Photo: Kevin Curry, program engineer for CDOT Region 5, gives an overview of the upcoming Highway 160 reconstruction project through downtown Pagosa Springs.
Pagosa Springs business owners packed the dining room at Riff Raff Brewing on Tuesday, February 13, to hear a presentation by Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) staff, concerning a planned reconstruction of Highway 160 through downtown, between S. 8th Street and N. 1st Street.
The CDOT representatives also fielded questions from the audience. And expressions of concern.
The presentation had been hosted by the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC) in cooperation with the ‘Cone Zone Care Committee’ — a subcommittee of the Pagosa Springs ‘Main Street Program’ advisory board.
I walked up to the bar and ordered a glass of my favorite Riff Raff beer, Hopgoblin. I thought maybe a beer would help out.
PSCDC Executive Director Emily Lashbrooke welcomed the audience.
“We have six CDOT representatives here tonight to help us understand their process, where they’re going, where they are going to start and when, and what we can anticipate.
“This is meant to be a starting point of a great conversation and a starting point of great information-sharing. The more you know, the better you can plan. The more you know, the better the outcome.
“Can you imagine what our Main Street is going to look like, two years from now when this project is completely done? You all are going to have perfect sidewalks, perfect gutters, perfect roads that don’t go like ‘this’…”
She indicated ‘this’ by moving her hand up and down in a wave motion.
“We’re going to have the most amazing eight-block radius. It’s going to look so spectacular. The Town has done it’s share in pre-planning for beautification, and we are going to look fantastic.
“Are we going to have to endure a little bit? You bet. But we can do it, and we can do it together…”
Ms. Lashbrooke then introduced Kathleen McFadden, the ‘Main Street Program’ coordinator.
“Some of you in the room may not be aware of what a ‘Main Street Program’ is? In short, it’s a community led effort focused on the revitalization and historic preservation of a downtown district…”
She shared some history of the program. We’ve shared a few articles about the Colorado ‘Main Street Program’ here in the Daily Post.
Here’s perhaps the most comprehensive discussion: EDITORIAL: ‘Main Street’ as a Government Planning Project
Ms. McFadden noted that Pagosa Springs is now a ‘Designated Community’ under the Colorado Main Street Program.
“That wasn’t an easy designation to get, and I’m proud to say we were designated one year ago today by [the Department of Local Affairs] as an official community, and we joined 26 other [Colorado] communities with that designation…”
This gives Pagosa Springs access to certain types of funding, technical resources, consultants, the state’s Main Street architect and various conferences and gatherings. She described the collaboration between the Town of Pagosa Springs and the PSCDC as “a natural fit, because of our combined efforts toward economic revitalization in our community.”
She then introduced Rick Holter, the chair of the Pagosa Springs Main Street Program’s 13-member volunteer advisory board.. Mr. Holter pointed out the handful of board members who were in attendance at the presentation.
“Our purpose is to support you. We have several kind of primary thrusts, but for the next two years — hopefully it will be only two years — our primary duty will be to support the businesses who are going through this. So we want to hear from you.
“The word we use all the time in ‘amplify’. We want to amplify your concerns, get you answers to your questions, and get as much information out as we can. So please button-hole these board members… as you’re around tonight. Let us know what you’re worried about. Let us know what you think is going on.”
Ms. Lashbrooke then introduced the CDOT staff, and explained that the presentation would include a Q&A at the end — with the understanding that, very likely, not all questions could be answered “on the spot” but that any questions that need additional research would be answered later by CDOT.
First to speak was Kevin Curry, program engineer for CDOT Region 5.
“Thank you all for being here…
“As you’re all very well aware, CDOT has been here for a couple of years, doing a couple of projects…”
The ones that come to mind for me: the McCabe Creek Bridge reconstruction, which was supposed to take two years but ended up taking three…
…and the Wildlife Migration Overpass near Highway 151, which I believe happened right on schedule.
Mr. Curry:
“We’re about to embark on another project through downtown, doing a bunch of work including curb-and-gutter, ADA accommodations, and lighting… but the project has sort of evolved over time. It’s grown. It started off as — I won’t say there’s such a thing as a ‘simple project — but it started off that we were going to replace the asphalt surface to concrete, which is more suitable to a crowded area like a downtown district. We’ve done it in other towns. We’ve done it in Monte Vista, Cortez, Antonio, and Durango.
“It holds up better.
“But the project has grown. We’ve worked with James [Dickhoff] at the Town, to accommodate some of the utility changes that they needed, upgrades that they needed, lighting improvements. And then we had a grant come through for the intersection of Piedra Road and Highway 160…”
Apparently, we will also be seeing improvements to the Piedra Road intersection.
The project has grown.
As Mr. Curry says.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.