Friday — March 12, 2004

Jitney may help
soothe hot tootsies

---

By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Ketchum residents and visitors may get relief for hot, weary feet when tackling errands this summer in the downtown business district.

Under a new initiative, associates of the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau are researching the costs and logistics of establishing a jitney service in the city core.

Maurice Charlat, an at-large member of the Chamber board of directors and former member of the Ketchum City Council, said Wednesday that he is in the initial phase of determining whether it is feasible to commence a frequent trolley service that exclusively serves central Ketchum.

Charlat said the plan has piqued the interest of numerous business operators but has not yet been adequately defined to determine how it could be managed or funded.

"There are no operational plans in shape," he said. "It’s just an idea."

Charlat said a presentation of the idea made last month to the Chamber board fostered enough support for the board to call for additional research.

The presentation made to the Chamber board proposed acquiring one or two jitney vehicles that could be included in a downtown Ketchum transportation program for approximately five months per year, from late spring into early fall.

The jitney would likely be an open-air, gas-powered vehicle that makes frequent stops at the Ketchum Post Office and mercantile centers. Many such vehicles used by other communities resemble San Francisco cable cars.

A route plan and cost estimate for the project have not been determined.

Charlat said Wednesday the plan could include establishing a vehicle lease agreement with a desert Southwest community—such as Palm Desert, Calif.—that uses public jitneys on a predominantly winter schedule.

"We should be able to rent or lease something from somebody," he said.

Charlat noted that he will research the plan and report his findings to a Chamber executive committee led by board member Pam Colesworthy.

Charlat, who also serves as vice-chairman of the Ketchum Area Rapid Transit board, said KART has discussed the jitney concept previously. He said KART has made no decision to fund the project but could be hired as the manager of the program.

William Cassell, chairman of the KART board, said Wednesday that KART would be willing to consider involvement in the project.

"We have not yet seen a proposal from the Chamber," Cassell said. "If we get an official proposal, we’ll look at it."

Cassell said KART operates on a "very, very tight budget" but would consider acting as the management agency for the jitney program if it proceeded.

"Anything we can do to help the merchants, we’re willing to do."

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.