There is a very simple answer to the affordable housing issue with a bonus solution to improve the environment! Tear down the bank drive-thru teller stations and use the prefab apartment units to create affordable housing up and down Main Avenue. No more idling cars waiting to deposit a paycheck when it can easily be done online. A lot of the banks on Main are just a hop, skip and a jump from the Animas River Trail for a quick bike commute to town. It’s not out of the question that this process could add 50 to 60 affordable rental units with in a year.
Let’s see if the city of Durango is really an advocate of affordable housing. Can they cut the red tape on building permits, tweak the zoning process, offer tax incentives and think outside the box? I’m sure there are a number of regulations that banks will need to address for a project like this. With a new incoming federal administration, this may not be an issue.
Finally, this is a project for city planners that makes more sense than reconfiguring crosswalks or narrowing traffic lanes.
Dennis Pierce
Durango
