I have lived in Silverthorne (Willowbrook) and worked in Frisco for 21 years. I am very familiar with the traffic flow/congestion at Wildernest Road and Hwy. 9.

One of my concerns with a Lowe's or Home Depot that has not been discussed by the Town of Silverthorne is air pollution related to the increased traffic. Both Home Depot and Lowe's have said that their peak traffic could each be several thousand cars and trucks per day. Daily I-70 traffic can run 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles passing by or entering into Silverthorne. That suggests the combined traffic, including normal local vehicle count, could be in the 50,000 to 60,000 range.

Silverthorne is in a valley with the Dillon Dam blocking stale air from blowing through. Generally, our winds come over the Gore Range and blow towards Dillon. There will certainly be weather conditions or inversions that, along with these volumes of traffic, result in highly polluted air and maybe, the unthinkable “Denver Brown Cloud.”

When I moved here in 1989, there were winter days and nights when we could see the pollution from the diesel trucks and the many wood-burning fireplaces.

Do we monitor our air today, and what do we do when pollution levels rise to warning levels?