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Candidates stump in Edwards

Melanie Wong
Vail, CO Colorado

EDWARDS, Colorado ” State senate candidates Al White and Ken Brenner met with Edwards leaders Wednesday to talk about traffic and planning for growth.

White, a Republican from Hayden, and Brenner, a Democrat from Steamboat Springs, answered questions from the Edwards Community Authority, a group of representatives from area metro districts. They are running to represent District 8, which includes Eagle County.

Both candidates said they were interested in lowering population requirements for special districts. Forming a special transportation district would allow Edwards to levy a tax to pay for transportation improvements, but right now the unincorporated area does not meet population requirements.



The candidates discussed land-use in light of Edward’s rapid growth.

“It’s about making sure governments cooperate,” Brenner said. “We need to talk about how to master plan together. You’ve got to look 20, 50 years ahead.”

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He talked about the land-use policies in Steamboat Springs, which keeps all development centered in a dense, core area.

“If you drive into Steamboat Springs, you’ll drive through an open valley floor, then hit this hard urban growth. That’s on purpose,” he said.

Metro district representatives also were concerned about traffic, both in the Edwards core and on Interstate 70.

White said that while some sort of rail might be in the future, some short-term solutions are needed. The state needs to identify “choke points” that can cause traffic jams miles back, he said.

The interstate needs a makeover, it should be done in phases, he said.

“It could be something like a bus lane that turns into a rail lane,” he said. “We’ll have to go back to the voters some time to OK a transit bond.”

Staff Writer Melanie Wong can be reached at 970-748-2928 or mwong@vaildaily.com.


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