The Durango Business Improvement District is working on many projects for downtown and North Main District businesses. Here is a preview of two of them.
BID has a new spring promotion called Love Locals Week. Generously sponsored by Alpine Bank, Love Locals Week will offer a week (and then some) of deals, specials, offers and events for locals to enjoy the heart of Durango.
BID’s gift card, Heart of Durango Dollars, was introduced in November 2024. To date, over 1,500 cards have been awarded or purchased. These gift cards have a total value of $115,000. Even better, 1,650 purchases have been made using BID’s gift card. Heart of Durango Dollars are currently accepted at 109 businesses.
Love Locals Week will offer a buy-one-get-one special on Heart of Durango Dollars. If you buy a gift card for $100, BID will give you a $50 gift card for free! Imagine wanting to buy something that costs $150, but getting it for only $100. That’s a pretty good deal.
Many of the businesses that accept BID’s gift card will offer their own deals and specials. These will only be available to people who have one of BID’s gift cards. This stretches your dollars even further and supports BID businesses at the same time.
BID will also collect events that are occurring during Love Locals Week, as another reason for locals to come out and have some fun while supporting local businesses. Stay tuned for more details to be announced in my April column.
BID has long advocated for a safer crossing of Camino del Rio at West 12th Street to connect two of Durango’s best assets – the Animas River Trail and downtown. As we all know, there is a crossing there now, but it is very dangerous as drivers are often confused by the signal there that only turns on when someone wants to cross.
An underpass has been determined as the best way to address this safety concern. Is it a very complex project and expensive project? Yes. The good news is Durango voters have approved a half cent sales tax that can provide the bulk of the funding needed to build it. Additionally, the city has applied for a very large grant that, if received, will mean fewer local dollars are needed.
Every time I talk about the underpass, one question that always comes up is why not an overpass. An overpass would require a height of at least 18½ feet above Camino del Rio. This means the ramp down from it on the west side would be 350 feet long to comply with ADA requirements. There is simply not enough room on the west side to accommodate this.
An underpass at Camino and 12th has been discussed for decades, and BID believes the time is now to get it built. A citizens and business committee has been formed to help get this project to the finish line, finally. If you want to help, or if you have questions, email me at timw@downtowndurango.org or call (970) 375-5068.
Tim Walsworth is executive director of Durango Business Improvement District. Reach him at timw@downtowndurango.org or 375-5068.
