The Community Brief

The Community Brief | February 10, 2026

PETE'S PERSPECTIVE

One constant about living in the Rockies is that the weather is unpredictable. We will get snow, but when is the only question. On that note, the city’s ice rink at Atkinson Park had to close for the season this week, due to recent warm, rainy weather. On a more positive note, while speaking of ice and snow, the Olympics are on, and our local athletes are in it to win it! Best of luck to them all during this amazing time of their lives.

On the infrastructure front, ITD resumed work last week to complete widening and improvements to the Trail Creek bridge. Bear in mind that only one northbound lane of traffic will be open between River Street and Serenade Lane through completion of the project this fall. Keep that traffic flowing—plan accordingly and be prepared to detour on 2nd Avenue to Serenade Lane when traveling south. Speaking of the detour, last year’s temporary traffic pattern at Serenade Lane and 2nd Avenue, which added stop signs for east and westbound traffic on Serenade to prioritize southbound vehicles on the 2nd Avenue detour, has been reinstated.  

In city business, the City Council gave direction to staff to proceed to the code update phase of the Comprehensive Plan and Code Update project during their joint meeting with the Planning and Zoning Commission on January 22. The entire process will take two to three years. This year, updates will focus on those affecting the Downtown and Mountain Overlay areas, parking, and nonconforming structures. Keep in mind that there will be many opportunities for public input throughout the process, and the Comprehensive Plan can be updated as we go. Learn more at projectketchum.org/code-updates, and please come to the meetings on this topic and stay involved!

Thank you for staying engaged, 

Mayor Pete