Steamboat Springs — As the first week of work on a new roundabout ended, the Urban Redevelopment Area Advisory Commission discussed ideas for two more intersections at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area.

Construction started Monday on a roundabout at Mount Werner Circle and Apres Ski Way. On Friday, Carlos Hernandez of consultants Fehr & Peers presented options for the spots where Burgess Creek Road and Ski Time Square Drive meet Mount Werner Circle.

Although they stated their preferred choices, the panel opted to give Hernandez's team more time to plan. Members asked him to return to the advisory commission's May 23 meeting.

One of the concerns for Burgess Creek is its steep grade, panel members said. The first option for the crossing would add a snowmelt system, a bus stop and new pedestrian crossings. The road grade would not change.

The panel preferred that instead of the second option, which would involve realigning the road, reducing the grade and reconnecting it to Rockies Way.

One possibility for the busy Ski Time Square Drive/Mount Werner Circle crossing would make it a four-way-stop intersection. That would result in lines several cars long, Hernandez said.

"If you wanted to not spend money and use the capital elsewhere, you could do this option," he said.

The advisory panel wasn't keen on the idea.

"A four-way stop has no class," member Bill Jameson said. He and others preferred the second option, which features a roundabout at the intersection.

The roundabout suggested is large enough for a 45-foot tour bus to navigate, Hernandez said. Most tour buses around Steamboat Springs are shorter than that, he said.

The panel is "going back to the drawing board to see if there are some other ideas," redevelopment coordinator Joe Kracum said.

"Carlos laid out his best ideas. : We gave our committee a lot of information today," he said Friday. "That's why I said, 'I don't want a recommendation today. I want you to sit on it, think about it.'"

Also at Friday's meeting:

- Kracum gave members a chart to help them prioritize. The preliminary document included projects in which URAAC has been interested. It was an "unconstrained, if you had all the money in the world" overview, Kracum said.

- The panel also told city Finance Director Lisa Rolan she could explore getting an independent consultant to examine the sales tax impact of the closure of Ski Time Square. The law privatizes much of that information, she said, so a consultant's assessment could give the city a better idea of the effects. Having an idea of the financial impact would help the city decide how to handle bond issues, she said.

- To reach Blythe Terrell, call 871-4234

or e-mail bterrell@steamboatpilot.com