Not private letter to the editor

On Sunday afternoon, 08.31.2019, I took Larry Valdez Way to town.  At the highway intersection lay a beautiful, large deer: DEAD.  Durango spends huge amounts on the River Trail: extending, concrete-paving, and building an underpass (humans don’t get hit by cars).  When is the city going to provide safe passage for wildlife that must cross the highway for a drink of water?  When is the city going change speed limits on the south edge of town just as they are on the north end of town?  People on the south end are kept awake all night by the sound of heavy traffic.  How many more crashes have to happen before speeds are reduced?  Many big cities have low-speed limits when you aren’t even close to the city. Why does Durango allow 50 MPH highway speeds to continue up to Larry Valdez Way?

I came here at one-third the salary offered elsewhere.  I chose Durango over cities because I wanted a slower pace, having grown up in a small town.   It’s a different lifestyle.  There was no four-lane highway then, and wildlife generally wasn’t killed in town.  It’s time Durango leaders become aware of how they are changing this town.  It’s time to focus on the welfare of the people and wildlife if they want Durango to continue being “a good place for families.”  There’s still a chance of keeping that image.  But the direction Durango has been heading is a poor copy of the cities many residents came here to avoid.