Lots of appeal to Lift One project

I’ve been following the Lift One project for some time now and, although I can’t vote in Aspen, I do have some thoughts to share.

I like that the developers, Aspen Skiing Co. and the city worked together to come up with something for everyone. That is hard to do and won’t necessarily happen again. Frankly, I was surprised that moving the lift down the hill was so important to so many, given climate change and less snow, but it was. This group listened and did as people asked.

Housing: Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley’s housing problem is huge, and has been for some time. It is long past time to close the affordable-housing loopholes. Lift One will contribute somewhat to the problem, but it is definitely not the source of the problem. And the problem will remain huge whether Lift One passes or not.

On the other hand, the opportunity to bring Lift 1A down the hill and create a great second access to Aspen Mountain is here now. It’s a very good project with a lot of very good things, with a local developer. If I were an Aspen resident, I’d vote “yes” for Lift One.

And then I’d vote for a mayor and City Council that wants to come up with real solutions for the housing problem. It’s not easy. We should demand they do so before the issue gets sidelined again, only to become a sticking point in the next development conversation.

It’s easy to complain and criticize and a lot harder to solve things. But we can try!

Jill Soffer

Carbondale