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The city of Steamboat Springs and Routt County have committed funds in their 2004 budgets to pay for an alternative access for Spring Creek property owners.

If such an access is created, the county would be able to vacate Routt County Road 34, commonly called Spring Creek Road. That means the county could keep it open only to recreational users and authorized vehicles, a step that could lessen conflicts over the road.

The idea to create an alternative access is about 10 years old, said Chris Wilson, director of Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services for Steamboat Springs.

Negotiations are ongoing, and several pieces have to fall into place before the project can happen, he said.

"We don't know whether we are or are not going to do the project," Wilson said. "We're still hopeful that we'll be able to work through the issues with the landowners, but at this point in time, we've come up with some bumps in the road."

Routt County committed $67,000 for the project, and the city of Steamboat Springs committed $15,500. Those funds, if they can be used, would help build a 12-foot-wide gravel road that starts from an existing driveway on Amethyst Road and travels just more than 6,000 feet to the properties above Spring Creek Road.

The funds also would help pay the five property owners who now use Spring Creek Road for giving up access rights.

Two private owners still use Spring Creek Road to access their properties because of where their properties are located.

The properties are not developed, Wilson said, but if they were in the future, conflicts between drivers and recreational users could worsen.

Those conflicts always have been present along Spring Creek Road, but with peer pressure not to drive on the road, they have lessened.

"The problems come when hunters or people who are new to the community are on that county road and are lost because they think they're going to Fish Creek Falls, or they are up there four-wheel driving," Wilson said.

Having an alternate access would benefit landowners, as the new access would be easier to maintain and plow, and, most important, would keep Spring Creek Road free of traffic for recreation.

In the past, some landowners have not agreed to the alternative access, but now most do, Wilson said. The challenge the proposal faces is new fire district regulations for roads.

"The good news is that the county and the city still support the project and put it back into the budget," Wilson said. "My hope is that we'll be able to continue to move forward."

-- To reach Susan Bacon, call 871-4203

or e-mail sbacon@steamboatpilot.com