That downtown Durango’s youngest business owners favor exploring the city’s Next Steps proposal for a more pedestrian friendly, walkable city is telling. This fits with the idea of urban design looking toward the future while respecting the past.
As an old business owner in Durango – albeit not downtown – I understand other people’s skepticism. Change is hard. But I challenge folks to see what our young entrepreneurs do; to learn from the experiences of cities that have embraced the future. An excellent book, “Walkable City,” by Jeff Speck (available at Maria’s Bookshop), is an informative read.
Downtown is busier and parking at more of a premium than ever. Even so, I always find a spot within a block or two of my destination. Recent years, I often bike downtown on our amazing Animas River Trail (another controversial project that faced much opposition) as many in-town folks do too, creating less parking pressure. Without that fantastic trail, I’d drive.
Now consider Transit Center parking, which is chronically underutilized. Imagine beautiful, traffic-separated greenways filled with art exiting each end of this lot leading to a more pedestrian-friendly, greener, vibrant downtown. All in keeping with our historic city. I’d walk that! Durango had the vision to change from wooden sidewalks and a dirt and dung Main Avenue to a car-centric downtown when that made sense. As we do the necessary work of replacing utilities under Main, let’s not miss the opportunity to listen to our young visionaries again. Our kids will thank us.
Andy Corra
Durango
