Dear Action Line: When is it going to stop snowing? I’m just kidding – I love it! Because I love snowshoeing up at Haviland Lake. Only problem is, so do a lot of other people. The small parking area there has been jammed every time I go. What are the chances that parking lot could be enlarged significantly? – Snowshoe Sam
Dear Snowshoe: Your Haviland comments conjure up an old Yogi Berra-ism about a popular restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
But we have to go somewhere, eh?
The pressure on our outdoor recreation areas continues to mount, and here is another example. Action Line has seen this particular seemingly insignificant area go from relatively unknown to a hot commodity just in the last decade.
If you don’t get there early, especially on weekends, then good luck squeezing your vehicle into a spot, or turning it around in this tight area, or parallel parking on the short, icy access road from U.S. Highway 550 to the main parking area. Another great First World hardship: Action Line likes to back in to make it easier to get out, but then you have to stand in a snowbank to get your equipment – and your dog, of course – out of the back.
So, by all means, enlarge the parking lot.
Right?
There’s a theory called “induced demand” (which some insist is myth) that says the more you build – whether it’s a wider road or more parking, for example – the more people will come to fill it up. Will a bigger parking area simply lead to more crowding?
Maybe a better way to solve this is to charge, say, $100 to park there, thus stifling the plans of all but the wealthiest of us. Isn’t that the American way?
OK, OK, let’s get serious.
For that, we contacted the U.S. Forest Service, on whose land you are parking when you venture in the winter to the Haviland Lake/Chris Park area. Todd Schmutz, acting recreation program manager for the Columbine district of the San Juan National Forest, was kind enough to help spell out things for us.
In an overview nutshell, he said the district has many areas that could use improvement, from Molas Pass to Vallecito Reservoir to the Durango area. They hear from various user groups who all have wants and needs. The district is working toward putting together a “strategized recreation plan” that will guide it in making decisions about where and how to spend money.
At Haviland, he estimated there are about 20 to 25 spots available at the present, with several vehicles in the carved-out spots near the gate, and a string of parallel parking along one side of the road.
“We obviously recognize there’s an increased demand,” Schmutz said. “We just have to strategize with the funding that we get. And when we make these plans, they’ve gotta be well-thought-out.”
Schmutz will step aside as acting director when a permanent director takes the position this spring. In the meantime, he said, feel free to contact him and he’ll pass along what he hears to the incoming director.
Schmutz can be reached by email at todd.schmutz@usda.gov or by phone at 884-1436.
Dear Action Line: Many articles and opinions in the Herald bemoan the fact that regular folks have a hard time finding affordable housing and/or jobs that would pay a living wage for the Durango area. The obvious answer can be found in the comments section to nearly every article printed in the Herald that allows comments. Every day there are commenters making at least $14,000 a month without doing much work! How great is that! I'm sure the Herald features these comments multiple times a day as a public service, so we should thank them for all the opportunities. – TongueInCheek
Dear TongueIn: It’s all true. Action Line “just received my 3rd Online paycheck of $28850 which i have made just bydoing very simple and easy job Online.” Or maybe it was “Alexandar A” who posted that comment a couple days ago. Yeah, darn it. It was Alexandar A.
But whatever, those who can’t find high-paying online jobs that will help them buy a new truck just about every other month, with some money left over to afford a house and a night or two out on the town, just aren’t trying very hard.
For those unimaginative nonbelievers who are under the impression that these are annoying comments and actually might be scams, the Herald is on your side. The paper and its third-party web host are working on a fix, which would forever rid us of get-rich-quick opportunities. Because that’s what you, the reader, apparently want.
In the meantime, this “spam” is being deleted by staff members when it’s discovered.
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Sunny thought of the day: We’re now more than halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox.
