Council ponders car cap
No more cars to enter Ketchum in 2021 than now
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Ketchum officials are proposing to declare war on the
automobile.
City Council members said Monday they generally support
adoption of a proposed resolution that would attempt to limit the number
of cars entering the city to what it is now.
The draft states, "City staff is hereby directed to
prepare policies for the Ketchum comprehensive plan which state that the
city’s transportation improvement goal is to limit the number of
vehicles in the year 2021 to that number of vehicles present in 2001 and
to include action plans to specifically implement this goal."
On average, 17,600 vehicle trips are logged on Highway 75
between Ketchum and Hailey each day. Unchecked, the Idaho Transportation
Department projects, that number could climb to 28,900 in 20 years.
Ketchum’s proposal is largely based on a transportation
study that was finished in February by consultant Roger Millar, who was
hired by Blaine County.
One of the most important steps to improving
transportation in general, Millar’s "Blaine County Public
Transportation Feasibility Study" recommends, is halting the
proliferation of cars here, "because we want the people, we just don’t
want the impact the cars would cause."
The concept might sound like a tall order, but it’s what
Aspen did in 1994, limiting daily car trips to 23,800. Now, 20 years
later, Aspen proved that limiting cars can work if alternative modes of
transportation and creative thinking are embraced.
Ketchum’s draft resolution hangs its hat on Millar’s
study and includes many of its recommendations.
The city’s goals, some of which would require
cooperation with other municipalities, are as follows:
Enhance KART service, commit additional funds to the Wood
River Rideshare program, promote high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on
Highway 75, develop a city-wide transportation management plan,
participate in the formation of a regional transit authority (RTA), and
implement paid parking in Ketchum.
It’s a package of "carrots and sticks," in
Millar’s words. There must be disincentives for those who wish to drive—paid
parking—and incentives for those who wish to help reduce cars on the
roads—HOV lanes for car-poolers, for example.
The council scheduled another public hearing on the matter
for its March 19 meeting, but a handful of comments were offered Monday.
Ketchum planning and zoning commissioner Susan Scovell
called the plan "important," "long-overdue" and
"wonderfully written."
Ketchum resident Mickey Garcia was outraged and ticked off
a series of short objections.
"You’re not like Aspen," he said.
"Government transportation, what you’re calling public
transportation, is a failure.
"You can’t make an HOV lane out of something that’s
a mile or less long. It’s fear and loathing."
Aspen assistant city manager Randy Ready said Ketchum’s
draft list of transportation goals "sounds like a pretty good
combination of both incentives and disincentives."
He said Aspen conducted three years worth of public
meetings and education efforts on the issue of limiting cars entering the
city before implementing any one part of its plan, which included
increasing public transportation and implementing paid parking.
Another cornerstone to the Roaring Fork Valley’s
success, Ready said, is the cooperation between the valley’s cities.
"We can’t solve this problem one jurisdiction at a
time. We need to plan together so we’re not just pushing our problems
from one place to another."
