“We Are All Concerned,” Community seeks solutions for Teton Pass safety
WILSON, Wyo. (KIFI) — Residents from both sides of Teton Pass came together Monday night to discuss ways to make one of the region's busiest roads safer following a series of serious and deadly crashes.
Drivers discussed several potential solutions, including building a port of entry, staffing the weigh station, improving signage, restricting large vehicles, increasing education and even building a tunnel.
During the discussion, a trucking company owner, a former Wyoming Highway Patrol officer and a former Wyoming legislator shared their perspectives on the challenges facing Teton Pass and offered potential solutions for improving safety.
The meeting was organized by a group of seven community members, including Gary Kofinas, whose friend was killed when a dump truck lost control on Teton Pass.
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"We are all concerned and feel the need to do something. And so we agreed that probably the first step was to bring our community together, let them express their concerns, give them some basic information, and start the conversation about what are the possible solution," Kofinas said.
Corey Milligan, another organizer advocating for safety measures on Teton Pass, said Monday's meeting is only the beginning. Organizers plan to continue conversations over the next month before recommending any changes.
"The plan is to spend 30 days engaging with all the stakeholders and really hearing more deeply what everyone thinks are the best solutions. And then for us to decide and make a plan of what we think are the best solutions and what we're going to then start advocating for," Milligan said.
Representatives from the Wyoming Highway Patrol and Wyoming Department of Transportation attended the meeting to hear public feedback and answer questions about safety on the pass.
"We hear complaints of people saying 'there's this vehicle traveling after this hour,' and 'we want to see more enforcement. We want to see more rules,' and those are all things we're listening for because we want people to understand that this is their road as well. We want them to feel safe traveling it," Arron Healy with the Wyoming Highway Patrol said.
Kofinas and Milligan said Monday's meeting was intended to begin a larger community conversation, with the goal of working alongside transportation officials and lawmakers to find solutions that could reduce crashes and save lives on Teton Pass.
"I lost a friend that was at my house one minute and ten minutes later, he passed away. And it's pretty powerful to have that experience. And so my small part is to try and raise awareness and get a response," Kofinas said.
