A small number of residents and stakeholders shared mixed perspectives and opinions about the city of Durango’s Civic Campus project Monday.
About 15 attendees came to the event, which was held at the Durango Public Library.
The Civic Campus build, which will combine a downtown police station and City Hall, will be located east of Buckley Park, bounded by the park, east 13th Street, east 12th Street and an alley.
The project is being headed up by assistant city managers Erin Hyder and Bob Brammer.
Attendees were given the opportunity to vote on various design and build elements by placing color-coded stickers on design boards, and various city employees, architects and project leaders answered questions on proposed connections between the Civic Campus, Buckley Park, downtown Durango and future multi-modal transportation improvements.
“I am very grateful that the city is getting public input, and I'm also grateful that they're looking at their project plans comprehensively,” said resident Carolyn Hunter.
She said she is concerned about access to a bike path she uses daily potentially being cut off with the build, but multi-modal staff at the event were open to feedback, she said.
City of Durango Transportation Director Sarah Hill said the Rotary Park connection up to East 13th Street is one of the busiest corridors in town, with an average of two multi-modal users per minute.
City of Durango Multi-Modal Manager Lily Oswald said public engagement will be a priority as the Civic Campus project moves forward to ensure multi-modal access is retained.
“Multi-modal projects often work around confined spaces and existing limited roadways, (and) we’re used to trying to be creative with space and figuring out what the community needs,” she said. “When we get the funds in 2027 … we’ll really try to figure out, ‘What are the absolute guardrails we’d be working with?’ (Like) business access, (and) making sure folks have an intuitive way to go.”
For more information
For more information, or to submit general questions and comments on the build, visit https://engage.durangoco.gov/police-department-city-hall.
Residents are encouraged to join the conversation surrounding potential changes or improvements to Buckley Park. Buckley Park will have its own separate public engagement process, with mailed notices to neighbors, outreach to event organizers, and materials posted on Engage Durango, a Buckley Park representative said.
A public workshop for the Buckley Park Master Plan will be held 4 to 6 p.m. Monday at the park, located at 1250 Main Ave. For more information, visit www.durangoco.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/4728.
Key design elements and plans discussed across the Civic Campus included 13th Street becoming the public front door of the police department, and a public lobby being built as a way to welcome the community into the space; options to secure law enforcement vehicle parking from the alley, which ranged from transparent fencing to solid masonry walls; and the use of masonry and arches to echo downtown Durango context and create a unified campus without overshadowing City Hall as the campus’s “crown jewel.”
A question-and-answer session following a presentation on plans for the new police station grew slightly tense as attendees brought up concerns surrounding the campus’s 61-space parking shortfall and reliance on remote spaces; potential loss of trees and green edge in favor of hardscape and solid walls; and potential winter safety concerns at the north-facing entrance.
Longtime resident Robin Wiles, who lives near the Civic Campus site, said she’s glad law enforcement will have an updated police department – but she does have some concerns.
“The historic nature of that area of town, I don’t want it to be collateral damage to budgets,” she said. “That’s how you lose a downtown atmosphere.”
Brian Berryhill, lead architect for the police department build with Roth Sheppard Architects, said he welcomes all community feedback – even when it leans critical.
“This community meeting tonight, even the people that, maybe in tone, were a little bit critical, were all giving positive solutions to try to figure this thing out,” he said. “ … In my world, a feedback loop is important, and the reason it’s important is because … everything we do is the next version, it’s an iteration, and so as we layer in more information, we actually come up with a better solution, and so all of these things are pieces of the puzzle that’s going to make the final product better.”
Architects and project leads stressed making “smart, long-term decisions” in designs to make room for possible future improvements on aspects brought up as concerns by attendees – like parking space and alley design.
epond@durangoherald.com
