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Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. has re-entered the city approval process with a plan to increase the capacity of the Meadows parking lot during the summer by about 350 spaces. The parking lot additions would bring the total number of parking spaces to just more than 1,300.
Ski Corp. is in the midst of revisiting its master plan for the Steamboat Ski Area and making changes to its base facilities to remain current with other developments at Mount Werner. Documents filed with the city this month suggest those planning efforts could lead to a change of use on the Meadows parking lot site in the future.
“We won’t know what we’re doing there until the plans are complete,” Vice President of Skier Services Jim Schneider said.
Ski Corp. worked with city planners throughout summer 2007 on a plan to expand the Meadows parking lot, but it withdrew from the process in September when several issues could not be resolved. Subsequently, the remote parking lot saw heavy use by the public during the current ski season. There were fewer than six days this winter when a lack of spaces meant skiers were asked to park at the Doak Walker Care Center, where they were met by shuttle vans to take them to the Gondola Transit Center.
The status of the primary automobile parking lot for the ski area is in a period of flux as new development encroaches on a variety of parking alternatives.
Ski Corp. President Chris Diamond confirmed to the Steamboat Today last week that his company is in talks with Resort Ventures West to increase the capacity of a new people-mover gondola that could help ferry day skiers to Gondola Plaza.
Resort Ventures West is developing Wildhorse Meadows immediately to the east and south of the Meadows parking lot. The company already was planning a similar public gondola from the heart of its residential village into One Steamboat Place, which is under construction just steps from the Steamboat Ski Area gondola.
Diamond said discussions could lead to boosting the uphill capacity of the Wildhorse Meadows gondola from about 500 people an hour to 3,000.
Schneider described how the people-mover gondola might interface with the parking lot in a March 7 letter to the city.
“The current use of the lot, whereby passengers are picked up and delivered directly from and to their vehicles, would remain until such point as this gondola is installed,” he wrote. “We will then install appropriate pedestrian routes through the lot to this gondola.”
Schneider said this week that a range of options for increasing the convenience of pedestrian access to the gondola are being considered.
Schneider said it’s difficult to be precise in describing the number of winter parking spaces in the lot because it also must store snow. The actual number of parking spaces varies with the season and the weather, he said.
Even at peak snow storage in a heavy winter, parking availability remained greater than 950 spaces this season, he said.
The ski area’s overall parking was affected this season by the construction of One Steamboat Place in its former Gondola parking lot and by the temporary erection of a music performance tent for much of January in the smaller Knoll parking lot.
Ski Corp. sought temporary relief from city sidewalk and landscaping requirements while it sought permission to expand the Meadows lot last summer. Representatives characterized the expansion as an interim solution.
Ski Corp. is seeking to build temporary asphalt paths instead of more expensive 8-foot concrete sidewalks. They would remain in place for two years until permanent plans for the 8-acre site are clearer.
Schneider’s correspondence with city planners offers hints Ski Corp. someday could develop something beyond just surface parking on the site.
“At such time as this site has a change of use, necessitating changes to the access and no longer requiring a berm and mature landscaping, we would construct an eight-foot concrete walkway and appropriate other landscaping along Pine Grove Road,” he wrote. “To do that now and then tear out significant sections does not seem reasonable.”
— To reach Tom Ross, call 871-4205
or e-mail tross@steamboatpilot.com
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Community comments
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knowitall (anonymous)
March 27, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
how about a REAL STRUCTURE with a transit area where riders can go to the mtn OR to downtown?? Forward thinking people!!!
OnTheBusGus (anonymous)
March 27, 2008 at 9:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why can't we build parking structures in Steamboat Springs? It would seem to be a logical choice yet all we have are paved lots, i.e. the transit center, knoll lot, well fargo lot. And the few structures we do have only go up one level.
trollunderthebridge (anonymous)
March 27, 2008 at 10:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As I said in a previous post and did you see the front page of the Pilot today? What DO you do with an extra Gondola? Why, lets move it to the best spot on the mountain for the locals. The Thunderhead area. Why not create another base area with acccess along the city paved road - Burgess Creek
elkeye (anonymous)
March 27, 2008 at 1:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
trollunderthebridge, why would anyone want to turn Burgess Creek Road into another "Pamela Lane"?
Burgess Creek Road serves the Rendezvous Trail Subdivision(s) which is essentially a RN-1 zoning district (but for Burgess Creek Townhomes, Winterwood Townhomes and the Scandinavian Lodge).
Moreover, Burgess Creek Road has a steep (> 7%) grade and therefor is totally unsuited for the traffic a "base area" would generate.
SangriaMama (anonymous)
March 27, 2008 at 5 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Look out your window and tell me that those are not shuttle busses of all descriptions passing by your door every day. That big ol' 7% grade doesn't seems to slow them down on a powder day does it?
That RN-1 stuff is for the pixies...everyone knows it's the exclusive rental district (except for Winterwood) and it's only a matter of time before investors jump on this potential.
armchairqb (anonymous)
March 28, 2008 at 12:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The vice pres. of skier services sums up everything that goes on in this silly little town- "We won't know whats going on until the plans are complete!" How true How true
hubiem (anonymous)
March 28, 2008 at 12:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
troll,
i have lloked at the frnt page of today's paper, and as i said in the other post, what "extra gondola" are you talking about? read the story again. there is no mention of moving the existing gondola. the new gondola that is planned for the meadows and wildhorse is still in the planning stages. no gondola has been purchased, and therefore no "extra gondola" exists to move to the burgess creek area. what they are talking about is upgrading the PROPOSED not EXISTING pulse gondola, with a continuous loop gondola like the one on the mountain. so i repeat, THERE IS NO "EXTRA GONDOLA"!!!!!
JustAsking (anonymous)
March 28, 2008 at 6:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why would Ski corp want to add parking spaces?
Easy. To justify making it a pay lot ASAP! Get ready for "we have to pay for the additonal parking somehow."
QuitYerWhining (anonymous)
March 28, 2008 at 10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So much for the "transit center of the universe" on the west end of town. Nothing like encouraging mass transit. Unless you consider riding the bus from Meadows parking lot to the base "mass transit" Another white elphant to add to the cities expanding herd...airport, Iron horse etc.
trollunderthebridge (anonymous)
March 29, 2008 at 7:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hub. So here is what I heard. They are going to put in this new Gondola and it will run from the Meadows lot, stop at the base and then continue up to Thunderhead. Why have 2 Gondola’s at the base. Have you ever been in line at the Gondola or the 6 pack on a busy day? Have you ever tried to drop off anyone at the so-called “Transit Center’ what a ClusterF. Have you ever seen the line-up of Shuttle vans at the Thunderhead Lift in the morning or afternoon? They are already using it as a second base area. They have it in their plan to upgrade the Elk Head Lift and the Thunderhead is a good choice. So, here we are back at square one. Move the existing Gondola and create a new base area up on Burgess Creek.
hubiem (anonymous)
March 29, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
troll,
i don't know where you are hearing all this speculation, but it is just that. someone is dreaming if they think that ski corp is going to continue this gondola from the base to the top of burgess creek road. there has never been any plan in the works for this gondola to go from the meadows to gondola square, and then on to the thunderhead lift. this lift is to move people from the parking lot, and wildhorse meadows to the base area. then people board the existing gondola or the six pack to go skiing. it looks like the developers and ski corp are trying to figure out how to pay for what has already been planned. do you think that either one of them wants to pay to extend this gondola to the thunderhead lift. the only time that someone would ride the gondola from the base to the top of burgess creek road would be first thing in the morning when the lines at the base are long. nobody would ride it for the rest of the day. so to quote you with punctuation errors corrected, "Why have 2 gondolas at the base?" you're right, it would be stupid to have two gondolas at the base. one gondola running up the mountain and another running to the thunderhead lift. so now that we have cleared that up, i still don't see where this "extra gondola" that you are talking about is.
to answer your next questions, i've been standing in the gondola line on a busy morning, but i've never had to wait very long. i'm usually way up at the front. no, i've never tried to drop off anyone at the transit center because that is just a stupid thing to do. everyone in my car rides with me to the knoll parking lot and then we walk over to the base. even if i have to park at the meadows, i won't drop anyone off at the transit center and then go park at the meadows. they would all still have to wait on me to go park and then catch a bus back to the base. it is more efficient for everyone in my car to ride the meadows bus together. all the car traffic at the transit center makes it more of a "ClusterF" than any of the busses do. that is why they have to have a cop there telling people in their cars what to do. the busses know what to do. no, i've never seen a line of shuttles at thunderhead in the morning. when i go to thunderhead, i get there before most everyone else, and there is not a line of shuttles. then it is hard to see the parking lot from one of the first places in line behind the lift shack. so here we are at square one. everything you speak of is just an ill planned fantasy in someone's head.
hubiem (anonymous)
March 31, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
troll,
its been a couple days and i don't see a reply from you here. can you tell me where this "extra gondola" is?
trollunderthebridge (anonymous)
April 1, 2008 at 6:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hub, sorry, but have been out of town and don't live and die by the Pilot Forum online. Simple, they will remove the existing Gondola and move it to replace the Thunderhead. Why have 2 Gondola stops at the base area going up to the top.
By the way, did you see today's article on Steamboat Highlands? The new proposed 11 story condo/hotel on BC?
hubiem (anonymous)
April 1, 2008 at 11:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
are you saying that the gondola from the meadows will continue to the top of burgess creek road, or up the mountain to the upper gondola building. your story is very unclear.
i've already discussed why they won't make it run to the top of burgess creek road. if you are saying that it is going up the hill to the upper gondola building, there is no way they are going to run a new gondola from the base to the upper gondola building. why install one and then take the other one down to move it to the thunderhead lift. that makes absolutely no sense. this was never in the plan, and it won't happen.
the proposed gondola from the meadows lot only goes to the ski area base. it does not go farther up the mountain. people will exit that gondola, and then load on the existing gondola or the six-pack lift to go skiing. i don't know where you heard that this gondola was going to go any farther up the hill than that. since this is the plan, there is still no "extra gondola."
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