The root of the problem

Dear Editor:Yesterday’s guest opinion regarding the Entrance to Aspen (“Smaller changes may help Entrance to Aspen,” March 7) reveals the root cause of this problem. Smart, articulate Aspenites defending the status quo. No amount of reasoning or facts can persuade them otherwise. Vehicle traffic on Highway 82 is essentially the same since 1993. (Look it up on the Web.) Aspen itself has not really grown like Las Vegas but it has changed. It has become more affluent with more people wanting and being able to afford personal transport. The sequential addition of two lanes over the last 30 years is the reason for traffic density now choking at the last remaining two lanes section.Another $100 million spent on mass transit, now or in the future, will not affect the vehicle counts. Aspen will never become Zermatt where the last construction was probably a paint job in the ’50s. It will continue to be a construction zone for the next 40 years. Dedicated bus lanes don’t do much for construction traffic. Even the maids don’t take the bus if they can afford a car. The only solution is adding two additional lanes for ALL traffic. How did Marolt become such hallowed ground when it was specifically acquired for this purpose?Driving towards the airport I see many hundreds of acres now filled with structures. Why bemoan the few acres it would take to build the two additional lanes? As the Waggaman letter pointed out (letters to the editor, March 7), the Fuller plan is indeed a terrific solution finessing the major objections (maintaining the S-curve in its present configuration and adding two lanes over Marolt (both one-way).It is said that all politics are local. That is a blessing and a curse. Far sighted political leaders recognized this when they created the ICC intended to override local in favor of broader interests when needed. Where are the candidates for political office who are willing to be identified with the solution instead of with the problem?Stefan EdlisAspen