Rockwood Estates and Village at Rockwood, along with residents of Rockwood, hosted a meeting on April 2 to try to resolve some of the train issues.
The train responded by attending the meeting with their attorney after adding Sunday and Monday Rockwood trains to their 2021 schedule. They will now depart seven days a week, three trains a day, 600 car trips in and out of Rockwood a day, 4,200 car trips in and out of Rockwood a week, on a road that the county has stated is not up to code for the existing homeowner traffic.
Everyone else at the meeting, the county manager, CDOT and residents shared information and came away with a better understanding of the fire danger, traffic hazards and challenges created by the train moving 75% of its business to a residential neighborhood.
The train offered no possible solution to concerns they were made aware of last year and mainly talked about the history of the train and profitability. So, while the train tells the Herald they want to address concerns at Rockwood, their actions say otherwise.
Meanwhile, downtown businesses, shops and restaurants are loudly raising concerns about saving their establishments, already crippled by COVID-19 restrictions of 2020, as evidenced by the nearly 500 petition signatures submitted to city leaders. Once the tourists have left the city, many of them and their dollars venture up to our beautiful lakes, Silverton, Ouray or even Telluride for the day.
Return the train to Durango.
Jimmy ForsythDurango
