Richards: What the poll should ask

Push polls deliver pre-determined outcomes. The draft entrance to Aspen poll gives that appearance.
The poll doesn’t ask “how frustrated are you with backed-up traffic on both sides of the Castle Creek Bridge?”

It lacks context for its questions “how important is transit?” and “should the entrance address congestion downtown?” — without mentioning the RFTA transit system that delivers thousands of guests, workers and residents to Aspen without cars, or the millions in sales and property taxes residents pay for the Local Down Valley, Bus Rapid Transit, Snowmass Village, Burlingame, Cemetery Lane, Castle/Maroon, Skier Shuttles and Music Student routes.

It doesn’t ask if ending West End cut-through traffic, or if maximizing Brush Creek Park n’ Ride use are priorities.

Its sequence asks about impacts on the Marolt, implying the whole property would be used, rather than “portions of the Marolt” and without mentioning what the improvements could be: realigning and creating new bike, walking, cross-county trails and wildlife corridor by joining the golf course and Marolt — no longer bisected by Colorado Highway 82.

It asks about “clean air” without asking if reducing auto emissions or addressing climate change are important.

The poll asks if having the city pay $150 million for a new bridge is OK — without saying what the city source would be.

It focuses on the past and physical layout, not what the real problems Aspen and commuters on Highway 82 need to solve.

Council, please take time to revise — and conduct in December — when our seasonal traffic returns!

Rachel Richards

Aspen