Hessie Trailhead -- Summer Parking
The County is interested in partnering with the US Forest Service to
construct a summer parking area on Boulder County Parks & Open Space
(POS) property to service the Hessie Trailhead and trail.
Project Map (590KB pdf)
Summary of
Public Comments (1.2MB pdf)
What’s the problem?
The County is aware of serious public safety issues associated with
the public parking along Fourth of July Road/CR 111 to access the Hessie
Trail on US Forest System lands. Concerns include emergency access,
pedestrian safety, and vehicular congestion through at least 1.5 miles
of the Fourth of July road, north of Eldora. In 1991, 150 vehicles were
reported on this stretch of Fourth of July Road/CR111. These peak summer
volumes consistently continue throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
The Hessie Trail accesses US Forest System lands in the Lost Lake
Dispersed Recreation Area and the Indian Peaks Wilderness; therefore,
maintaining visitor use numbers at current levels are important to
manage the carrying capacity of these lands. The carrying capacity the
US Forest Service aims for in this area is up to 300 visitors at one
time.
Is there a solution?
The US Forest Service has been working towards alleviating this
problem for many years. In 2004, Boulder County POS purchased the
‘David’ property with the intent to transfer ownership to the US Forest
Service in a future land exchange. The Hessie Trailhead is located on
this POS parcel.
In 2006, Boulder County Transportation and POS departments started a
dialogue with the US Forest Service to discuss the possibility of using
a portion of the POS ‘David’ property to resolve fire and emergency
access, vehicle congestion and pedestrian safety.
The County is currently considering the following as a solution to the
problem:
- The construction of a summer parking area that could accommodate
up to 100 vehicles. Please view the Project Map for the conceptual
location of a summer parking area for the Hessie Trailhead.
- The Forest Service restricting public vehicular access on Hessie
Road. Parking would no longer be allowed along Hessie Road or at the
Hessie Townsite.
- Parking along the 1.5 miles of the Fourth of July Road would be
prohibited and enforced by County law enforcement.
The Board of County Commissioners has directed the County agencies
involved to move forward with the Land Use Special Use process for the
trailhead in the proposed location. In a separate process, the County
Transportation department will look at sustainable options for the
future, including the widening of Fourth of July Road and other options
suggested by the public.
Solutions for winter parking are being explored by the Forest Service
in a separate National Environmental Policy Act process.
How can I get involved?
The points above are only considerations at this time. We have been
engaging in a public involvement process to capture the publics’ ideas
and concerns about the project.
The initial public comment period ended on August 24, 2007. The
summary of public comments is posted above. There
will be future public meetings and public hearings about this project.
What’s next?
Now that the public comment period is over, POS and Forest Service
staff are reviewing the comments and deciding on the details of the project.
After POS and Forest Service agree on a proposed project, POS staff will
submit a Special Use permit with the Boulder County Land Use Department.
The Special Use permit process will allow the public to have the
opportunity to attend a public hearing to voice your opinions in front
of the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC), the Planning
Commission and the Board of County Commissioners.
Please contact us if you would like to be notified of
future public meetings about this project.
Contact
For additional information about public involvement efforts for this
project:
Larissa Read, Project Manager
Natural Resource Planner
LRead@co.boulder.co.us
303-678-6273
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