Council extends tubing ban for 2 more years
Tuesday, March 5, 2002
Steamboat Springs — The City Council decided Tuesday commercial tubing above Fifth Street will be banned for another two years by a vote of 6 to 1.
The decision came after more than one hour of deliberation and, as it did last year, nearly had the council in fits.
In the end, council members acknowledged the ordinance was far from perfect and the disruption the tubers cause to some people will not be overlooked by the city. Still, the city wanted to extend the ban to spread out the use of the river and decrease conflict among user groups while continuing to study the issue.
In the meantime, the city will try to make sure the tubers behave themselves as much as tubers can be expected to behave themselves. The city doesn't want Dream Island trailer park residents listening to obscene comments and having to deal with unruly tubers.
The interest groups involved could not come to a consensus or agree on just about anything.
Fly fishers wanted the ban extended indefinitely and said they would not likely be doing stewardship projects to help the upper part of the river without a better sense that the work they do will be protected.
Dream Island residents were upset the city suddenly dumped thousands of tubers behind their homes.
And some tubing company owners felt they were being pushed away unfairly.
Parks and Recreation Director Chris Wilson said he isn't sure all of these issues will ever be fully resolved.
"We will not be able to eliminate all the conflicts," he said.
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