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Steamboat Springs — Wide-ranging recommendations from the Transportation Solutions Committee include proposals for extending the Yampa River Core Trail, adjusting parking restrictions in downtown Steamboat Springs and studying options to reduce congestion on U.S. Highway 40.

The recommendations will be discussed at two upcoming open houses.

The Transportation Solutions Committee was formed in June 2008 and is divided into six focus groups: Highway 40 congestion, local transit and parking, regional transit, pedestrian and bicycle access, rural roads and air service/airport. At the open houses, each focus group will present recommendations for its respective transportation topic, said Meagan Coates, community development manager with the Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association.

The Transportation Solutions Committee hopes to validate its recommendations and gauge the willingness of the community to support any, all or none of them with some sort of tax or ballot measure, Chamber Executive Vice President Sandy Evans Hall said.

The focus groups also will share studies members reviewed, and explain how members came to their recommendations, Coates said.

"We want tons of people to show up so we can get a lot of feedback," Coates said.

The open houses are from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Centennial Hall, including a presentation to the Steamboat Springs City Council at 5 p.m. A second open house is from 4 to 7 p.m. March 9 at Howelsen Hill's Olympian Hall.

It probably will take about two months after the conclusion of the community open houses to finalize the results and recommendations, Evans Hall said. At that point, the committee will explore potential funding mechanisms to carry out the recommendations.

"If the community's willing, we're looking at 2010 at the earliest," Evans Hall said.

Other funding options studied include a proposed regional transportation authority covering Routt and Moffat counties.

Several of the focus groups' recommendations touch on such an entity - the pedestrian and bicycle access group identified a regional transportation authority as a dedicated funding source for its goals, and the regional transportation focus group recommends using an RTA to fund and operate regional bus service between Steamboat Springs and Craig. Regional bus service, operated by Steamboat Springs Transit, is funded by Routt and Moffat counties and the towns of Steamboat Springs, Craig and Hayden.

Not all recommendations were created equal in terms of the money and effort needed to accomplish them, Evans Hall said.

Although the rural roads focus group seeks to find funding for $23 million in infrastructure improvements on county roads and for construction of the Slate Creek Connector Road, the local transit and parking group was able to easily consolidate downtown shuttle shops and move them off Lincoln Avenue in late 2008, Evans Hall said.

"That was a great first step that happened very quickly, before ski season got started," Evans Hall said. "It's empowered the groups to see that we can get things done, without a tax issue."

Evans Hall also urged Routt County residents to take the committee's survey, which is available online at www.steamboat-chamber.com/info/transportation.solutions.asp. The survey provides an opportunity for those unable to attend the open houses to give their feedback and suggestions on the Transportation Solutions Committee's recommendations.