If Summit County residents were the only ones using the community’s major roadways such as U.S. Highway 6, Colorado Highway 9 and the exits along Interstate 70, most of the negative transportation impacts wouldn’t be.
Summit County government isn’t immune to the community’s staffing challenges, and one of the departments working under the strain of a reduced workforce is the Summit Stage transit system. This summer, the Summit Stage has.
A line of cars parked along Colorado Highway 9 near the Quandary Peak Trailhead outside of Blue River is pictured Tuesday, July 20. Parking along county roads near the trailhead has presented public safety concerns, and local officials are in the midst of ironing out details to help mitigate the issue.
When Summit County officials met last week to discuss some of the measures that will be implemented at the Quandary Peak Trailhead, concerns about how visitors, and especially locals, would access the McCullough Gulch Trailhead nearby were raised.
Summit County Commissioner Elisabeth Lawrence asked the county’s Open Space and Trails Department, Summit County Sheriff’s Office and other stakeholder groups to collaborate and brainstorm potential strategies. At Tuesday’s Summit Board of County Commissioners’ work session meeting, Lawrence said she still felt “uncomfortable” with the solutions presented.
One of Colorado s most popular 14ers to see parking permits by July 30 skyhinews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from skyhinews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Quandary Peak is pictured May 21. The 14,265-foot peak is the most popular 14er in Colorado, attracting hikers, climbers and skiers year-round, which has led to the trailhead parking lot overflowing on busy days and creating traffic issues for nearby residents.
Photo by Jason Connolly / Jason Connolly Photography
Summit County officials, along with leaders from the town of Breckenridge, are pushing forward with some strategies to help mitigate the overcrowded parking at the Quandary Peak trailhead, but more work is to be done to ensure surrounding trailheads, including McCullough Gulch, won’t be negatively impacted.
During a Summit Board of County Commissioners work session Tuesday, July 13, Assistant County Manager Bentley Henderson updated the board on how these various strategies are coming together. While some of the measures can be acted on immediately such as adding an additional 15 to 20 spots to the trailhead’s parking lot, striping the lot to make for more organized