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RFTA To Consider Extending Comment Period on Controversial Plan

rfta.com

  The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority will likely consider extending the comment period for its controversial plan. RFTA has gotten a strong reaction to its December draft access plan, including accusations of stealing or limiting access to private property. Aspen Public Radio’s Elise Thatcher has more.

The latest round of questions came Tuesday during a work session by the Garfield County commissioners. The board took public comments, which included Rex Shuster. The RFTA bus driver was visibly upset aboutthe agency's survey of property along its railroad corridor. That shows 200 feet of adjacent federal land that appears to swallow up his family's land.

 

“My parents bought that property in 1947. When the Coal Subdivision was developed. And now you’re showing it comes up clear to the first house. There’s two houses on that property, so there’s one whole house that’s history now, if this is true,” he says.

RFTA’s team working on the plan point out that federal land has been in place for decades and was made public in 2009. It’s per national guidelines, but RFTA’s goal is to not take personal property. Officials instead aim to iron out that conflict and preserve how things operate now.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the public comment period deadline on RFTA’s website was incorrect. The cut off so far is through this Sunday, February 9th. RFTA’s board will decide next week whether to extend it. To see the plan, click here. An overview of the documents involved can be found here.

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