{"id":806599,"date":"2020-04-20T17:38:40","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T23:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=381982"},"modified":"2020-04-20T17:38:40","modified_gmt":"2020-04-20T23:38:40","slug":"officials-say-loveland-pass-barricades-were-a-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/officials-say-loveland-pass-barricades-were-a-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Officials say Loveland Pass barricades were a success"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Colorado Department of Transportation employee uses a loader to deposit snow at a pull-off on the west side of Loveland Pass on Sunday. The CDOT announced Saturday that two parking lots at the 11,990-foot pass would be barricaded “to prevent motorists from parking unsafely on US 6 while recreating on Loveland Pass.”<\/strong>
Jason Connolly \/ jconnolly@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

LOVELAND PASS \u2014 The Colorado Department of Transportation filled a couple of Loveland Pass pullouts with snow<\/a> Sunday in an effort to prevent illegal parking and dangerous driving conditions, and officials say the closures likely will last weeks.<\/p>\n

Parking in recreation areas has become a major issue for CDOT and law enforcement since statewide COVID-19 closures went into effect last month, driving residents and Front Range visitors to popular gathering areas in the Colorado Rockies<\/a>. But things hit a tipping point last weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a reoccurring problem and a growing problem,\u201d CDOT communications manager Elise Thatcher said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working with the Department of Natural Resources and the Colorado State Patrol to try and reach as many people as possible to let them know you really have to be careful where you park on the pass because it\u2019s critical to allow hazmat vehicles to pass through safely. \u2026 We\u2019ve been trying to reach people about this issue for several weeks now. And it\u2019s a situation where it\u2019s actually getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday, CDOT closed down two parking areas \u2014 essentially pullouts that have turned into parking lots for skiers, one at the top of the pass and another at the first hairpin turn near Loveland Ski Area \u2014 that overflowed with cars Saturday and had become dangerous for truckers making their way over the pass.<\/p>\n

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