Map of Three Colorado Front Range
Study Areas
(Click image to open new window to view larger map)
The Arapaho-Roosevelt and Pike National Forests are located within close proximity to the Colorado Front Range metro area. Brainard Lake Recreation Area, Guanella Pass, and Mount Evans Recreation Area are among the most popular recreation areas with easy access from the Front Range. (Map courtesy of Central Federal Lands Highway)
Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests
Transportation System Alternatives Study
The final report for the Transportation System Alternative Study is now available on the Federal Lands Highway website.
The U.S. Forest Service in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation is currently conducting a multi-year study to improve transportation conditions, visitors' experiences, and resource management at popular recreation sites within the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests (ARNF). The ARNF are located within close proximity to the Colorado Front Range metro area population of nearly three million people, most notably Denver and Boulder. Due to its close proximaty to several large population centers, and Colorado's longstanding popularity for nature-based tourism, the ARNF attracts over 23 million recreation visits annually and ranks among the most heavily visited national forests in the country.
Intensive levels of visitation have resulted in traffic congestion and parking shortages at popular recreation sites in the ARNF and associated impacts to natural resources and visitor experience quality. Previous studies have identified three particularly popular recreation areas in the ARNF facing the most immediate transportation needs:
- Brainard Lake Recreation Area (BLRA)
- Guanella Pass Scenic Byway (GP)
- Mount Evans Recreation Area (MERA)
In 2009, the Forest submitted and received a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks planning grant to examine these issues by conducting an alternative transportation study. Alternative transportation encompasses a broad array of modes and strategies, including pedestrian, bicycle, transit, and supporting information technology, that aim to provide alternatives to single occupancy vehicles. This project will:
- Identify, verify, and document transportation, visitor, and resource concerns;
- Assess capacity levels where appropriate; and
- Identify feasible short-term and long-term alternative transportation and congestion management solutions for the three sites.
The alternative transportation solutions identified in this project will be evaluated in relation to management goals for each of the three recreation sites. The outcomes of this project will inform U.S. Forest Service decisions regarding investments for improving transportation access to, and visitor use enjoyment of destination recreation sites on federal lands to enable the U.S. Forest Service to better meet its recreation and resource management goals at these three sites.
To send questions or comments, please email the project manager, Melissa Bordewin, at Melissa.Bordewin@dot.gov.
Background Documents
Popular recreation destinations easily accessible from Colorado's Front Range
Brainard Lake Recreation Area (shown here with Mt. Audubon in the background) is one of three sites being studied in a Transportation Alternatives Analysis aimed at identifying potential transportation solutions to visitor congestion at three recreation sites along Colorado’s Front Range. (Photo courtesy of RSG)
- Study Area Map
- TAG Report
- Technical Memo 4.1. Need Identification by Site (RSG, 2014)
- Technical Memo 5.1. Alternatives Components by Site
(RSG, 2014) - Technical Memo 6.1. Evaluation Criteria and Analysis Methodology (CFLHD, 2015)
Related Links
- Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests
- Federal Transit Administration Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program
- Central Federal Lands Highway Division
- Transit in Parks Technical Assistance Center
News and Project Events
- Thank you to everyone who attended the Public Meeting on May 5, 2015, at the US Forest Service Regional Office.
View the 2015 Meeting Presentation Materials: - Thank you to everyone who attended the Public Meeting on June 2, 2014 at the US Forest Service Regional Office.
View the 2014 Meeting Presentation Materials.