Vail Town Council to discuss plan to expand Vail Transportation Center
Courtesy photo
The Vail Town Council, on Tuesday, will hear a plan from the town’s public works department to update and expand the Vail Transportation Center to accommodate current and future needs.
The $1.5 million plan, which is currently being called “Arrive Vail,” will be funded, in part, by a $750,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation, which the town of Vail received in 2022.
Demand on the Vail Transportation Center, according to a memo published Friday by the town’s public works department, has exceeded current capacity during peak season and is anticipated to grow more with the success of the Eagle Valley Transit Authority’s Core Transit program, which offers free bus service from Eagle, Edwards and Avon into Vail.
The expansion of the state’s Bustang services, along with a potential expansion of the town of Vail’s own transit services, is also expected to put more demand on the Vail Transportation Center.
A sneak preview of the public works department’s presentation was published on Friday, showcasing how Arrive Vail will “give our world-class town a world-class arrival.”
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“There is a functional need to increase transit, and a challenge to solve for this while not allowing vehicular traffic to dominate the pedestrian experience of ‘arrival,'” according to the public works department.
A key element of the plan includes enhancements to accessibility and connectivity through the increase and improvement of multi-modal capacity, operations and safety at the Vail Transportation Center; along with improvements to accessibility and connectivity throughout Vail, Eagle County, and the state of Colorado.
Arrive Vail will also aim to create resilient infrastructure through investment into the transportation center’s current facilities. The transportation center is now 50 years old and will require increased maintenance, going forward, in order to “ensure long-term viability, functionality, and safety for the next 50 years,” according to the plan.
There’s also a desire among town staff to preserve Vail’s character through the expansion and redevelopment of the existing transportation center. This will require identifying how the Vail Transportation Center contributed to the town’s “aesthetic and cultural identity,” according to the plan.
To do so, the town will need to use “innovative technology and partnerships to further green initiatives to reduce the town’s carbon footprint,” according to the plan.
Innovative technologies are defined as those that enhance efficiency, safety and user experience at the transportation center.
Economic vitality is at the core of the plan’s goals, as well. The town will need to “support local businesses by enhancing the (Vail Transportation Center), explore private/public partnerships to enhance the VTC services and infrastructure that contribute to the economic vitality of the community,” according to the plan.
The Town Council will hear the Arrive Vail presentation in full at the town’s evening meeting on Tuesday, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
After listening to the presentation, the council will provide comments to the town’s public works department on the Arrive Vail project and process.
