|
County and city at odds over study of Farmington
Hill's future
by Missy Votel
 |
| This afternoon stream of traffic
on U.S. Hwy. 160 near Farmington Hill is becoming commonplace.
La Plata County recently commissioned an independent study
of traffic and the impact that development in Grandview will
have on it./Photo by Todd Newcomer. |
Traffic in the Grandview area has the City of Durango and La
Plata County at odds. An independent study was undertaken by the
county late last year and takes a look at how development in Grandview
would impact the Farmington Hill-Highway 160 corridor. At the
time, the corridor fell under county jurisdiction but has since
been annexed into city limits.
Last Wednesday, Jan. 28, Dean Bressler, a consultant with HDR
Engineering, of Albuquerque, told county commissioners that with
the development of Grandview the corridor’s westbound afternoon
traffic could surpass its maximum capacity of 1,900 cars in as
few as five years. Morning traffic could reach its capacity by
2014.
“It is huge – this is another town going in out there,”
said County Commissioner Josh Joswick of the impetus for the study.
“Every effort we make to try to understand the impacts ahead
of time, the better off we’ll be.”
However, Durango Mayor Virginia Castro said she and other City
Council members were surprised to learn that the county had commissioned
an independent study, particularly since another Grandview traffic
study already had been done in conjunction with the county, Southern
Ute Tribe and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
“We were all a little surprised that they didn’t
let us know they would be doing it,” she said.
She said City Council was not made aware of the study until January,
after the consultant already had been hired. However, Joswick
said the county had made its concerns over Farmington Hill known
for some time.
 |
| A car makes its way up Farmington
Hill last week. According to a county-commissioned study,
the westbound afternoon traffic on Highway 160 will reach
capacity in as few as five years./Photo by Todd Newcomer. |
“Back in October of 2002, CDOT came and gave us a presentation
on Grandview at our request, and I remember saying that they needed
to concentrate on the Farmington Hill corridor then,” he
said. “Our concerns are not new.”
Joswick said when the first Grandview traffic study neglected
to address Farmington Hill, the county decided to take matters
into its own hands.
“We realized that Farmington Hill was not part of the consideration,”
he said. “But we felt it was important for someone to do
an analysis. There was more information that was needed.”
He also stressed that the study is not the county’s attempt
to stall development in Grandview.
“We are not trying to derail things; we are not against
the hospital or the development,” he said. “We are
for something that is done right and making sure that the impacts
are addressed in a timely manner.” 4
The county study used CDOT statistics and data to arrive at its
conclusions, he said. A final report on the study will be done
this week. From there, county commissioners will formally address
the city regarding the study.
“We’re in the process of drafting a letter to the
city and will be making some recommendations as to what we’d
like to see,” Joswick said. He would not comment on the
recommendations but said he expected the letter to go out this
week.
Joswick admitted that with the city annexation of the Farmington
Hill area, the county is powerless to really do anything other
than share what it has learned.
“The city has been good about including us in discussions,”
he said. “We have no power to stop anything – this
is in the city’s hands. It’s going to be up to them
to use the study or not.”
Castro said she could not comment on the study without seeing
it, but that it will be scrutinized carefully.
“You can make statistics say whatever you want them to
say,” she said. “It’s important with this, and
any study, that we evaluate with a critical eye.”
When asked if she thought the study would play into any future
City Council considerations, she said she was not sure it would
be pertinent.
“If someone wants to comment on it during the public comment
period, then by all means we would listen to what they have to
say,” she said. “But the (Grandview) Conceptual Plan
already has in place several safeguards to ensure that traffic
is acceptable at every level of approval.”
Durango Director of Public Works Jack Rogers said it was difficult
to say a lot about the study based on the three-page hand-out
he received, but that he is looking forward to the final report
and county recommendations.
“We’d be interested to look at them and see what
useful information there was,” he said.
However, he did say that, on first glance, the preliminary study
sent up a few red flags.
“The findings were interesting, but we and CDOT felt they
were based on a number of assumptions,” he said.
He also said he found it “suspect” that the heaviest
traffic was predicted for the westbound, or inbound lane, in the
afternoon, when most commuters would be going home from their
jobs and likely heading east.
“We think they may have used some incorrect numbers in
their conclusion,” he said. “I don’t know because
I haven’t had a chance to talk to the consultant yet.”
And while Rogers said he was aware of the county’s concerns
with Farmington Hill traffic, he said the timing of the study
seemed “odd” given the fact that the city, county
and other local municipalities are in the process of engaging
in a regional transportation study.
“It would have been nice to talk to them before they did
it,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said the study results likely would not have
had any bearing on the outcome of the Grandview process.
“I don’t think what they said kept us from making
informed decisions,” he said. Regardless of whether the
county’s recommendations are implemented or not, Rogers
said the issue is not that Farmington Hill will soon be maxed
out, but what to do when it occurs. He said the impending regional
transportation study is one step in that direction, as well as
a way for the city and county to work together.
“It’s clear that Farmington Hill is not going to
be able to handle all the traffic that’s coming into town,”
he said. “There need to be other solutions and other ways
to get into Durango eventually. That’s what we should be
focusing on.”
|
