MAP update
Have you heard? Coming in 2025 to a Carbondale street near you: more crosswalks, wayfinding signs for priority bike routes, traffic calming pilot/demonstration projects on key streets, mini-roundabouts (adding a feature like a large planter to a four-way intersection to create a makeshift roundabout). These are a few of the first steps suggested in the comprehensive Mobility and Access Plan (MAP) now nearing completion.
Many of you provided feedback 15 months ago as Town staff, a Denver consultant and members of the Bike, Pedestrian and Trails Commission (BPTC) gathered information on improvement opportunities and concerns regarding our streets, trails and walkways. Your all-volunteer BPTC has spent the past year helping guide the development of this master plan to assure safe, pleasant streets and walkways throughout town with priority given to pedestrian, bike and transit options. During the year, BPTC reviewed numerous draft proposals and sent detailed suggestions back to the consultant.
As you know, traffic throughout town has increased dramatically. Our goal is to protect our delightful bike-ped culture and safe streets into perpetuity with a long-term strategy in the face of that growth. It will start small with improvements like those already mentioned. A key early strategy is “traffic calming” — infrastructure features that slow traffic down and allow safe access for all modes of people movement. From there, MAP will add layers of larger infrastructure projects, and changes in development standards and code will give appropriate consideration to non-automobile access. Obtaining grants and other funding support will be essential early elements, too.
Here is the official MAP mission statement: Carbondale has a safe, connected and affordable transportation network which ensures mobility and comfortable access for everyone; prioritizes biking, walking and transit; reduces private vehicle use; and proactively confronts the pressures of growth to protect and preserve the small-town character and values of the Carbondale community.
BPTC will present recommendations along with a final draft of MAP to the Board of Trustees no later than January 2025. They will make the final decisions on infrastructure changes and funding. In the meantime, please join BPTC at its Nov. 4 meeting at 6pm at Town Hall for a presentation of the final MAP draft by the consultant.
Rick Blauvelt
Bike, Pedestrian and Trails Commission
The greater good
In a discussion with my students about the meaning of the “greater good,” they quickly defined why living in a manner conscious of doing what is best for the whole is to the benefit of all of society. Because many do not behave with the greater good in mind, regulations, ordinances and laws exist to ensure that we live in a safe, clean and responsible community. It is why we don’t throw trash on the streets or in our rivers, why we allow pedestrians the right of way and why we are responsible for our pets.
There are three off-leash dog parks in town, all of which are easily accessible by car, bike or walking, yet every day I witness people bringing their off-leash dogs to Miners Park and the Hendrick Park soccer field. In the case of Miners Park, there are eight posted signs saying: “no dogs allowed.” It is easy to understand that children playing should not be subjected to dog feces and pee, and that the parks maintained by our tax dollars should not be torn up by dogs chasing balls. This is part of the greater good — to act in a manner that is not the most convenient for us as individuals, but to act for what is best for the community at large. Today’s society has become self-absorbed with individualism and convenience, as if the rules don’t apply if it causes someone to walk across the street or all of four blocks to an off-leash park. With the plethora of walkways, trails and paths in and around town, there is no excuse for abusing the open spaces our children play in and our families picnic in.
The rules apply to everyone because our community deserves to live with the greater good.
Denise Moss
Carbondale
Vote for Samson
As a dedicated unaffiliated voter, I want to share a few of my reasons for supporting Mike Samson for County Commissioner.
I have known Mike Samson for nearly 40 years. Mike is 100% committed to advancing what makes Garfield County special. Mike is a life-long public servant, having started as a public school teacher, then administrator and now serving as a committed county commissioner.
In today’s political environment, it’s enough for me to know Mike Samson is a man of integrity. He isn’t interested in headlines or higher office. As a commissioner, he continually demonstrates his dedication to protecting and improving Garfield County, and he’s not afraid to tackle anyone or any agency that represents a stumbling block to that improvement.
I know Mike has agonized over many tough decisions before the commission. Above all, he wants to do the right thing.
Finally, Commissioner Mike Samson initiated a non-partisan, all-county Water Forum where everyone with an interest in our waters meets twice a year to share visions, desires, progress and concerns. Additionally, Mike and his fellow commissioners have generously “put their money where their mouth is” to secure local control and permanence of the vital Shoshone water rights for Garfield County and western Colorado.
If you care about protecting Garfield County’s water and other natural resources, I urge you to support Mike Samson’s re-election. His steadfast leadership on these issues is essential to the future of our county.
Chris Treese
Glenwood Springs
Supporting change
Our Republican candidates for Garfield County Commissioner both state their commitment to preserving Western Slope values and our rural lifestyle. While this sounds like an admirable goal, it is obvious that they are oblivious to the fact that their values might not be those of Garfield County’s changing demographics and economy. I, too, mourn the days gone by when Garfield County was truly rural. Just take a drive along I-70 and Highway 82 and visit the communities along the way — it’s obvious that things have changed and our governance needs to change with it.
While they are looking backwards and wishing for what once was, our two Democratic candidates are, instead, looking forward to a future where diversity is embraced, collaboration is encouraged, and our county’s energy revenue portfolio is modified to wean ourselves from the uncertainties of a budget based on boom and bust energy extraction to one that embraces the abundant solar resource that shines every day.
If we continue to elect and re-elect commissioners who are mired in the past, we will continue to have a commission that is primarily reactive instead of proactive. We need commissioners who are proactive problem solvers. Please cast your votes for Steven Arauza and Caitlin Carey.
Susy Ellison
Carbondale
Can’t afford to live here?
The time is ripe to elect people who truly represent us and will fight for affordable housing. This isn’t the only issue, but it’s a big one. I’m casting my ballot for Caitlin Carey and Steven Arauza, two bright and energetic people I know will work hard for us.
The voting record of their opponents is fairly shocking. Perry Will actually supported formally thanking participants in the Jan. 6 attack on our country. Mike Samson opposed a bill to keep gas drilling at least 1,000 feet from school property lines. Really?
It’s time for change and I urge you to vote for Caitlin Carey and Steven Arauza. We are fortunate to have them here working for our best interests.
Kay Clarke
Carbondale
Climate concerns
As the election draws closer, we cannot ignore the growing impact of climate change on our communities. Hurricane Helene and now Hurricane Milton, along with dozens of wildfires this past summer — they’re all clear warning signs of a very real climate crisis.
This issue deserves more attention than it’s received so far this election cycle. During the presidential debate, only one brief question was asked about climate at the very end.
The fact is, the climate crisis impacts us all, no matter where we live or how much money we make. Americans are being told to flee their homes and risk losing everything. Meanwhile, Big Oil continues to put profits over people by prioritizing fossil fuels that continue to destroy our environment.
We cannot afford to lose any more time in the fight against the climate crisis. We need leaders — at the federal, state and local level — who believe in the science of climate change and are willing or can be convinced to take bold action before it’s too late. So I urge everyone: when you cast your ballot this November, think of our planet and the people that call it home.
Evan Michael
Glenwood Springs
Double trouble
The VP debate gave us a chance to see candidate JD Vance’s excellent impersonation of a decent man. Wow, do fabrications just roll off his tongue. Look out, we’ve got another Trump on our hands, and this one’s even slicker. Just ask the folks in Springfield, Ohio. Imagine if Pinocchio Trump and Pinocchio Vance were standing back to back in Kansas. Their noses would reach from sea to shining sea.
Glibness aside, these Trump/Vance lies are deliberate, intended to dominate the news and overshadow the accomplishments of the Biden/Harris administration.
A perfect example is Trump saying, “The economy is doing really, really badly. It’s a horrific nightmare,” which Fox “News” then reports as fact. Republicans will swear that the economy under Trump was strong, whereas now it is weak. In actuality, when Biden and Harris took office in January 2021, they inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, as well as the worst pandemic in a century. And they found there was no plan in place for recovery. Despite congressional Republicans who did their best to block the administration’s efforts, the plan formulated and instituted by the Biden/Harris team exceeded expectations. Our economy recovered, and is strong. Inflation is at 2.4%, the same rate as it was before the COVID pandemic. Wages have now outpaced inflation. The Stock Market is at a record high. Unemployment is at a low 4.1% with the U.S. having created nearly 7 million more jobs than it had before the pandemic. Our economy will continue to be strong under a Harris/Walz administration.
We will see more of this authoritarian tactic (daily havoc, disruption and disinformation) from Trump and Vance. As other readers have suggested, find a reliable source of news.
And vote like your democracy depends upon it, because it does.
Annette Roberts-Gray
Carbondale
Strongmen
Of the many reasons why I believe Donald Trump is grossly unfit to hold office, I am perhaps most disturbed by his fascination with authoritarian strongmen like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. On one hand, I sort of understand how a pathological narcissist like Trump, with his bully mentality, can be attracted to such leaders. But how could someone, unless they are devoid of empathy or a conscience, countenance the cruelty and inhumanity of these people?
In my years at Encyclopædia Britannica, I worked with many who had lived under authoritarian rule. There was the woman born in East Germany who fled with her family to the West across a field and through barbed-wire entanglements under the threat of being shot by border guards. Or the woman who escaped from Romania, one of the most repressive of the Soviet client states.
There were others, but one who stands out the most was Lilia, born in the U.S. to parents who had escaped what was then the Soviet “republic” of Ukraine. Lilia was passionate about her heritage and introduced me to the centuries-old bitter struggle Ukrainians have waged against Russian and then Soviet domination. The Soviet period was especially brutal, most terribly in 1932-33 when Josef Stalin perpetrated the Holodomor genocide, an intentional mass starvation in which as many as 7 million Ukrainians died.
Lilia impressed on me the intensity with which Ukrainians will never forget or forgive Russia for its prolonged cruelty toward them. Putin’s seizure of Crimea a decade ago and now his invasion of Ukraine proper have only served to amplify that sentiment. I believe that the Ukrainian people will never negotiate a settlement with Russia, as Trump has promoted, and will never stop fighting to retain their hard-won independence.
Donald Trump appears so susceptive to the flatteries and manipulations of these cunning and ruthless leaders. The rest of us, however, must see these people for who they are: an absolute anathema to everything we hold dear and sacred in this country. Please vote to keep a man like Trump out of the presidency!
Ken Pletcher
Carbondale
Rotary thanks
On behalf of the Carbondale Rotary Club, we’d like to thank everyone for joining us for our third annual Potato Day pancake breakfast on Oct. 5. It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed serving everyone pancakes and potato pancakes at Chacos Park at 4th and Main Street.
The event simply would not have been possible without the extraordinary generosity of Bonfire Coffee and the Village Smithy. They provided us with copious amounts of coffee, pancake batter and sausages to make the morning a success. Charlie Chacos and everyone at both businesses went above and beyond and we cannot thank them enough.
Thanks also go to our title annual sponsor, Ace Hardware, and lead annual sponsor, Alpine Bank, for their many years of steadfast support. Our other annual sponsors include Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty agent Karen Peirson, Bookbinders, Cowen Center Convenience Store, Coldwell Banker Mason Morse agent Brian Keleher, Lulubelle, Martin Insurance Group, Nordic Gardens, Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel, Pain Center of the Roaring Fork Valley, the Post Independent, Rivers Dentistry, RJ Paddywacks Pet Outfitter, Sopris Liquor and Wine, Thunder River Theatre Company and Umbrella Roofing.
We’d also like to recognize and thank Alyssa Reindel at EverGreen ZeroWaste for making our breakfast as low-impact as possible. The Carbondale Community United Methodist Church was kind enough to lend us their tables and chairs.
Big thanks go out to Glenwood Rotarian Joe Mueller for once again loaning us his excellent grill. Joe embodies the best qualities of the Rotary motto, “service above self.”
Last but certainly not least, Eric Brendlinger and Erica Savard from the Town of Carbondale Recreation Department helped us organize and continue one of our favorite annual traditions. It was a great way to kick off Potato Day Saturday and celebrate the best of Carbondale.
Rachel Hahn and Alan Cole
Carbondale Rotary Club
Remaining rural
We are writing in response to the guest opinion in the Aug. 1 edition of The Sopris Sun, and ongoing efforts by Keep Missouri Heights Rural (KMHR) to oppose rural operations in Missouri Heights. While their name suggests a commitment to preserving the area’s rural character, their actions reveal a narrow, self-serving agenda.
The opposition from KMHR is not merely about land use regulations but reflects a deeper issue of exclusionary practices and misplaced blame. The very subdivisions now opposing ranching and farming are built on land sold by generational ranching families who faced economic displacement, or who realized the increasing difficulties presented to ranches back in the 1990s. To condemn these ranchers and landowners for selling their land then, while reaping the benefits of that very development today, showcases an entitled hypocrisy that is both unfair and shortsighted.
Manicured, tidy subdivisions and overpriced, overbuilt homes inhabited by the wealthy do not build a community. The real strength of our community lies in preserving and supporting our agricultural roots. Ranching and farming are not just economic activities; they are cornerstones of Colorado and Roaring Fork Valley heritage. These practices are integral to the history and identity of our region, contributing to a way of life that has been sustained for generations.
While the definition of rural deals with density, ranching and farming also define it in a relevant and meaningful way. Ranching and farming are not nuisances but essential elements of the rural identity that built Missouri Heights. By opposing agricultural projects, KMHR is contributing to the destruction of our heritage and undermining this legacy.
Projects like Twin Acres and Ascendigo Autistic Camp offer real benefits, fostering inclusivity and preserving open space. In contrast, efforts to stop ranching operations by KMHR do little to enhance our community and only serve to further isolate and dilute its rural character. The focus on preserving property values over supporting these beneficial community projects reflects an exclusionary attitude that maligns the broader good.
This community’s concerns are not rooted in a misunderstanding of land use regulations or zoning laws. These concerns are based on lived experience and observations of how past developments have transformed Missouri Heights. Over the years, we’ve watched the landscape shift from working ranches to expensive and expansive McMansions. These developments have brought in more wealthy people, but they have not enriched the community in any meaningful way.
KMHR is missing the bigger picture. This isn’t just about zoning laws or county commissioners’ votes, it’s about the long-term threat to a truly rural landscape and lifestyle, impacting the community and a way of life that has shaped our region for generations.
If ranchers and agricultural projects are continually driven out by opposition and legal battles, Missouri Heights will become just another cluster of exclusive subdivisions. The actions of KMHR are accelerating the erosion of the rural character they claim to protect. We must support initiatives that uphold our rural traditions and embrace community projects that enhance our collective quality of life.
Kat Rich, Missouri Heights resident
Gay Lewis, Someday Ranch
Mike and Allison Spayd, Spradley Farms
Felix Tomare, Milagro Ranch
Bill Fales, Cold Mountain Ranch
To Asheville with love
My husband Hal Herzog and I are in Colorado, visiting our daughter, Betsy After and her family. We come here a few times a year and, in the fall, we stay for a month. We love visiting the Roaring Fork Valley’s mountains, rivers and small towns. Carbondale seems a special community, especially in the scene at the end of the school day — children on bikes, scooters and skateboards, children holding hands while their parents push their strollers. It’s like a contemporary vision of the past.
We planned to go home on Oct. 5. Helene changed our plans — and our world.
Hurricanes usually travel up the east or west coast of Florida, and we watch as they swallow up towns in the pathway or safely turn eastward over the Atlantic. In Asheville, we breathe a collective sigh of relief from our safe and comfortable distance, thankful we are protected by the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains and the long distance from Florida’s storms.
This time, the hurricane changed its mind and took an inland path — rivers breached their banks, creeks became rivers. Streets, homes, businesses and families were lost in the water and mud. It destroyed sections of Asheville and the small towns and rural areas that make up western North Carolina.
Somehow, our home, our son’s, our daughter’s and many of our friends’ homes escaped major damage. Many people found a way to escape — or like us, were away when the storm hit. Those left behind are working with friends, neighbors and volunteers, clearing trees and electric poles that block roads and lay on roofs. Homes and businesses ripped off their foundations float by on rivers and creeks. Debris will contaminate the waters for years.
Historically, our mountains and rivers were resources for farms and factories and in recent years for the growth in recreation — hiking and biking, paddling, tubing and fishing, and always, gazing at the views and colors. The French Broad and the Swannanoa in Buncombe County; the Watauga in Boone; the Pigeon that took the east lanes of I-40; the Nolichucky in Tennessee — all are now changed forever.
We moved to the sleepy Asheville area 50 years ago, when there were just a few local restaurants, none recognized with James Beard awards. Long before its transformation into today’s popular tourist city, we took walks along the streets past abandoned, closed-up shops, corrugated plastic covering, signs of once-thriving businesses of the ‘60s and ‘70s. When we walked downtown, we always ran into friends and co-workers. Our three children, Adam Herzog, Katie Herzog and Betsy, were all born at Mission Hospital in downtown Asheville and grew up in the outdoors, hiking the Blue Ridge pinnacles, biking mountain trails, kayaking the Nantahala and French Broad.
Now the schools are closed, the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed, I-40 has fallen into the Pigeon River. The constant construction of high-rise hotels and condos charging hundreds of dollars a night will be put to rest and replaced by noises of cleaning, clearing and restoring.
We’ve met many people in Carbondale — children and their parents, friends of Betsy and her husband, Brion After. Every person has expressed shock and concern about Helene’s destruction. Many have lived in Asheville and the surrounding towns and countryside, and they are heartbroken about the devastation.
We are thankful for our visits to Carbondale, but it’s time for us to go home. It’s time to pitch in and help wherever we can while we mourn the past and brace ourselves for a new world.
If you’d like to make a contribution to the recovery, Blue Ridge Public Radio, our local NPR station, has a list of agencies working on recovery: www.bpr.org
Mary Jean Ronan Herzog
Weaverville, North Carolina