As a Durango resident for 51 years – someone who has worked on or near Main Avenue for most of those 50 years and lived on East Third and East Fifth avenues for 25 of them – I have seen enough downtown projects to know when the city is moving too fast and without the needed information.
I sent this letter to the Durango City Council regarding the downtown parking garage (Herald, Nov. 28).
“If you cannot afford to conduct a study for a new downtown parking garage, then you certainly cannot afford to fund the Next Step plan and the significant destruction, construction, and loss of tax revenue that would accompany it.
The simple answer to these tough questions is this: No parking garage, no Next Step construction. In these difficult economic times, that decision alone would save the City millions.
You must wait until the City has a fixed estimate and timeline for replacing the pipes under Main Avenue before even thinking about moving forward with Next Step. Don’t waste tax dollars, and don’t jeopardize the revenue generated by downtown businesses. Be fiscally responsible to your citizenry.”
Linda L. Mannix
Durango
