Walk the walk

Colorado has long been the laughingstock of the West when it comes to transportation. Durango is the jester. Buses to south of town destinations like Walmart and Home Depot leave every half hour and are in some uncomfortable places to wait. At the bottom of Bodo Dr., near Credit Union of Colorado, would be a great place for a stop. The closest stop is at Office Depot or Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, which is covered. There is also no good turn-round to run buses back on Frontage Road, which means people have to use two buses for every one-way trip.

Of course the other Durango problem is Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) mentalities. Who’s going to pay for expanded bus service? Already, people who use the bus pay for admittance. Make businesses on route help pay and upkeep their stops as a community outreach. We need to take better care of pedestrians. Also, we need a more literate police force and access to emergency care when and if someone hits a pedestrian because of the lack of infrastructure, health care and other safety mechanisms. Durango is simply no fun for people using less polluting modes of transportation and dangerous for people who walk, ride or use other mechanisms to travel.

– Christa Turnell, Durango