The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
No drive to reclaim alleys
[ By Mark Reaman ]There will be no increase in the traditional maintenance of the Crested Butte alleys this summer. In fact, the Crested Butte town council on Monday, April 1 said it was leaning on the side of providing low versus high maintenance of town alleys while continuing what has been done in the past to maintain historical access.
Crested Butte Public Works director Shea Earley said the town owns approximately 28,446 feet of alley rights-of-way. They range from 16 to 20 feet wide and while some are used for residential and commercial access, others are barely delineated as alleys. Some are used for snow storage in winter and alleys are a utility corridor throughout town. In a memo to the council, Earley said the town’s goal “is to provide safe, accessible alleys, while managing drainage where applicable.”
The town spends on average between $2,000 and $5,000 annually for alley maintenance. The amount of use and type of development along an alley determines its priority for maintenance. Staff capacity also plays a role in how much is done each summer.
Responding to a question from councilmember Mallika Magner, Earley said water main breaks do not occur because of winter plowing. He said breaks in the town’s main water lines might occur because of movement in the soil and poor installation of the main. He said some service lines from the main to homes might freeze at times which would occur where the private lines were not buried deep enough to handle winter freezes.
“Plowing the alleys could have an impact on the private lines leading to houses freezing,” said Earley. “Snow acts as insulation so plowing can compromise the pipes. The service pipes are owned by the property owner and if there is a consistent issue, they might consider digging up the problem line and putting it deeper.”
“We hear a lot of people who don’t want maintenance on their alleys,” said Magner. “What do you hear?”
“It’s probably 50/50 for us,” said Earley. “Half will be out yelling at us when we’re working on an alley and the other half will be trying to give us a bottle of liquor in appreciation.”
Councilmember Anna Fenerty said for her it was simple. She said the town should not upgrade alleys that need reclamation work, and such spaces should be deemed pedestrian.
“I agree with Anna. I lean on the side of keeping those wild,” said mayor Ian Billick. They are places to walk and shouldn’t be a financial priority for the town.”
“I echo that,” said councilmember Jason MacMillan. “If there is a problem then there is a need to fix it, but I would support erring on the side of rough edges.”
Fenerty asked if the town could fill alley potholes instead of grading the entire alley when potholes appear. Earley said that idea would not work given the weather and that grading is necessary to solve that problem to avoid constant maintenance.
“For many of us, the alleys are a place of respite,” said Magner. “It is also important to keep that.”
Given the comments of the council, when it comes to maintaining alley rights-of-way, that will remain the case.
