Dear Editor,
One of my mother’s favorite pieces of advice was that when upset about something I should “write a letter”. I find myself following her advice, now that Harder-Diesslin Development Group has proposed putting in a Love’s Travel Stop in Poncha Springs, at the corner of Halley’s Avenue and CR 120, adjacent to my home in Monarch Crossing. I want to stress that “travel stop” is just a painted-pretty way of saying truck stop. I also must tell you that the truck stop would have its two entrances on Halley’s Ave, not on US 50/285. Halley’s Ave is the main road to access my home. It sees a fair amount of traffic and will soon be even busier once the Poncha Meadows housing development is complete.
I’d like to share a story about an incident my previously mentioned mother had roughly 20 years ago in New Castle, CO. Back then, New Castle was experiencing a growth spurt, just like Poncha Springs. The town had a new development that included a City Market, other retail, and a bowling alley. People appreciated the development, as they previously had to travel to neighboring towns for groceries. The development meant more traffic and a four-way traffic stop, which people were learning to navigate.
My mother was going to City Market but wanted to avoid the new four-way stop, so she accessed City Market via the east end of the development by taking a right onto Bruce Road, approaching from westbound U.S. 6 & U.S. 24. There was a semi preparing to exit the development when she approached. There was some successful non-verbal communication between her and the driver, and she waited for him to pull out of the development before she pulled in. Unfortunately, the semi didn’t turn out wide enough and side-swiped mother’s Chevy Malibu with his back tires and trailer, causing significant body damage and giving my mother quite a fright. Fortunately, nobody was injured.
My mother feels that no driver was “at fault” in this accident, but that the circumstances of the road contributed to it. Now we have the possibility of multiple semis driving in our neighborhood. Harder-Diesslin proposes an additional turn lane on Halley’s Ave, bringing it to 36 feet in width from its current 24 feet, but I ask the Town of Poncha Trustees if they would have concerns for their own mother’s safety if she were to run into the proposed truck stop for a few items, just as my mother attempted to run into that City Market.
I support the trucking industry. I support the idea of a truck stop in Poncha Springs. Heck, we ARE the “Crossroads of the Rockies”! I do NOT support a truck stop next to Monarch Crossing
Thank you for your attention,
Leslie Duran
Poncha Springs, CO
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