There’s growing evidence a transmountain diversion of a different sort is under way in Colorado. Weary of fighting traffic and paying the increasing costs of renting and buying housing in the Front Range and Denver, people are moving to the West Slope and Grand Junction.

Certainly some of the migrants are retirees who cash out the equity in their homes, move to the Grand Valley, buy or build new homes and pocket the difference. But others are young adults, many of whom work remotely and therefore can live anywhere there’s good internet access. Still others are entrepreneurs who’re bringing their businesses along with them.

Gene Fourney, the subject of the cover story in this very issue of the Business Times, constitutes an illustrative case in point. Tired of the increasing traffic and rising rents, Fourney moved to Grand Junction late last year. In the process, he opened a local office of InteractiveWest, his internet marketing and web development firm. He also launched TechnologyWest to provide information technology services.

In June, the RockyMounts bicycle rack manufacturer announced it will relocate its headquarters from Boulder to a business park under development near Las Colonias Park in Grand Junction. Bobby Noyes, founder and president of RockyMounts, said he was looking for a larger facility as well as a different location for his operation and staff, one that offered more affordable housing.

That’s just two notable examples. There are others. There likely will be more.

Fourney cites a study that found that two-thirds of people who rent in Denver plan to move because of the increasing cost of housing — not only rents, but also rising house prices that make the prospect of buying a home and settling down less likely. Most of those people love Colorado, though, and plan to move to other areas of the state with more affordable housing.

The situation presents an opportunity for the Grand Valley to market the area as a place that offers less traffic, lower housing and real estate costs and a better quality of life with ample opportunities for outdoor recreation. Picture a billboard along Interstate Highway 25 near downtown Denver showing commuters stuck in traffic just what they’re missing — a couple enjoying a bike ride through the Colorado National Monument or picking up some fresh peaches at a farmers market.

Of course, there’s always a risk associated with too much of a good thing, and that’s the possibility efforts to attract more people and businesses to the Grand Valley eventually could create the very circumstances those people were trying to escape. That’s why a long-term, proactive and holistic approach will be required.

For starters, more housing is needed. Demand already exceeds supply in the Grand Valley, an imbalance that’s resulted in low inventories and rising prices. Hopefully, market forces will prompt the construction of not only affordable new homes, but also apartments as well as mixed used developments that combine housing, office spaces and retail establishments in one convenient location.

Additional infrastructure, especially streets that can accommodate more traffic, also will be needed. Efforts to maintain and expand streets that add to the routes people use to get around and spread around the traffic load should be encouraged.

At the same time, it’s important to preserve the natural areas — and recreational activities that occur on them — that create such a unique value proposition for the Grand Valley.

People who come to Colorado for jobs and lifestyle are increasingly likely to find what they’re looking for in the Grand Valley. It’s a matter of offering those attributes on a sustainable basis.