14 April 1998

COMMENTS FOR THE PUBLIC ROAD FORUM

Good evening fellow citizens, members of the city council, members of the planning commission and all others. The first concern that I have is the matter of priorities. It seems to me that Goeglein Gulch Road should be the first priority. I know that it is, and has been for a long time, scheduled for upgrading. Finish it, first, then go on to consider whether the Minor Arterial proposed to go through Skyridge is needed.

How can the Skyridge Development be allowed to happen before Geoglein Road is upgraded to handle both the increased traffic that will be generated by Skyridge and other developments, along with the general increases in traffic from the regular, sustained growth in Durango and its surrounds?

How will all of that traffic be handled and where will it be routed when Goeglein Gulch Road will be closed - as it surely will have to be - while it is being upgraded?

I doubt that the College Hill Road and Third Avenue can handle this traffic without serious disruptions to traffic flows on those streets (not to mention the adverse effects for the residents of Third Avenue, in particular). This issue and others like it deserve your most judicious consideration.

My second concern is for what I consider to be a lack of hard, recent evidence for the need for the Minor Arterial through Skyridge. Where are the studies that show the need for it? Several people have asked for such evidence.

It is my understanding that even members of the planning commission and the city council have made similar requests. I personally believe that there is no hard, reliable, recent data. There must be the best evidence that can be gathered before the Skyridge developers are required to put this road in their plans!

A prominent member of the local planning community has said that putting the Minor Arterial through the Skyridge development would be like cutting a new-born baby in half. I agree with that assessment. It also would materially reduce the quality of life for residents in Hillcrest, Timberline and Farview, at the very least. Maybe others.

There is no doubt that traffic is a problem in Durango and that the demands on streets and roads will increase as Durango continues to grow. New roads and streets will be needed and all existing roads and streets will require: substantial upgrades, increased maintenance, or both.

It is the very size and scope of the challenges that the growth in road and street usage present that demand that any proposed addition to roads and to streets be done with the best information that modern assessment and projection techniques can provide. This proposed Minor Arterial would cost millions of dollars to build and substantial amounts to maintain. It would pull major amounts of money from existing and from other planned projects.

Nothing that I have seen makes me believe that the city employees involved in this road issue have omniscience. Yet, they want us to accept the need for this road virtually on the basis of their say-so. I think we deserve more. I think the city council and the planning commission deserve more.

Let's all work together to see that the needed information is gathered, analyzed, presented in public forums and debated. Then, and only then, should the decision on whether the road is needed, or not, be made. Let's stop putting the cart before the horse. Data first; thoughtfulness second; action last.