Telluride, Colorado — After nearly three decades of serving millions of visitors, a new town gondola could soon be coming to Telluride.
The Telluride Daily Planet reported last week that the Gondola Leadership Committee had its latest meeting to discuss replacing the Town Gondola, which could begin construction in 2028. Over the past few years, the Town of Telluride and Mountain Village, among other local entities, have been developing a plan to replace the existing town gondola.
In June 2022, the Gondola Leadership Committee officially recommended replacing the gondola with a new one. On July 22nd, they had their fourteenth meeting, bringing them one step closer to it becoming a reality. In November, a likely ballot measure in Telluride will let voters decide whether to approve the funding methods for the new gondola.
Opened in 1996, the town gondola of Telluride to Mountain Village serves around 3 million passengers each year. The Town of Mountain Village owns and operates the gondola and will continue to do so until the end of 2027. Working long hours over the past few decades, an increasing need for more challenging parts, and an insufficient capacity for modern demands mean that a replacement is needed. After that, the San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) will operate it.
The tricky part of this development is funding this new lift, as the new gondola would be free to ride. Telluride Ski & Golf (TelSki) is considering adding a 4% fee on lift ticket sales, which would go towards gondola operations. In November, a ballot measure will either allow or deny SMART the ability to use various measures to fund the gondola. According to the Telluride Daily Planet, these taxes could include “bonds, sales tax (not to exceed 2%), visitor benefit tax (not to exceed 2%), and a mill levy of up to five mills on all taxable property.” This would go towards the maintenance and operations of the gondola.
While some want TelSki to foot more of the bill, others disagree. Chad Horning, who’s the co-owner of Telski, described where the majority of the ridership is from:
“Somewhere in the neighborhood of 95% of the ridership is not specifically using it as a ski lift, and it’s become more of a public transportation project or device than it is something for the ski mountain.We’re being asked to put more money into something that we feel is public transportation, not a ski lift.”
Stacy Ticsay, who runs a short-term rental business, spoke out against an additional lodging tax:
“We have seen the effects of higher and higher short term rental taxes, and I don’t think that it is equitable. You just don’t realize how expensive you’re making it when you keep adding more and more taxes, and you don’t know what visitors you’re pricing out. I just want to say that I am opposed to an additional lodging tax and in support of the sales tax.”
The funding proposal will need to be submitted by early September to be on the ballot in November 2024, which seems likely. If everything goes according to plan, they aim to begin constructing the new town lift in 2028.
Image Credits: Visit Telluride, Logan Moreno Gutierrez, Telluride Ski & Golf
