The Canyons’ original development agreement always envisioned consolidating parking in the lower areas of the village, according to Community Development Director Pat Putt.
As the county’s top planning official, Putt has the final say about the parking garage envisioned for the Cabriolet Lot. But he’s sent it back to the planning commission for its input as well as residents' feedback.
“We decided any low impact permit project of this magnitude really needs to be vetted out in the public,” he said on KPCW’s Local News Hour.
March 12, public comment circled around traffic and the Cabriolet lift’s capacity, the two issues commissioners want more time to consider.
Spencer White is one of the representatives from TCFC, which owns and would develop the parking garage. He told the planning commission both Vail Resorts and the Canyons Village Management Association assess the Cab’s capacity yearly.
“I can't speak for either one of them,” he said. “At some point in the future, the Cabriolet will most likely be upgraded and updated. But they are very aware of the numbers. They want as efficient movement as possible, and they will take every measure to make sure that that happens.”
TCFC representative Laurel Simpson told commissioners the Cab’s current capacity is around 2,200 people per hour.
White estimated the existing Cabriolet lot has 1,200 parking spots with another 600 in the upper lots. Those would get consolidated into 1,840 spots in the proposed five-story parking garage.
The company hopes to open the first two levels of the garage next season; the three others would open in 2025-2026.
The planning commission received TCFC’s 2023 traffic study by email during the March 12 meeting and wants more time to review it, so it pushed back the parking garage discussion.
TCFC had hoped to secure a building permit by March 28 because of the seasonality of construction in the mountains.
The planning commission meets again March 26, but the next parking garage discussion hasn’t been officially scheduled.
