Mt. Crested Butte trying to be more electric car friendly

Stubborn state rule hinders green power

Before you know it, motorists in Mt. Crested Butte may be humming along in futuristic electric vehicles. Crested Butte Mountain Resort officials came before the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council last week looking for permission to drive their new electric shuttles along Emmons Road, but apparently a state traffic law restricts traffic to only one specific type of electric vehicle.

On January 20, the Town Council approved their first ordinance of the year, allowing the use of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) on streets in Mt. Crested Butte. Gothic Road is fair game under the current ordinance, but the town’s authority ends past the water treatment plant and the stretch of state highway between Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte.
Mt. Crested Butte attorney Rod Landwehr said the town can authorize only NEVs to drive on town streets, not electric shuttles or golf carts. He said the vehicle’s bill of sale must specifically mention NEV or Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. By state law, NEVs are not allowed on highways or streets with speed limits in excess of 25 mph.
CBMR vice president of sales and marketing Daren Cole said the resort would like to be able to pick up passengers in the main parking lot with their new electric shuttles and drive them along Emmons Road to get to the base area. He said they also needed to pull through the town’s bus loop to enter the Mountaineer Square garage, where the vehicles can be charged.
Furthermore, Cole said there was some confusion regarding the type of electric shuttles CBMR had purchased. CBMR recently purchased two electric shuttles from a West Coast supplier, but the company sent out a “loaner” shuttle because the others were backordered.
Cole said he did not know if the two shuttles CBMR ordered were NEVs, but the one the resort was currently using was not. “It appears the ones we’re going to get may have some limitations as well,” he said.
Landwehr said the statute’s definition of NEV included a description that the vehicles can have a maximum speed of only 25 miles per hour. He said the rules restricting their travel were made to prevent slow-moving traffic from clogging up roads. “You can tell by the definition there is going to be a conflict with the speed of these vehicles when the speed limit is greater than 25 miles an hour,” he said.
Town manager Joe Fitzpatrick said the Mt. Crested Butte police department was concerned about the potential traffic conflicts between electric vehicles, buses, plow equipment and utility trucks. Fitzpatrick said it was the uphill lane on Gothic Road that caused the most concern, as it was assumed that electric vehicles would struggle on the incline.
However, Landwehr said restricting NEVs on Gothic Road would limit the usefulness of the ordinance for other citizens who may want an electric vehicle. “By keeping them off Gothic Road you kind of limit their utility to the vast majority of people that want to own one,” he said.
Landwehr said he and Fitzpatrick had considered writing an ordinance that restricted NEVs from driving along Gothic Road, but would allow them to cross the road. The idea would be to zigzag through town to reach a destination, but Fitzpatrick said after consulting the town map, none of the intersections line up.
The ordinance town staff presented to the council included restrictions against travel on Gothic Road. Fitzpatrick said that was a point they could discuss, but the council wasn’t immediately ready to approve the ordinance. Mayor William Buck suggested council table the issue until the next meeting. “I think conceptually everyone agrees it’s a great idea, but our hands are tied,” he said.
Councilman Bill Babbitt said if they did approve the ordinance they should eliminate references to Gothic Road to keep the access open. “If I can only stay on my little road, what’s the use of having [an electric car]. I could go to my neighbor’s house, I guess,” he quipped.
Councilman Gary Keiser agreed that travel on Gothic Road should be allowed. He noted that pedestrians and bikers travel along Gothic Road and cause the same traffic safety issues.
Cole requested the Town Council to still consider approving the ordinance that evening to keep the ball moving in case CBMR’s vehicles do turn out to be NEVs. He also said he had spoken with some residents in the Prospect subdivision interested in purchasing NEVs.
Crested Butte resident and NEV owner John O’Neal also spoke in support of an ordinance allowing electric vehicle use. O’Neal said he uses his NEV all the time in the town of Crested Butte, although the town doesn’t have an ordinance allowing their use. However, O’Neal said he went to the county’s motor vehicle clerk and got some license plates for his NEV and thought he was good to go.
Prior to the meeting, O’Neal said he loves driving his NEV. He even bought studded snow tires for it, and says it costs him about two cents per mile to drive. “I think electric cars are the future,” he says. O’Neal says he’d like to encourage the town of Crested Butte to pass a similar ordinance.
Crested Butte town clerk Eileen Hughes confirmed that the town doesn’t have anything on the books authorizing electric vehicle use, but the town has made exceptions on some streets for the use of kick sleds, Nordic skis, and snowmobiles.
After making some last-minute revisions to the ordinance to allow travel on Gothic Road, the Mt. Crested Butte council unanimously approved it. Councilman Mike Kube was absent, recovering from a knee injury.
Only a handful of cities in Colorado allow the use of NEVs, including Boulder, Denver, Ridgway, Telluride and Aspen.
The city of Gunnison uses an electric vehicle for government functions. City clerk Gail Davidson says Gunnison’s electric vehicle is registered as a full-size automobile. During a work session on February 3, the Gunnison City Council will discuss the possibility of allowing smaller NEVs on town streets.
The Mt. Crested Butte council will consider Ordinance No.1 again at second reading during their meeting on February 3.