Vice Mayor Andy Bateman's Response to Article about Downtown Loveland Traffic

I have been reading the recent opinions in the Loveland Daily and the discussion stemming from it on social media. When it comes to what the city has done to address traffic; I don't think I could adequately list off all the items I've voted on since taking office because it would be too numerous. I don't agree with the premise of the article that downtown Loveland should not have through traffic. I suppose that's because I commute that stretch of road multiple times per day. As we celebrate the city's milestone birthday this year, consider that since the town's founding the railroad brought people and goods through Loveland as well as to Loveland. I don’t see street traffic as an either/or issue nor do I believe that it should be attempted to solve it in this way. I don’t believe that pursuing a bridge crossing in municipalities north of Loveland to create a downtown Loveland bypass is a good idea for the economic vitality of downtown. These are just a few of my initial impressions, you know from our conversations that I could go on for some time about this. I believe a review of the councilmanic goals over the last several years would yield more specific actions that the city has taken to facilitate BOTH a more efficient thoroughfare AND a more accommodating pedestrian streetscape.  There's more work to be done in these areas but not so much as to assume we'll be tackling them forever.

Thanks for reaching out,

Andy Bateman

Councilmember

City of Loveland