Sam Rose doesn’t understand why he, Torre and Bill aren’t the decision makers at the Highway 82 entrance to Aspen.
Regarding the Colorado Department of Transportation: “They’re like this bogeyman of an agency that I feel like gives me very little clarity” (ADN, August 14).
Let me explain… Suppose Pitkin County has adopted the fire department’s building codes that require that houses that are difficult to access be equipped with sprinkler systems to suppress fires. A homeowner could protest, ask for exceptions, say you’re “just a bogeyman of a creature!” or “I’m special, my house won’t burn!” He can grumble and bide his time, but he has to follow the code or he won’t get a building permit.
The Boogeyman is a scary, fictional character. Why is Sam afraid to inspect the three-lane bridge under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)? Perhaps because the city’s consultants have demonstrated its functional obsolescence.
His plan fails to provide safe evacuation routes in the event of a fire, increases the risk of head-on collisions, sends Cemetery Lane residents left through the roundabout into town, extends Highway 82 all the way to the golf course, removing hundreds of mature trees, significantly increases costs, and simultaneously worsens RFTA transportation links for thousands of workers, residents and guests.
When Sam is informed in April and July that NEPA reviews are required, he again requests to skip NEPA, hoping that all good things come in threes, with a more “cooperative” and “cooperative” letter.
The processes for preparing environmental impact statements are collaborative and cooperative! It may be scary when the desired alternative is fatally flawed and NEPA does not allow for predetermined outcomes.
Highway 82 does not begin and end at the Aspen city limits – Aspen’s economy and community rely on others to sustain itself. The deliberately excluded stakeholders must be included and their needs addressed. That’s the law, and that’s why, despite time being of the essence, Torre, Sam and Bill have wasted 16 months trying to intimidate, buy and insult their way out of federal requirements.
Rachel Richards
aspen
