“We’re all waiting for that trail to be completed,” said a participant to the City of Durango’s inaugural Parade of Projects held on Tuesday evening at City Hall. The meeting showcased capital improvement projects slated for, though “not set in stone” (organizers were quick to suggest), for the next five years.
Transportation, Public Works and Parks and Recreation Department staff presented the “high visibility, high impact” projects that were prioritized according to the city’s strategic, multimodal, parks and recreation and other plans developed with a range of online and in-person community feedback tools. The Parade of Projects adds another in-person public engagement tool to the city’s quiver. The Herald’s editorial board hopes it continues since the City Council dissolved the Parks and Recreation, Multimodal and Natural Lands Advisory Boards in 2023.
Two of the high visibility, high impact projects we were glad to see on the list include the Camino Crossing underpass for cyclists and pedestrians to safely cross Camino del Rio near 12th street and the SMART 160 project. Connectivity and safety with increased population and corresponding congestion are increasingly critically important community needs.
The Camino underpass is currently slated for construction in 2029. The SMART 160 shared use path, connecting the southern extent of the Animas River Trail to Grandview/Three Springs, was also presented as a priority, but second to the Durango Mesa Park Bike Park Development each of the next five years.
The “trail” comment came from a disappointed Three Springs resident when he learned that the Smart 160 project would not be completed until 2030. “The promise of the trail is why I partly bought into Three Springs,” he said. “Durango Mesa Park is totally cool, but that project wasn’t anywhere in the city’s plans until more recently. The prioritization needs to be reconsidered,” he said.
The Herald’s editorial board agrees and not just for SMART 160 but for the Camino Crossing, as well. The Camino Crossing’s first feasibility study was completed in 2008. The SMART 160 Trail has been under consideration since 2006 when it was included in the city’s Multi-Modal Transportation Plan. With changing councils, available funding, and other community considerations, like the siting of the new downtown fire station, we understand the delays, but we can no longer afford them.
Recent and tragic deaths and injuries, whether on surface streets or the river trail, could be avoided if pedestrians and cyclists had additional options. The Durango Mesa Park Bike Park Development is a very cool project indeed and is more than a bike park. It includes an adaptive sports park and pump track, a perimeter multiuse trail, a hiking trail, dog park, disc golf course, lawn and event space, a campground, and a smaller event facility/BMX Track. That all sounds great and, though the costs will be shared between the city and the Durango Mesa Park Foundation, more of a want than a need at this point.
“The goal of the meeting was to better inform the public about high visibility, high impact projects the city is working on for the next five years,” said Community Engagement Specialist, Klancy Nixon. To that end, the meeting accomplished what it set out to and was a great start at improving in-person public engagement opportunities before they go to the Finance Advisory Board and City Council for further consideration of how limited public sales tax funds will be spent.
We support the identified projects and would like to see the FAB reconsider their priority. The safety and success of our community depends upon it.
The next Chapman Chat will be held today from 9:00 – 10 a.m. in the Chapman Hill Lobby and the next Engage Durango Forum will be held May 27, from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m., at the Durango Community Recreation Center. The next meeting of the Financial Advisory Board is scheduled for June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. More information is available at engage.durangoco.gov.
