I was watching the USA Pro Cycling Challenge on television last week and noticed a nice piece on Fort Collins being touted as a platinum bicycle community. They showed photos of Fort Collins, much of which I recognized. In the middle of the video, I saw what I thought was the Strater Hotel. With the aid of TIVO I reviewed the section, and it was the Strater. I could read the Diamond Belle Saloon sign above the door. When was the Strater Hotel sold to Fort Collins, and how did they move it? The police blotter didn’t say anything about a missing building. I even looked the next day when I was in town and, of course, the Strater was still where it has been since 1887. – Matt L.
Action Line also went to the corner of Seventh and Main to verify the Strater’s continued existence. It’s still there.
Chalk it up to a TV typo. But it’s not surprising, considering the source.
The Pro Challenge has, ahem, some accuracy issues.
So it’s not shocking that a snippet from the 2012 race in Durango somehow made it to a 2013 profile of Fort Collins.
And it’s not a big deal really – because not that many people actually saw the switcheroo.
According to Joan Ostrow, television critic for The Denver Post, the ballyhooed bicycle bash averaged 74,000 viewers during the first four days.
That was “up 19 percent from the equivalent coverage last year but minuscule compared to other sports coverage,” she noted on her blog.
An audience of 74,000 is less than the population of Bryan, Texas.
And speaking of numbers, northern Colorado race organizers “braced for crowds that could reach 200,000 or more,” the Post reported last Sunday at the conclusion of the Loveland-Fort Collins Stage 6.
Meanwhile, Fort Collins itself anticipated 70,000 spectators.
Sound familiar? Remember how Durango was told to expect 25,000 spectators last August when the event rolled into town? This really puts the numb in numbers.
After the Strater’s dubious cameo, it all makes sense.
Fort Collins has a hotel that’s not really there to accommodate all the people who weren’t there either.
Why are there different speed limits for the same stretch of road near Bayfield? It’s the section just west of town, where the westbound lane of U.S. Highway 160 is posted 55 miles per hour, but on the other side, the speed limit is 45. It’s the same asphalt. What gives? Sign me, Speedy Gonzales
Today is the Labor Day holiday, so Action Line commends you for providing an easy question that doesn’t involve too much work.
Traffic moves slower heading into Bayfield and picks up speed leaving town because no one is in a hurry to go to Bayfield but everyone wants leave as fast as possible.
OK, that wasn’t very nice – and not at all true. Pardon the Pine River peccadillo.
Speed limits are determined by the Colorado Department of Transportation, and CDOT is all about safety. When drivers approach a town, speed limits are lowered.
That’s what happens when you cross the river heading east. You’re about 2,000 feet from the stoplight at the busy intersection of U.S. Highway 160 and County Road 501. Thus, the speed limit drops from 60 to 45 mph
Interestingly, it’s CDOT’s standard to lower speed limits in 15 mph increments, said our friend Nancy Shanks, spokeswoman for CDOT.
On the other hand, traffic leaving town can speed up immediately without gradual laddering.
“Gun it, baby,” Nancy joked.
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you remember to put away those white shoes and white belts, at least until next Memorial Day.
