Summit Ridge Residents Fail to Persuade BLM to Build Parking Lot, But County Will Maintain Road

Summit Ridge residents concerned about the impacts of a new trailhead near their subdivision renewed their pleas for help Monday before the Montezuma County commissioners in a continuation of a previous public hearing. Attorney Jon Kelly, representing some of the residents, said the trailhead onto BLM land raises health and safety concerns because of increased traffic and parking along the narrow, privately maintained Road 35.6. He said the BLM needed to build a parking lot to prevent chaos. But representatives of the BLM have said there is no money for a lot. The county commissioners then voted unanimously to change the subdivision roads from red- to green-signed, meaning they will now be maintained once a year. The county will provide gravel for the residents to spread.