What Locals are Saying
“Beware of ads promising immediate action by people who have been in office for 30 years and have done nothing to solve traffic. “Do Something” (even if it doesn’t fix traffic) is not a plan. Does anyone think the old bridge will last while we chase the failed Straight Shot for another decade?”
Barb Pitchford, retired school principal
“We need modern-day solutions to modern-day issues. We cannot put a 1990s solution to something that doesn’t solve the issues of today. It is more than evacuation routes, it is about traffic, it is about getting cars out of the west end, it is about having the potential to use the open space, and it is about wildfire, which they did not consider back in the 1990s.”
City Council Member Sam Rose
“We have yet to see a compelling reason to give up Aspen's front yard. We can our fix traffic problems our way, with assistance from the state, without turning the decision completely over to them. City Council has had influence over the highway design precisely because the City owns both sides of the highway—a rare situation for any city.”
Terry Paulson, former City Council Member
“Open spaces should not be taken away for anything that does not fix traffic. The Straight Shot across Marolt cuts up our unique green entrance to town and wildlife habitat & corridors with no benefit to traffic congestion.”
Howie Mallory, Aspen Open Space & Trail Board Member
“We have to get our heads out of the 1990s and find real 2025 solutions to making traffic move faster, without a street light at 7th Street. We have to keep our voice and our vote on our entrance, we should not give our City of Aspen land to CDOT for them to decide what our entrance will be. Keep Aspen, Aspen, Vote Yes on 1, No on 2. “
Blanca O’Leary
"You’ve already imagined the worst-case scenario. I wonder, have you imagined what the best-case scenario might look like? What if our neighborhoods were designed to withstand wildfire? At some point in the future, could the best wildfire plan be not evacuating at all?”
Ali Hammond
Director of Community Wildfire Resilience in the Aspen Fire Protection District, Aspen Daily News, February 6, 2025