Dear Editor:

The city of Aspen is going to ask vot­ers for approval for “a change in use” of property originally acquired for open space, and already conveyed to the state of Colorado, in order to build two addi­tional highway lanes reserved exclusive­ly for buses.

However, they are only asking for this change of use from Buttermilk to the roundabout because, regarding what to do with the last leg into town through the Marolt property, “It appears unlikely that broad community support among Aspen voters will emerge over the next few months …”

Broad community support for a four­lane highway through the Marolt would have “emerged” last November if the city hadn’t blocked a petition drive to demon­strate that very point.

Can it be any more juvenile for a bunch of grown-ups to pretend they don’t know what option a majority of voters would support? Do council members expect us to believe that they interfered with the demo­cratic process because they thought the idea of building a four-lane highway, accessible to everyone, would fail?

If they believed in their position to the slightest degree, they would not have placed themselves in the absurd position of simply never speaking of the dreaded proposal, as though silence would make it go away. These folks are trapped in a Henry James parody of their own mak­ing, and it would be sadly funny if not for the rest of us, stuck in the greater absurdity of a totally unnecessary and artificial traffic jam.

To the people of Aspen: You should elect a new council that actually respects your intelligence. If you do that, and vote down the bus lanes, the traffic jam can be eliminated in the very near future.

Choose bus lanes, and your leaders will preserve the gridlock for future gen­erations.

Jeffrey Evans

Basalt