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SILVERTHORNE - Town Council members are at odds over whether adding two more lanes of traffic to Interstate 70 will relieve the freeway's congestion problems.
Silverthorne is one of more than 30 towns and counties that will meet next Thursday and Friday to generate one preferred alternative to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Before then, each entity needs to choose its stance from CDOT's nine preferred alternatives and have three people ready to represent the town or county at the two-day meeting.
The town's pending decision on its stance has been the subject of at least two work sessions and came up again after Wednesday's regular council meeting.
Emotions among the council members ran high during the discussion and at one point, Mayor Lou DelPiccolo withdrew himself from representing the town.
Wednesday's discussion began when DelPiccolo said he was uncomfortable with how things had been left at the previous night's work session and asked the council to reconsider the stance on which it had settled - primarily, a decision to send Councilmember Howard Hallman to the meeting instead of town manager Kevin Batchelder.
DelPiccolo and Outlets at Silverthorne manager Rob Goodell are the affirmed delegates.
The idea was to send elected officials that represented a diverse point of view at the meeting, while Batchelder would attend as a non-participatory member.
"At some point, in about a year from now, I'll no longer be on the scene. Elected officials are rotated in and out and it's important to have the chief of administration executive of the town have a role in this, to be informed and to participate," DelPiccolo said.
While Councilmember Peggy Long supported this view; she was the only person and the overwhelming vote was to send Hallman.
Another problem was no one, including several members of the town staff, was sure whether the town had reached any clarity on what alternative it was choosing.
"I'm uncomfortable that we don't have a solid position to go represent (the town) with one voice," town manager Kevin Batchelder said. "I'm not sure there was a consensus (at a Tuesday night work session)."
Bill Linfield, the town's director of public works, has been heavily involved with the process and drafted his recommendation for the work session.
It calls for:
-- Minimal action work, including interchange improvement, auxiliary lanes, curve safety modifications, increased maintenance work and frontage road improvements.
Silverthorne is one of more than 30 towns and counties that will meet next Thursday and Friday to generate one preferred alternative to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Before then, each entity needs to choose its stance from CDOT's nine preferred alternatives and have three people ready to represent the town or county at the two-day meeting.
The town's pending decision on its stance has been the subject of at least two work sessions and came up again after Wednesday's regular council meeting.
Emotions among the council members ran high during the discussion and at one point, Mayor Lou DelPiccolo withdrew himself from representing the town.
Wednesday's discussion began when DelPiccolo said he was uncomfortable with how things had been left at the previous night's work session and asked the council to reconsider the stance on which it had settled - primarily, a decision to send Councilmember Howard Hallman to the meeting instead of town manager Kevin Batchelder.
DelPiccolo and Outlets at Silverthorne manager Rob Goodell are the affirmed delegates.
The idea was to send elected officials that represented a diverse point of view at the meeting, while Batchelder would attend as a non-participatory member.
"At some point, in about a year from now, I'll no longer be on the scene. Elected officials are rotated in and out and it's important to have the chief of administration executive of the town have a role in this, to be informed and to participate," DelPiccolo said.
While Councilmember Peggy Long supported this view; she was the only person and the overwhelming vote was to send Hallman.
Another problem was no one, including several members of the town staff, was sure whether the town had reached any clarity on what alternative it was choosing.
"I'm uncomfortable that we don't have a solid position to go represent (the town) with one voice," town manager Kevin Batchelder said. "I'm not sure there was a consensus (at a Tuesday night work session)."
Bill Linfield, the town's director of public works, has been heavily involved with the process and drafted his recommendation for the work session.
It calls for:
-- Minimal action work, including interchange improvement, auxiliary lanes, curve safety modifications, increased maintenance work and frontage road improvements.
-- In addition, widening some or all of the corridor to six lanes for safety and capacity will be necessary. As the minimal action work takes place, decisions can be made as to where to do the widening and in what form.
-- Additional tunnels at the Eisenhower and twin tunnels will be needed in some form to handle transit and highway improvements. Continue to work on what form of mass transit makes sense for the corridor. Then, in the next five to 10 years, the system can be constructed.
The council decided to vote on taking this plan to the meeting.
Peggy Long, Vince Lanuza, Steve Swanson and Dave Koop all favored Linfield's ideas, while Karla Trippe and Howard Hallman disagreed.
"I'm not sure it's representative of the community as a whole," Hallman said. "Six-laning is not a solution. It's more of a Band-Aid at best."
Instead, he proposes traffic management, such as offering incentives to truck drivers who travel during off-peak hours, or business incentives to skiers who come to the mountains during the week.
And, Hallman said, CDOT has admitted that whatever proposal is selected will only be good through 2030.
"It's time to really come up with longer-term solutions and strategies," he said.
DelPiccolo disagrees.
"If you have a funnel, it doesn't matter how wide the mouth of the funnel is, you can only get through what you have at the chokepoint," DelPiccolo said. "There are too many chokepoints and that really can only resolved by substantial six-laning of I-70."
Also, CDOT should set aside enough space to allow for mass transit on I-70 when that time comes, he said.
After the council voted on the delegates and Linfield's plan, DelPiccolo withdrew from the selected group.
"I decline to participate in the meeting under these circumstances," he said, adding that he could not defend the town's particular choice, saying, "It fragments things."
Long attempted to reject DelPiccolo's rejection, but DelPiccolo stood his ground.
Vince Lanuza said he was disappointed by the decision.
-- Additional tunnels at the Eisenhower and twin tunnels will be needed in some form to handle transit and highway improvements. Continue to work on what form of mass transit makes sense for the corridor. Then, in the next five to 10 years, the system can be constructed.
The council decided to vote on taking this plan to the meeting.
Peggy Long, Vince Lanuza, Steve Swanson and Dave Koop all favored Linfield's ideas, while Karla Trippe and Howard Hallman disagreed.
"I'm not sure it's representative of the community as a whole," Hallman said. "Six-laning is not a solution. It's more of a Band-Aid at best."
Instead, he proposes traffic management, such as offering incentives to truck drivers who travel during off-peak hours, or business incentives to skiers who come to the mountains during the week.
And, Hallman said, CDOT has admitted that whatever proposal is selected will only be good through 2030.
"It's time to really come up with longer-term solutions and strategies," he said.
DelPiccolo disagrees.
"If you have a funnel, it doesn't matter how wide the mouth of the funnel is, you can only get through what you have at the chokepoint," DelPiccolo said. "There are too many chokepoints and that really can only resolved by substantial six-laning of I-70."
Also, CDOT should set aside enough space to allow for mass transit on I-70 when that time comes, he said.
After the council voted on the delegates and Linfield's plan, DelPiccolo withdrew from the selected group.
"I decline to participate in the meeting under these circumstances," he said, adding that he could not defend the town's particular choice, saying, "It fragments things."
Long attempted to reject DelPiccolo's rejection, but DelPiccolo stood his ground.
Vince Lanuza said he was disappointed by the decision.
CDOT’s Nine Preferred Alternatives
<b>Transit</b>
• Dual Mode Bus in Guideway. Exclusive guideway for dual electric and diesel powered bus system in the I-70 median eastbound from Silverthorne to the Eisenhower Tunnel and a bi-directional guideway from the Tunnel to C-470. Cost: $3.5 billion. • Diesel Bus in Guideway. Same as dual mode bus in exclusive guideway, only powered by diesel fuel. Cost: $3.3 billion. <b>Highways</b> • Six-lane highway through Dowd Canyon in Eagle County and between the Eisenhower Tunnel and Floyd Hill, with minimum travel speed of 55 mph. Cost: $2.4 billion. • Same as above with the introduction of tunnels to accommodate minimum speeds of 65 mph. Includes new tunnels at Dowd Canyon in Eagle County, from the Twin Tunnels to Hidden Valley and eastbound at Floyd Hill. • Adding two reversible lanes in the center of highway between the Eisenhower Tunnel and Floyd Hill. This alternative also includes six lanes through Dowd Canyon. Cost: $2.5 billion. <b>Combination/Preservation</b> • Six-lane highway and preserve for future rail transit in median. Cost: $2.8 billion. • Six-lane highway and preserve for an advanced guideway system (AGS). Cost: $2.6 billion. • Six-lane highway and preserve for dual-bus mode guideway in median. Cost: $2.6 billion. • Six-lane highway and preserve space for diesel bus guideway in the median. Cost: $2.6 billion. Included within these nine alternatives are roadway improvements, such as passing lanes at select locations and interchange modifications and safety upgrades. |
"I think a lot of this is childish and immature," Lanuza said. "People have baggage that they're carrying."
Lanuza suggested holding a special meeting next week to attempt once more to hash out the details and to give the council time to take a breather.
Any decision made Wednesday night can be altered next week.
Meanwhile, Frisco and Dillon both know what they will take to the table next week.
<b>Dillon's for six-laning</b>
The town of Dillon will recommend efficient upgrades to the highway including six-laning.
"Part of the issue (for the council) is they felt the transit piece, and even the set aside for future transit, wasn't a practical alternative to the traveling culture," town manager Jack Benson said.
Also, the town will voice concerns over the need to mitigate truck traffic on Highway 6, which is the only hazardous materials route through the county.
The town would like to see haz-mat trucks be able to stay on I-70 in the future, Benson said.
Benson, Mayor Barbara Davis and local business owner Allan Hedin will represent the town at the coalition meeting.
<b>Frisco looks longer term</b>
The Frisco Town Council agreed to support several options. The no action and minimal action alternatives will be supported with implementation of short-term initiatives.
Long-term solutions for 30-plus years will be advocated. Other basis points for further discussion will be environmental sustainability, costs and local impacts among others.
Lanuza suggested holding a special meeting next week to attempt once more to hash out the details and to give the council time to take a breather.
Any decision made Wednesday night can be altered next week.
Meanwhile, Frisco and Dillon both know what they will take to the table next week.
<b>Dillon's for six-laning</b>
The town of Dillon will recommend efficient upgrades to the highway including six-laning.
"Part of the issue (for the council) is they felt the transit piece, and even the set aside for future transit, wasn't a practical alternative to the traveling culture," town manager Jack Benson said.
Also, the town will voice concerns over the need to mitigate truck traffic on Highway 6, which is the only hazardous materials route through the county.
The town would like to see haz-mat trucks be able to stay on I-70 in the future, Benson said.
Benson, Mayor Barbara Davis and local business owner Allan Hedin will represent the town at the coalition meeting.
<b>Frisco looks longer term</b>
The Frisco Town Council agreed to support several options. The no action and minimal action alternatives will be supported with implementation of short-term initiatives.
Long-term solutions for 30-plus years will be advocated. Other basis points for further discussion will be environmental sustainability, costs and local impacts among others.
Mayor Bernie Zurbriggen, Councilmember Tom Looby and town manager Michael Penny will represent the town at next week's meeting.
<b>No mass transit immediately for Breckenridge</b>
The town of Breckenridge will support expanding I-70 to six lanes, while leaving room for some kind of mass transit down the road, Councilmember J.B. Katz said.
"We didn't want a mass transit plan to move forward first that could hurt the resorts in Summit County," Katz said. "Copper and Vail would really be the only ski areas that could connect directly to it."
Also, the council had concerns that the county would become a suburb of Denver, Katz said.
Town manager Tim Gagen, Mayor Ernie Blake and an undetermined second elected official will represent the town at the meeting.
<b>Summit County still thinking</b>
Summit County Commissioners Bill Wallace and Bob French will be representing the county at the coalition meeting. They have not officially decided on the third representative yet.
At next Wednesday's mayors, managers and commissioners luncheon in Frisco, Wallace hopes to discuss the different options for the corridor.
"Hopefully, (the luncheon discussion) will help us to go in more unified (to the coalition meeting)," Wallace said.
<i>Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-3998 ext. 229, or nformosa@summitdaily.com.</i>
<b>No mass transit immediately for Breckenridge</b>
The town of Breckenridge will support expanding I-70 to six lanes, while leaving room for some kind of mass transit down the road, Councilmember J.B. Katz said.
"We didn't want a mass transit plan to move forward first that could hurt the resorts in Summit County," Katz said. "Copper and Vail would really be the only ski areas that could connect directly to it."
Also, the council had concerns that the county would become a suburb of Denver, Katz said.
Town manager Tim Gagen, Mayor Ernie Blake and an undetermined second elected official will represent the town at the meeting.
<b>Summit County still thinking</b>
Summit County Commissioners Bill Wallace and Bob French will be representing the county at the coalition meeting. They have not officially decided on the third representative yet.
At next Wednesday's mayors, managers and commissioners luncheon in Frisco, Wallace hopes to discuss the different options for the corridor.
"Hopefully, (the luncheon discussion) will help us to go in more unified (to the coalition meeting)," Wallace said.
<i>Nicole Formosa can be reached at (970) 668-3998 ext. 229, or nformosa@summitdaily.com.</i>
