After reading last week’s letters to the editor, I feel the need to respond to set the record straight with regards to an 84% mandate of support for OHVs and the dire consequences for the Town of Lake City if we don’t give the OHV crowd everything and more.
First off, a small civics lesson – when it comes to electing County Commissioners, it’s the voters that matter. With that, let’s review two of the Hinsdale County OHV Program Survey results specific to the voter responses:
Question 49: Would you prefer to see OHVs use the existing staging/loading area outside of town instead of giving OHVs access to Highway 149?
Yes responses: 133
No responses: 132
I do not know: 25
Question 54: If you supported the OHV pilot program in 2019, what is your level of support today?
Greater support: 49
Equal support: 61
Less support: 39
No support: 46
Did not support in 2019: 84
Other: 10
Based on the voter survey results, 169 out of 289 (58%) have less support or no support for the pilot program in 2023/2024 when compared with 2019. This result assumes those who didn’t support in 2019 still do not in 2023/24. Results in question 49 seem pretty obvious – more voters specifically stated they would like OHVs to be staged vs allowed to use highway 149. Per the voters who filled out the survey, I see less of a mandate for the pilot program and more of a desire to scale back the program.
Second, let’s review the original purpose of the pilot program. It was to complete the loop, if I’m not mistaken. Now, it has grown beyond, requesting access to Woodlake RV Park and the Toy Wash. I consider myself a geography buff, but even if I wasn’t, I think I could figure out that neither of those are destinations on the Alpine Loop. The “OHVs must have everything they want” crowd would suggest that tourists will abandon Lake City if we don’t expand the pilot program or if there is a shortened OHV season – hogwash! Three thoughts with this. 1. Where are tourists going to go instead? Are they going to Moab for the 100+ degree heat? Will they skip the Alpine Loop and all it has to offer because they cannot ride on highway 149 to the Toy Wash in Lake City? Maybe they will stay in Silverton or Ouray instead where they have to trailer their OHVs. 2. For many people, it’s a badge of honor to say they’ve been coming to Lake City for 30, 40 or 50 years and beyond. They came to Lake City before OHVs; will people stop coming to Lake City if they can’t have free OHV reign in our town and beyond? 3. Tourists that visit our town with their OHVs can trailer them hundreds of miles to get here – why can’t they trailer them to an area to use? Is their main desire to just ride around town and on highway 149, or is it to see the Alpine Loop and other areas of Hinsdale County?
Fear mongering runs rampant these days. Bold statements such as Lake City falling on its face if we don’t kowtow to OHVs is just silly. Last June while visiting Gunnison, I noticed how City Market was virtually empty mid-day. I’m sure it was because the OHV pilot program in LC was rolled back to mid-June; certainly there is no other explanation for it. Lake City is absolutely at or beyond carrying capacity for most of the summer. Not expanding OHV access isn’t a death knell. With a reduced pilot program this past June, June 2024 physical tax receipts were up 14.8% in the town and 19.5% in the county when compared to 2023. I would say that reducing OHV access further wouldn’t matter either. Again, where else are tourists going to go? Are all visitors from Texas and Oklahoma going to stay in TX or OK and ride their OHVs there? I doubt it. Other than those arriving from the west side of the Alpine Loop on an OHV, just about every other tourist that arrives in town arrives in a passenger vehicle. It would be great if we could encourage those tourists to use their passenger vehicles more often in town and reduce the noise levels making Lake City a more quaint and quiet town.
To close, I’d like to thank Greg Levine for working for “the quiet half of the town and county.” Survey results by voters indicate the County Commissioners should be working toward compromises or reductions in OHV usage. Elected officials work for all the voters, not just the ones screaming in their faces. Close to half of the voters in the county would prefer less OHV time – that equates to a quieter mountain town. There are always two sides to every story – it’s nice to hear the quiet side once in a while.
Please vote for Greg Levine for County Commissioner.
Sincerely,
Tim Crist
Lake City
