of hiking the 14ers but had no idea that the numbers were this big.

260,000 hikers scramble up Colorado’s 14ers each year, spending big in nearby towns

 

[Monique]

Wow, this is interesting, from the Denver Post
I knew there was a lot of hiking the 14ers but had no idea that the numbers were this big.

260,000 hikers scramble up Colorado’s 14ers each year, spending big in nearby towns

Sometimes the trails on the 14ers feel like thoroughfares. A steady parade of people going up and coming down. I find hiking 13ers (or less) much more pleasant ....

 

[Doug Briggs]

Wow, this is interesting, from the Denver Post
I knew there was a lot of hiking the 14ers but had no idea that the numbers were this big.

260,000 hikers scramble up Colorado’s 14ers each year, spending big in nearby towns

Which leads to this:

Father and sons rescued from 14er Quandary Peak after cliffing out

 

[Doug Briggs]

We have had highway construction between Frisco and Breckenridge for the past few summers. It makes a real mess of things while it is going on but in the end traveling from Breck to Frisco is much better now. This summer they are doing the final bit of 4-laning just South of the hospital to Farmers Korner (sic). Most of the work is in a new right of way so while traffic slows on the current road, it still moves.

Despite all the broohaha about the number of visitors in the winter, apparently Breck is far busier in the summer, tourist-volume-wise. I tried a quick search for stats but couldn't uncover any. I avoid downtown as much as possible but the re-routing of CO-9 onto Park has made Main Street much easier to deal with. It is still unusual for me to encounter more than a handful of people on the trails when I bike.

 

[Lorenzzo]

At this very moment Park City is as crowded as I've ever seen it. You can get around but you don't want to be in the wrong parking lot that's full and shares a drive thru lane with Alberto's. Unless you're willing to strangle the clown who's blocking the exit and move his car. You also don't want to have lunch at the local's spot, The Deer Valley Cafe, as every local seems to be hunkered down in there and the parking lot is full which I've never seen before.

The Tour of Utah is in town. The last several stages are in the area with Sunday's ending start and finish taking place on Main St. downtown. I've seen TOU tourism in prior years but nothing like this.

As much as most of all of our problems in life can be traced back to Vail Resorts (I'm pretty sure they're responsible for ISIS), in this case, visitors are mostly cycling people along with the normal youth sports tournaments. Cycling people are known for their endurance and hopefully for them that applies to waiting in lines and for late reservations.

So here we have an indicator that has nothing to do with skiing. Economic factors, interest in cycling, travel deals, domestic travel up/ Euro travel down, who knows but the factors aren't skiing related.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Not exactly traffic, but it is summer, automobile and ski town related: I was driving south on CO-9 in Breck when I saw a mini-van pulling out of a parking lot kind of strangely. It was at 90 degrees to the highway until it was fully out of the lot before it turned to go in the direction of traffic. A moment later I looked back and noticed that its trailer hitch mount bike rack was in the entrance to the parking lot. I guess it dragged and pulled itself free of the receiver on the mini-van. They had gone at least a couple hundred yards at that point and I don't know if they had yet realized their four bikes were not still attached to their vehicle.

 

[SBrown]

Sometimes the trails on the 14ers feel like thoroughfares. A steady parade of people going up and coming down. I find hiking 13ers (or less) much more pleasant ....

Definitely. We were up on one yesterday, very close to Denver, and saw eight other people the entire day.

 

[Don in Morrison]

We chose the scenic route home from Glenwood yesterday. 133 from Carbondale, over Kebler Pass to Crested Butte and on to Gunnison, over Monarch and then 285 back to Morrison.

Two things that really stood out in Crested Butte. There are lots and lots and lots and lots of bicycles. Everyone apparently gets around town on their bikes. There were also lots and lots and lots and lots of full size 4WD pickups and SUVs. Not many sedans or even small crossover types, like Outbacks. Just big trucky things. There seemed to be a couple of them parked in front of every house in the residential areas. The only sedans were driven by tourists.

They had some sort of street fair going on along the main street. We didn't have time to hang around and find out, as it was almost 5 PM when we got there and we wanted to get home by 9.

 

[Monique]

We were pleasantly surprised yesterday by lack of traffic around 8pm leaving Breck and heading back to the front range. Actually didn't see much traffic all afternoon on the CDOT app. It could be that the heavy rains in the late afternoon sent everyone packing. I enjoyed leaving the door to the condo open, listening to the rain while reading a book and enjoying the cool air. It was sunny and beautiful till at least 3pm.

 

[Doug Briggs]

We chose the scenic route home from Glenwood yesterday. 133 from Carbondale, over Kebler Pass to Crested Butte and on to Gunnison, over Monarch and then 285 back to Morrison.

Two things that really stood out in Crested Butte. There are lots and lots and lots and lots of bicycles. Everyone apparently gets around town on their bikes. There were also lots and lots and lots and lots of full size 4WD pickups and SUVs. Not many sedans or even small crossover types, like Outbacks. Just big trucky things. There seemed to be a couple of them parked in front of every house in the residential areas. The only sedans were driven by tourists.

They had some sort of street fair going on along the main street. We didn't have time to hang around and find out, as it was almost 5 PM when we got there and we wanted to get home by 9.

Ya, they are kind of notorious for bikes in CB. One of the birthplaces of Mt. Biking along with Marin County. They have/had a mt. bike museum downtown.

These pictures are from 9/2/2012 when I visited friends.




This one in particular made me rather envious.




The street fair they had going on that day.

 

[Don in Morrison]

Mostly single speed bikes, too. I'm guessing they don't ride up the hill to Mt. Crested Butte. I think the rationale behind all the trucks is that a lot of the locals probably work in Gunnison and want to be able to get to work even if there is a foot of snow on the ground. That's about a 4-6 gallon commute.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Mostly single speed bikes, too. I'm guessing they don't ride up the hill to Mt. Crested Butte. I think the rationale behind all the trucks is that a lot of the locals probably work in Gunnison and want to be able to get to work even if there is a foot of snow on the ground. That's about a 4-6 gallon commute.

Yes, mostly 'townies'. CB, the town, is flat. My townie is geared pretty low as I have a significant hill to return home.

 

[Don in Morrison]

Yes, mostly 'townies'. CB, the town, is flat. My townie is geared pretty low as I have a significant hill to return home.

At 9000 feet, "townie" is more fitting than "beach cruiser".

 

[Mike King]

At 9000 feet, "townie" is more fitting than "beach cruiser".

Well, if you live in Frisco, arguably you are "beachfront" and a "beach cruiser" might be apropos...

 

[Philpug]

View attachment 12132
This one in particular made me rather envious.

Sweet fastback, I had one in Yellow. Not a Krate but a better bike.