Press releases are provided to Yellow Scene Magazine. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Media contact: mediarequests@rtd-denver.com, 720.326.7311

Four virtual meeting options available starting June 22; online survey dashboard available through July 8. 

DENVER (June 10, 2026) – The Regional Transportation District (RTD) is providing customers the opportunity to share feedback on the proposed September 2026 service changes. RTD will provide an overview of these service changes later this month on its website and, once available, customers will be able to provide feedback online through July 8.

The proposed changes would take effect Sunday, Sept. 27. Virtual meetings via Teams outlining the proposed changes will be held at 5:30 p.m. both on Monday, June 22 and on Wednesday, June 24. Two virtual “Ask a Service Planner” sessions will be held at noon on June 22 and June 23.

Customer feedback is important to ensure a more efficient and responsive system that serves community needs. Proposed changes are formulated in response to operational resources, economic factors, traffic patterns, ridership trends, seasonal changes, and to improve reliability and on-time performance.

Ask a Service Planner Public Meeting #1

Monday, June 22, at noon

Click to join

Meeting ID: 275 703 000 807 363

Passcode: nV6RS35y

Proposed September Service Changes Public Meeting #1

Monday, June 22, at 5:30 p.m.

Click to join

Meeting ID: 250 495 323 893 586

Passcode: Kc9xS3Ty

Ask a Service Planner Public Meeting #2

Tuesday, June 23 at noon

Click to join

Meeting ID: 223 902 812 322 999

Passcode: bR24EP3L

Proposed September Service Changes Public Meeting #2

Wednesday, June 24 at 5:30 p.m.

Click to join

Meeting ID: 254 826 249 308 77

Passcode: kK7Ba785

To learn why RTD makes service changes three times a year, watch here.

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) was created in 1969 by the Colorado General Assembly to develop, operate, and maintain a mass transportation system that now benefits more than 3.1 million people in the Denver metro area. The transportation agency is governed by a 15-member publicly elected Board of Directors and has a service area of 2,349 square miles. RTD provides transit services via 126 bus routes, six light rail lines, four commuter rail lines, and paratransit options.

For more information, visit rtd-denver.com/about-rtd or call 303.299.6000.

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Language assistance, including translation and interpretation, is available at no cost to the public. Contact RTD at 303.299.2051 or language-services@rtd-denver.com to request help. For disability accommodations, including Braille, large print, or accessible online documents, contact the Americans with Disabilities Act Office at 303.299.2474 or ada@rtd-denver.com.

The post RTD Seeks Public Feedback for Proposed September 2026 Service Changes appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Hair whipping in the wind, the late morning sun obscured by the towering federal courthouse behind, and a smattering of news teams pointed their cameras and microphones. Before the media, holding placards above their head, were the plaintiffs in a newly filed federal lawsuit.

Friends, families, their attorneys and Colorado state representative Meg Froelich joined Dawn Russell, Dr. Claudia Folska, and representatives of Atlantis / ADAPT as they laid out their grievances plainly in the cold air.

Dr. Claudia Folska speaks during a press conference in front of the federal courthouse in Denver, Colorado on Monday, December 8, 2025. Dawn Russell, Dr. Claudia Folska, and representatives of Atlantis / ADAPT filed a federal lawsuit with law firm Newman | McNulty alleging that Colorado’s Regional Transportation District violated the American with Disabilities Act through recent budgeting restructuring and service options impacting the disabled community. (Photo by Vince Chandler / Yellow Scene Magazine)

After an introduction from civil rights attorney Andy McNulty of Newman | McNulty, fresh from lobbying the federal legislature in Washington, D.C., Dawn Russell rolled her wheelchair toward the makeshift c-stand lectern.

Institutionalized as a child following her diagnosis with cerebral palsy, she found an avenue for her voice and fiery commitment when she joined Atlantis / ADAPT in 1996. Living with a disability, she had a lifetime of experience having to advocate for herself. It was time to use that experience lifting everyone around her.

Through almost there decades with ADAPT she has seen success in preserving and protecting the Affordable Care Act and Medicare, access to transportation for all, is an active participant in the assisted suicide policy discussion, and is currently working toward housing equity fighting to pass the LaTonya Reeves Freedom Act.

“It’s been fifty years since the Gang of 19 fought for our right to ride public transportation,” Russell read unflinchingly, beginning her brief statement. “Yet, today ADAPT must again ask a court to make RTD honor it.”

ADAPT was founded in Denver in 1975 by disabled members of a nursing home community founding their own housing solution, Atlantis, with collaboration from Reverend Wade Blank.

The organization got their organizing start protesting for accessible public transit. The organization, and their infamous Gang of 19, set national precedent by winning a lawsuit against RTD requiring the addition of lifts and ramps to public transit vehicles.

“RTD lied,” Russell told the amassed press and their audience. “To you and to me. We should be outraged.”

Attorney Mari Newman speaks during a press conference in front of the federal courthouse in Denver, Colorado on Monday, December 8, 2025. Dawn Russell, Dr. Claudia Folska, and representatives of Atlantis / ADAPT filed a federal lawsuit with law firm Newman | McNulty alleging that Colorado’s Regional Transportation District violated the American with Disabilities Act through recent budgeting restructuring and service options impacting the disabled community. (Photo by Vince Chandler / Yellow Scene Magazine)

The Regional Transportation District, or RTD, made the decision to raise the costs and limit the access to a hard-won option for mobility in the disabled community: Access-on-Demand. The program allows qualifying users to call for rides from third party platforms for curb-to-curb transit, subsidized by RTD.

For those with few route options, the inability to drive to a park and ride, or who have to carry cumbersome equipment, the program allows for autonomy for the disabled with low barriers through proximity to transportation.

“What is she supposed to do, quit her fulltime job and just drive me around?” Dr. Folska asked rhetorically during her time at the microphone, standing next to her adult daughter.

A former RTD Director herself, Dr. Folska founded All Access Transit Solutions in 2020. Blind most of her life, she has worked as a nonprofit director and disability activist throughout her life.

“It causes me great pain and disappointment to see where RTD is today. Today, RTD is killing Access-on-Demand for thousands of people with disabilities when in fact it’s the best service they’ve ever had,” she said.

Taking effect January 2026, the Board of Directors voted in fall 2024 to lower the maximum amount they’d underwrite, increase fares for its use, and create a base fare for all users. RTD says that they are operating with an expected nearly $230M budget deficit for the new year and hope these cost increases for the disability community will alleviate some of that burden.

Dr. Claire Folska and Dawn Russell reflect together after announcing a federal lawsuit during a press conference in front of the federal courthouse in Denver, Colorado on Monday, December 8, 2025. Dawn Russell, Dr. Claudia Folska, and representatives of Atlantis / ADAPT filed a federal lawsuit with law firm Newman | McNulty alleging that Colorado’s Regional Transportation District violated the American with Disabilities Act through recent budgeting restructuring and service options impacting the disabled community. (Photo by Vince Chandler / Yellow Scene Magazine)

“We are outraged by the fact that RTD is treating the rights of people with disabilities as some sort of line item that can just be cut,” Mari Newman, who is representing the plaintiffs. “People have been working for half a century for these rights that they’re entitled to.”

Folska, Russell, and Atlantis/ADAPT say that these changes, and their impacts’ ripples, are in violation of the ADA. The lawsuit reads that disabled users will be “excluded from participation in and deny the benefits of services, programs, or activities provided by RTD,” including equitable access to transportation, in violation of Title II of the ADA. The filing asserts that RTD is denying those with disabilities service, while providing greater access for Coloradans without disabilities.

“To the hundreds of folks who rely on Access-on-Demand for their freedom and independence – you showed-up and spoke-up for two years of RTD Board Committee meetings, and we thank you,” Russell said during her speech. “Let’s make RTD relevant for everyone.

Filed with motions for a preliminary injunction and to have the hearing expedited, the attorneys for Newman | McNulty hope to be able to prevent any interruption to existing service by delaying immediate implementation.

“Getting a federal lawsuit together in about a month is a tough thing to do and that’s what we did here,” McNulty said, answering a question after prepared statements concluded. “We’re looking to stop the wrong and unlawful cuts to RTD services.”

The ones who dared to fight City Hall.

 When Boulder denied public access to police body-cam footage, we took it to court. Our fight for transparency is now before the Colorado Supreme Court — because accountability doesn’t stop at the city line.

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The post Disability Activists File Federal Lawsuit Against RTD in Denver appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Fourteen years ago we at Yellow Scene Magazine (YS) published the article Down the Road: Ten Transportation Issues Impacting You in the Next 10 Years by James Burrus which examined planned transportation developments in Boulder and the Denver metro area. We looked at several transportation proposals and issues and wrote about their prospects. At the time, Boulder and Denver were ever-growing cities in need of an expanded transportation network. The planet was rapidly warming and new and cleaner transportation methods were greatly needed to combat climate change. We had a president in office who had a penchant for green energy and clean mass transportation. There were a lot of exciting ideas aimed at making the Denver metro area a faster-moving and modern city. The future was bright. Our ambitions were huge. The budgets were reasonable. We were ready.

What has changed?

Well, Boulder and Denver are still growing. We still need an expanded transportation network, and the planet has gotten even hotter! But we have a new president who supports the oil and gas industry and refuses to accept climate change. In reviewing our YS article from 2011, we noticed that some things panned out. For example, BCycle, which had just launched their programs in Boulder and Denver, has since greatly expanded and now offers 300 e-bikes and provides a reduced cost for low-income residents. Obviously, that is great in expanding access, helping the environment, and easing the transportation strain. BCycle is supporting the micro mobility trend — that is, the rise of transportation with small, lightweight, and often electric vehicles  used for quick journeys in an urban area. The city of Boulder announced a partnership with BCycle and the electric scooter company Lime to expand access to this exciting new path. The population of Boulder has grown nearly 12% since 2014 with a current population of 330,262. If we do not begin to plan for transit in a fast-growing Boulder, we may end up with the same problems that Denver currently has.

Other proposals in the article still haven’t happened. Case in point: Jefferson Parkway, a proposed regional toll road intended to complete the Denver metropolitan beltway system by connecting the Northwest Parkway in Broomfield to State Highway 93 in Golden, Colorado. The Jefferson Parkway has been a contentious issue since its conception. The tollway is meant to go through Broomfield and Jefferson counties. A major delay and near fatal blow to the project came in 2019 when elevated levels of plutonium were discovered in the soil which had many concerned about the potential safety of the project. Aside from that, the projected budget for such a project continues to balloon. The Denver Post reported in December 2024 that a recent dispute over the project cleared up, but the article noted that the project was still plagued by debates over its feasibility and continues to remain a quagmire. Completion of the project could lead to more development in the outer limits and have possible positive economic impact in Boulder. However, it also poses a risk for increased urban sprawl.

Aside from significant environmental concerns and costs, it might be better if we avoided a major tollway project. Currently, Colorado has one of the most expensive toll roads in the country. E-470 goes around the eastern side of the Denver metro area, and it currently costs a driver 33 cents per mile. Proponents will argue that toll roads are user-fee based, saving non-users money and having a fairer form of tax. But toll roads are also designed to allow for drivers with a means to avoid congestion on publicly-funded roads. This means that drivers who do not pay to use the toll road are forced to deal with more traffic. Publicly funded highways are also on average more dangerous than toll roads because they tend to be less well funded, which leads to worse road conditions and less lighting among other things.

In a way, toll roads are a way of the government not dealing with the original problem. As traffic patterns worsen on the tollway, it will eventually demand building new (possibly tolled) roads, and the cycle will continue, which is why we need to start looking at alternatives to the car and road system.

Currently, 49% of Denver residents use their cars for most of their trips. Without new public transportation infrastructure the number of cars will likely increase. Lower income residents, though, are less likely to be able to afford a car. About 10% of Denver residents do not own a vehicle. Increased congestion, pollution, and income inequality are the futures that await if we do not invest in our public infrastructure today.

The slow track to FasTracks

Let’s now turn to Regional Transportation District’s voter-approved transit expansion program, FasTracks. We wrote in 2011 that FasTracks is “a noble vision [that] is an unmitigated success.” We proposed then that it was time to “just build it so we can all move on.” Remember, 2011 was the perfect time for these sorts of proposals, politically (trains and public transportation were in vogue) and morally (global warming). At the time of the original article, tax revenues were lowered because of the Great Recession and funding for the project was more or less put to a stop. YS recognized the need for an expanded public transit system and proposed an additional .4% sales tax to finish the project. And we do not regret that proposal. A modest tax increase would have paid dividends by now.

The project started in 2004 with the passage of Senate Bill 24-230. The goal was to provide efficient and cheap transportation and curb the use of fossil fuels. Between 2004 and 2022, according to the FasTracks 2025 Finance and Planning Committee packet provided to YS, 75% of the project had been finished with four corridors awaiting construction: the Northwest Rail, North Metro, Southwest Corridor extension, and the Central Corridor Extension. According to RTD’s website, all four projects are currently unfunded. The Northwest Rail’s failure is particularly troubling as there was a proposed stop in Boulder — the second to last stop. It goes without saying what a missed opportunity this has been. If we stuck to the plan, we could have had an easy alternative to get from Boulder to Denver, and we could have done it with a fraction of the carbon footprint made by driving.

Despite being so close to the end, nothing much has changed. Our demand to “just build it” has not happened. What is going on? In 2011, the Denver population was 2,428,000. The population of Denver is now 23% larger at nearly 3 million people, and Boulder has grown by 12%. Denver’s increase in population has not affected its average commute time, which currently stands at 25.5 minutes. This accounts for about two days stuck in traffic for the year. It can be inferred that newer residents are bringing cars with them. Car users will have the advantage of being able to live farther away from the city center. This will lead to more demand for roads. While this might not be a problem now, it most definitely will be in the future.

Where are we now?

In 2004, voters authorized an increase in the district’s sales to finance the development of FasTracks. As stated earlier, YS proposed an additional (and modest) tax increase to continue FasTracks development, yet that has not come to fruition. Currently, sales tax makes up 66.6% of FasTracks’ budget while an additional 18% comes from grants. Only 4.9% of revenue comes from passenger fares. There are advantages to this system. It is not dependent upon passengers to generate profit. This is important to ensure that a new industry can survive in the beginning. It also helps low-income residents. Because the majority of revenue comes from sales tax,low-income residents, those most likely to benefit from any sort of public transportation system, are not subject to price hikes and rising costs.

The downside to this current economic model is that it is subject to the shocks of economic downturns, such as The Great Recession. As has already been noted, that economic downturn and the following reduction in sales tax revenue lead to the project being stalled. Then, as you may already be well aware, another shock came in 2020 with the COVID crisis, which severely reduced transit ridership. These economic shocks caused the project to be heavily delayed. According to Professor Juan Carlos Lopez, associate professor specializing in urban economics at the University of Denver, one consequence is that the cost of the project will continue to rise. “This isn’t surprising, “ Professor Lopez told us. “Long-term investments require projections on [what] costs are going to look like in the future.” None of us could have foreseen the Recession nor the pandemic, and we continue to have the same budget outline from the early 2000s.

Ridership reached its peak in 2019 with 105,824 boardings. The pandemic squashed those numbers, and FasTracks has yet to recover. Ridership for 2024 was at 65,230 boardings, a nearly 40% decrease. Lower ridership obviously decreases any continued revenue stream and puts more strain on the need for tax increases. Professor Lopez pointed out how the lack of development creates a catch-22 for the transportation system. “The system is pretty good at getting people downtown but not very good at getting people anywhere else. As you expand the set of places you can travel in the metro area via public transit, the more attractive the system looks.” Currently, about 6% of all trips are by either bus or rail. Without expansion, many residents will be forced to continue commuting by automobile, further compounding the problem. This lack of FasTracks seems much more like a shark in that once it stops moving, it begins to die.

Denver, Colorado, USA-June 22, 2016. Amtrack train ready for departure at the Denver Union Station.

The problem is that we are once again entering into choppy economic waters, and the appetite for another tax increase might not be there. But a failure to raise revenue via taxation would most likely mean that expansion would have to fall on the passengers by increasing the cost per ride, which would defeat the whole point of a public transportation system. Currently, base fares for Denver are some of the most expensive in the country at $2.75. This is 50 cents more than the national average.

In addition, as is the case with many public transportation projects, projected budgets were vastly outpaced by reality. The project was originally projected to cost $4.7 billion. The budget quickly exploded and reached $6.5 billion,which caused delays in building and scaling back the project’s ambitions. Contributing to these challenges is FasTracks’ greatest expense: deterioration — the wear and tear of its infrastructure, such as its trains and tracks. Eventually, this infrastructure will need to be replaced, which further strains FasTrack’s budget as funds will need to be diverted towards maintenance and replacement of infrastructure as opposed to going towards investment in the continued expansion of the transportation network. FasTrack’s history of going over budget remains a cause for concern considering that the Denver to Boulder train is currently in talks again.

In 2012, YS published Derailed by Greg Cambell which explored the issues that slowed FasTracks over 12 years ago. The article ended with the following quote, “‘Whatever the price,” added Director Matt Cohen, “let’s just get it done sooner than later.’” Time is truly a flat circle, and we are demanding the same thing now.

What can we do to solve this?

Denver Moves Everyone 2050, the strategic transportation plan issued in April 2023 for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, provides a comprehensive look at Denver’s current transportation situation as well as its possible future. Currently, 14% of all trips are made by walking, rolling, cycling, and transit. The project hopes to get this number up to 51%. Part of this goal, as has already been covered, is greater expansion of the transportation network.

Currently, sales tax represents FasTracks’ greatest revenue stream. However, according to Denver Moves Everyone 2050, the city “does not presently have the funding necessary to keep up with the maintenance needs of the current transportation system.” FasTracks operates at a loss, but it must be noted that it is still considered a “safe investment” by Moody’s, indicating that there is no risk of the network going under anytime soon.

If we want to fund FasTracks properly and allow it to expand, then we will have to increase its revenue source. Admittedly, an additional increase in sales tax is politically infeasible. A rise of sales tax, which functions as a flat consumption tax, would fall mostly on lower-income residents who see a greater share of their income go towards consumption rather than savings and investment. This would defeat our noble goal of fighting income inequality. We could try to raise ridership fees to make up revenue deficits, but this would threaten an already decreasing ridership, potentially lowering it further and dissuading future passengers from utilizing the service.

One solution proposed by our Down the Road article 14 years ago was a gasoline tax of 25 cents per gallon to fund public transportation. The truth is, we want to dissuade gas-powered automobile use. More cars lead to more congestion and more pollution. Higher-income residents are more likely to own cars and less likely to use public transportation. We could utilize this tax both to increase funding while damming destructive tendencies. We cannot continue down our current path, which will lead to byzantine spaghetti roads clogged by cars all the while our ozone layer gets thinner and thinner. In addition, we can seek additional revenue by taxing dirty industries. If they are going to create pollution, then we need to invest in a cleaner future. It’s a fair deal. And of course, we can always start taxing the wealthy more.

Another more pragmatic solution would be to divert funds towards other means of transportation. Professor Lopez believes that perhaps it’s time we invest more in buses: “Light rail is often seen as attractive, but it is expensive, and the infrastructure is fixed. You have to commit to that line. Buses provide a lot more flexibility in terms of routes and timing in that you can easily adjust how often buses run and where they should go.” The data does bear this out. According to RTD’s Unaudited Monthly Financial Statements from December 2024, bus ridership has increased 4.1% while light rail ridership has seen a decrease of 12.4%. This suggests that buses are picking up the slack. The demand for transportation is still there — it’s just that buses have been more efficient in expanding their routes to cover a greater area.

While much of this article has been devoted to expanding public transit, we also must consider ways to make Denver more walkable for residents. Not only is walking the greenest option for transportation, it is also the healthiest and can help build up a strong society. It is imperative that we start improving pedestrian infrastructure and safety now. According to a recent report by NPR, 7,500 pedestrians were killed by drivers in 2023, which marked the highest total since 1981. This is in line with the Colorado Department of Transportation’s report that pedestrian deaths in the state have “increased 77% since 2018.” If we were to continue expanding our reliance on automobiles, we will have to continue to put more land towards streets. Shockingly, as of today, only 1.2% of land in the 35 largest metropolitan areas are “walkable” according to the World Economic Forum.

Boulder has made PBS’s list of most walkable medium or smaller cities while Denver managed to take 16th place according to Conde Nast Traveler. Surprisingly for such an active city, Denver fares poorly when ranked by cities with the most green space (calculated by total green area and parks). Denver sits at 68th, beaten out by its sister city, Colorado Springs, ranked 27th. Colorado’s reputation for active lifestyles and populations does not match its lack of walkability and green spaces. Our cities should better reflect this. The DME 2050 plan recognizes the importance of walkability. The plan calls for car-free zones in heavy pedestrian zones. The estimated budget of the project is $4,000,000 per mile. That might sound like a steep price, and, after reading about the boondoggle projects in this article you might be skeptical that the city is even capable of keeping that budget.

A major theme that this article would like to impart upon you is that all public work projects, if property funded and executed, could pay off dividends for the economy, public health, and the betterment of society. According to the World Economic Forum, walkable urban areas are less costly to maintain and run due to close proximity of destinations and require fewer, not more, government subsidies as the city no longer has to fix and repair deteriorating roads nor deal with the consequences of automobile accidents. More walkable areas and more public parks and playgrounds would, according to Denver’s Parks and Recreations Department, help expand access to active areas to which 52% of Denver’s children do not have access. Boulder’s Transportation Master Plan shares many of the same goals as Denver. Boulder hopes to create more separation between cars and pedestrians to make the city safer and create a more welcoming atmosphere.

Where do we go from here?

As we look at what has (or has not been) done and what is being proposed, it’s important to remind ourselves that there are major innovations on the horizon that could dramatically reinvent what we think of as transportation and that could reshape how we think of urban design. You have probably already seen driverless cars picking up passengers or tiny robots delivering food. Drone technology is slowly being introduced for package and food deliveries, and there are some exciting developments with the Jetsons fantasy of the flying car. In five or 10 years we could be having a very different discussion on what is being developed in our city and state than we are having now.

We have seen some changes and improvements in our infrastructure since the last time we explored this issue 14 years ago. Yet several major projects have either stalled and are, as of yet, unfinished or have not even gotten off the ground. But the problems still remain, have gotten worse, and will continue to worsen until action is taken. We should continue on, to just build the damn thing and get it over with. And we should continue to think about new ways we can give more residents greater access to transportation throughout our state and cities. We need to strive to make a sustainable, efficient, and equitable city. We can’t afford to wait. Let’s hope the next time we write about this, it will have a different tone, reflecting on the great progress we’ve made.

The post Transportation: Then, Now, Maybe Later appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

First Appeared as a Guest Column for The Boulder Bulletin
By Ryan Schuchard, March 4, 2024

Look underneath many of Boulder’s challenges—homelessness, closed swimming pools and parks, families moving out of the city—and you’ll find a common denominator: insufficient funds to meet our demands. On the other hand, one place where resources are untapped is our transportation system. Here I see the potential for meaningful shifts that could save our community real money.

#1. PLAN TO DO MORE WITH LESS

Our community planning primarily focuses on accommodating personal motor vehicles, visible through many strategies within city policies. We prioritize the swift flow of car traffic, offer low-cost or free parking on public lands, require developers to dedicate substantial portions of private land to parking (which indirectly raises housing costs), and enforce zoning practices to increase the distances between residential areas and most destinations. These practices stem from planning philosophies and ideologies from a bygone era.

Focusing city planning efforts on cars might be understandable, as they’re the common mode of transportation for many. However, to design a system to meet the needs of a wide range of users with different demands, so heavily prioritizing cars from the outset doesn’t yield the best results. It pushes large numbers of large vehicles into tight spaces, which often conflicts with other city priorities. Furthermore, it overlooks efficient and cost-effective solutions to better solve the issues facing our community.

We could achieve more with less by shifting our mindset to planning for accessibility. Accessible communities have most of the things people want to reach within a short distance and, crucially, they offer safe, multiple, and convenient ways to travel to those places. Dr. Kevin J. Krizek of CU, an expert who authored a book on how we can get more out of transportation, reminds us that by planning for accessibility, we can better appreciate how having shops, services, schools and amenities close by is a good thing, and it’s equally important to provide for safe and convenient ways of getting to those places.

Planning with a focus on accessibility opens up more choices for everyone. It allows people the option to drive, without expecting such an option to be the priority, a priori. Such a framework for planning can be leveraged to cut costs for our city. When you think about it, transportation isn’t just about roads. Transportation costs include the policing of those roads, the crashes, and the use of that land for one purpose instead of others. Accessibility opens the door to use space in ways to create more funds for public use. We can use a lever to use to reduce the total expenses the city owes to paying for infrastructure and providing services for less.

#2. PROTECT THE ASSETS WE HAVE

This mindset applies to the equipment many of us use to get around on a daily basis. Over the past 40-plus years, automakers have steadily made vehicles bigger and heavier. The promise of a plusher experience for drivers attracts many. But now, in 2024, we have gone too far. Popular vehicles come stock the size of military tanks and drivers can’t easily fit into parking spaces nor see elementary-school-aged kids over their hoods.

Streets have become extremely dangerous for pedestrians and such bloat helps explain why. Compounded with more distracted driving, we are mounting crashes from carelessness (largely connected with greater use of phones and infotainment), worse visibility (largely due to poorer lines of sight designed in vehicles), and higher torque making vehicles more ferocious.

The world that we have collectively designed allows and provides for an environment to favor those in larger and larger vehicles. It is crowding out life outside them and pushing away lighter, more energy-efficient forms of travel like biking and even walking.

These heavier vehicles are wearing out and tearing up our roads more quickly. This means more maintenance costs. One predominant law of transportation dynamics is that the destructive impact of weight on pavement is exponential, what engineers point out as the fourth power law. It explains why you see signs about axle weight ahead of bridges, and why the impact of bicycles is essentially nothing. Big things cost lots of infrastructure.

Another cost of large vehicles lies in land as they outgrow parking spaces and travel lanes. Boulder’s physical space is precious and this encroachment is degrading the utility of what we have.

We know the auto industry is not rushing to moderate the problem. And although electric vehicles could be designed to put their superior power to work to create more highly-capable smaller vehicles, vehicles coming online are actually accelerating vehicular bloat.

What power does our small town have to do something about this? A lot. Let’s first be clear that there’s no question we need some big vehicles. And often, households have good reasons to use large-sized SUVs and pickup trucks. This isn’t about getting in the way of people’s choices.

What we can and should do: First, let’s acknowledge there are forces nudging us to make default purchases that collectively create creeping bloat that is sapping our shared resources. Then, let’s start to pilot policies that protect our ability to allow users to appreciate the decisions that impact the system, yet still allow large vehicles. This is something other cities have started to do. We could also explore putting more limits on the upper size of vehicles in places we want to make it safe and enjoyable for people to be outside. We could also look for ways to increase awareness to drivers and leaders about what’s at stake.

#3. PRIORITIZE MODES THAT GIVE US GOOD VALUE

There are cost-effective ways to get around that rival the convenience of cars, modes that include walking, biking, e-biking, scooting and more. These might not be the typical go-to transport modes. But if we have good infrastructure in place for using these vehicles with safe and direct routes, these so-called “other” forms of transport can get you to your destination in roughly the same time as using a car. It’s worth noting that many car trips are for just a few miles, most cars are parked and unused 95 percent the day, and most cars cost $25 per day to own, insure, and maintain. These other modes can help a family save a lot of money each year.

Adding to this “other” category is something we could call urban run-around vehicles, or hyper-efficient small electric vehicles designed to travel nimbly around town. Examples are neighborhood electric vehicles (e.g., the Polaris GEM vehicle rated for up to 35-MPH streets, starting at $15,000 new) and smaller two- and three-wheel “minimobility” vehicles that use small battery-electric systems to provide an in-cabin experience while being super-lightweight. This category is not very mature but it is evolving as small battery-electric power systems are giving us entirely new powers. As more varieties come forward, these vehicles have incredible potential to serve as dedicated urban vehicles that save households money and create more space for our community if drivers have rights to safe passage.

Another “other” value-for-money category is public transit when it’s done right. Transit is everything from large buses to small vans in a mix of fixed routes and on-demand services. Transit systems can be strategically designed to encourage high ridership on key routes, thereby heightening a community’s overall accessibility and doing so particularly for the roughly one-third population who don’t drive or probably shouldn’t be driving.

When our system is designed to make these modes succeed, they can perform better than conventional cars for the things they’re good at and as a mix give us more flexibility and options to choose from. They can do this while saving money from the large amounts of energy and manufacturing that translate to high household vehicle costs, as well as from the high cost of space requirements to store 200 or more square feet of vehicles that spend 95% of their time doing nothing except depreciating.

These shifts to steward resources better by organizing transportation less around cars and more around people are “what I was thinking” when I raised my hand to support Boulder’s 2024 Policy Statement on Regional, State and Federal Issues. This statement directs our city to advocate for regional, state and federal policy changes that will continue to fix land use policy that has locked us into car dependence, advocate for crucial funding strategies to give us more transportation options, and establish a new fee on operators of large vehicles that disproportionately endanger pedestrians and bicycle travelers with funding going towards local government efforts to protect vulnerable road users.

It’s also what I was thinking when I volunteered to testify at a state senate committee in support of SB24-036, a bill that would establish a Vulnerable Road User Protection Enterprise, a concept for a new program with the kind of multi-pronged approach we need: Pricing behaviors that direct costs onto those imposing them, assistance to populations that have been left out, and funding for infrastructure that we need for more equitable climate-resilient development.

And it’s what I’m thinking now as I work to prepare for City Council’s activities to establish our wider priorities this year. It’s top of mind and I’m going to be looking for ways to increase the breadth and speed of what Boulder can do to deploy the best modern measures to give us transportation strategies to spur new abundance.

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Colorado’s switch to EVs

Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas and ozone-damaging emissions in Colorado. Despite lofty goals, Colorado has already amassed  various Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule violations from emissions across the state. 

The state had set goals for a 26% greenhouse gas reduction from a 2005 baseline by 2025, and 50% by 2030 — a goal that depends on having 940,000 electric vehicles (EVs) on state roads by 2030. For those in the Boulder area, investing in an EV can be a great way to positively contribute to the environment, though there are some facts and considerations to be aware of.

EV adoption has surpassed expectations, with 10% of car owners driving one. To further highlight their growing popularity, 50% of those who took the survey said they will buy or lease an EV by 2028. EVs have the potential to benefit the environment in various ways. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, all forms of EVs “can help improve fuel economy, lower fuel costs, and reduce emissions.” To underline the value of this it’s important to note that vehicle tailpipe emissions, which emit pollutants, are very harmful to both human health and the environment. Such emissions are a major cause of global warming.

Environmental value of EVs

Internal combustion engines produce about 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. “Like lithium for batteries, gasoline to power non-electric cars has to be mined.” The refinement process once the crude oil has been extracted is responsible for the majority of emissions, which consist of methane and nitrous dioxide in addition to greenhouse gasses. When coupled with a low-carbon electricity sector, Earth.org points out that EVs “have a large potential for greenhouse gas emissions reductions.” However, power in the US still comes from coal plants, highlighting the value in renewable energy expansion.

EVs can be better for the environment but it’s imperative to understand the full extent of the benefits. For example, one source of EV emissions derives from the creation of their lithium-ion batteries. “We shouldn’t claim victory that with this switch to electric cars, problem solved, we are going to have zero emissions,” said Sergey Paltsev, Deputy Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. Paltsev noted that EVs are “actually much, much better in terms of the impact on the climate in comparison to internal combustion vehicles. And in time, that comparative advantage of electric cars is going to grow.” Although greatly reduced, even EVs are not entirely free of harmful emissions. 

Addressing Colorado’s challenges 

Regarding the state of EV usage in Colorado, Denver7 News noted that the switch is “a slow and tedious transition.” The article delves into a report from the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), which estimates that Colorado’s state and local governments could save taxpayers $152 million annually by switching to electric cars for their light duty fleets. Alex Simon, a public health advocate with the Colorado Public Interest Research Group noted that fueling and maintaining gas-powered vehicles is a large expense for governments. “By shifting to electric vehicles, they can save consumers taxpayer dollars while also improving air quality,” Simon said. According to the report, it’s estimated that the transition of these vehicles will “result in a drop of state greenhouse gas emissions by 300,000 tons over the next decade alone.” While this highlights a dramatic environmental impact, the change to all-electric vehicles is not only costly for governments, but involves the requirement of significant investments upfront as well.

When it comes to making the switch across the board, the infrastructure needed to support EV adoption remains a challenge. CBS News cited the fact that Colorado has more than 4,900 public EV chargers.EV Colorado reported that while the subject of charging is a concern for drivers, 66% of those surveyed said they have charging options where they park, and more than half said they knew where public chargers are located. 

Improvements to charging infrastructure are needed in order to support a switch to EVs. Denver7 News citedAndrew Goetz, a professor in the Department of Geography & the Environment and a faculty associate in the Transportation Institute and the Urban Studies Program at the University of Denver: “All the gas stations that we have around cities, make it really easy to be able to refuel internal combustion engine vehicles, we are going to need something like that when it comes to electric vehicles.”

The post Green Wheels: The Environmental Impact of Switching to Electric Vehicles appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Press releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

BOULDER, Colo. –  The City of Boulder has won $4 million in federal Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) funding. Funds will support two projects toward improving transportation infrastructure and safety for people driving, taking transit, biking and walking.

• The 30th Street Multimodal Improvements (Colorado Avenue to Aurora Avenue) will design and construct protected bicycle lanes, as well as improve infrastructure for transit and people walking.
• The Folsom Street Multimodal Improvements Pre-Design (Pine Street to Colorado Avenue) will complete preliminary design and community engagement to improve multimodal north-south connectivity.

“Federal and state funding is pivotal in moving us closer to Vision Zero, our community goal of zero severe crashes,” said Principal Transportation Projects Engineer Gerrit Slatter. “As we celebrate and extend our thanks to the Denver Regional Council of Governments for this award, we also want to reaffirm our commitment to pursuing local and regional transportation partnerships that will help Boulder become safer for everyone, no matter how they travel.”

TIP is a significant source of federal transportation funding for local governments. In total, the city has been awarded nearly $14.7 million in federal and state funds over the last year for TIP projects from 2022-2027. The six projects prioritize a combination of design and construction improvements on the Core Arterial Network (CAN), where a majority (67%) of severe and fatal traffic crashes occur in the city. This works aligns with the city’s Transportation Master Plan.

2024-2027 TIP funds awarded to nearby partners will also transform connections between Boulder and neighboring cities, including through Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and a regional bikeway along CO 119/Diagonal Highway between Boulder and Longmont and along CO 7 between Boulder and Brighton/I-25.

Projects prioritize multimodal safety and connectivity on parts of 30th Street and Folsom Street

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[LOCAL]

• Lauren Boebert was kicked out of a theater during ”Beetlejuice” performance, her embarrassing antics caught on video.
• Boulder will not increase the city’s minimum wage in 2024 after a 5-4 vote, affirming 2025 as the year wages will increase.
• Colorado GOP proposes banning gender-affirming care in another performative act that has no chance of passing.
• Local 17-year-old USA cyclist Magnus White was struck and killed by an SUV on Colorado Highway 119. The DA is looking into potential charges for the driver.
• CU Buffs are off to a hot start under coach Sanders, upsetting TCU and defeating longtime rival Nebraska to start the season.

[NATIONAL]

• Five police officers that beat Tyre Nichols to death have been indicted on federal charges.
• Mitt Romney is not running for reelection for his Senate seat, opening a chance for a more extreme conservative to fill the seat.
• However, Nancy Pelosi will be running again despite her decreasing relevance to national politics.
• Hunter Biden indicted on gun charges and not a single Democrat is up in arms protesting the justice system, because why would they be?
• United Auto Workers strike in efforts for more job security as the auto industry shifts towards more electric vehicles, echoing the Hollywood writer’s strike over AI generated scripts.

[INTERNATIONAL]

• Earthquake ravages Morocco, with hundreds of deaths and major structural damage in multiple cities including Meerakeesh
• Massive rains in Libya flood and overflow dams, destroying a coastal city with tens of thousands feared dead
• Elon Musk disabled his Starlink satellites to thwart communication during an Ukrainian naval offensive in the Black Sea further raising ethical questions of how much power one individual should wield.

Small Talk

“Providing convenient travel choices to our community is one of our priorities and it is through collaborative funding partnerships like this that we’ll be able to continue to expand options throughout our community. This award provides the funds to make this new and improved service to Gunbarrel possible.” – Natalie Stiffler, City of Boulder Transportation and Mobility Director 

“There have been no substantial allegations that the government violated the 4th, 5th, or 6th Amendments in prosecuting January 6 defendants. It is irresponsible to allege, without evidence, as your letter does, that Americans are being systematically denied their most basic Constitutional rights based on their political beliefs.” – Republican Representative Ken Buck, CO

“The Center of the American West is currently fading, and while it may yet be resuscitated, there will be lasting loss and damage to CU Boulder and the fields of Western history, applied history, and countless others.” – Letter from academics across the West regarding CU Boulder’s sudden firing of Patty Limerick

“It is a step toward housing accessibility in our city, without building anything, without tearing anything down.” – Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett on raising housing occupancy limits

By the Numbers

$826 million – Proposed to expand Colorado broadband access across the state
$52 million – Denver mayor Mike Johnson lays out new initiatives to address the homeless crisis
171 – Unhoused individuals counted by Boulder city staff for “July Point in Time Count Results,” of which 25% said they were experiencing homelessness for the first time
12.4% – Poverty rate in the US, up from 7.8%, the largest single year increase on record 

The post Month in Review | September 2023 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

City of Boulder wins $4 million in competitive federal transportation improvement funds
Projects prioritize multimodal safety and connectivity on parts of 30th Street and Folsom Street

BOULDER, Colo. –  The City of Boulder has won $4 million in federal Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) funding. Funds will support two projects toward improving transportation infrastructure and safety for people driving, taking transit, biking and walking.

• The 30th Street Multimodal Improvements (Colorado Avenue to Aurora Avenue) will design and construct protected bicycle lanes, as well as improve infrastructure for transit and people walking.
• The Folsom Street Multimodal Improvements Pre-Design (Pine Street to Colorado Avenue) will complete preliminary design and community engagement to improve multimodal north-south connectivity.

“Federal and state funding is pivotal in moving us closer to Vision Zero, our community goal of zero severe crashes,” said Principal Transportation Projects Engineer Gerrit Slatter. “As we celebrate and extend our thanks to the Denver Regional Council of Governments for this award, we also want to reaffirm our commitment to pursuing local and regional transportation partnerships that will help Boulder become safer for everyone, no matter how they travel.”

TIP is a significant source of federal transportation funding for local governments. In total, the city has been awarded nearly $14.7 million in federal and state funds over the last year for TIP projects from 2022-2027. The six projects prioritize a combination of design and construction improvements on the Core Arterial Network (CAN), where a majority (67%) of severe and fatal traffic crashes occur in the city. This works aligns with the city’s Transportation Master Plan.

2024-2027 TIP funds awarded to nearby partners will also transform connections between Boulder and neighboring cities, including through Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and a regional bikeway along CO 119/Diagonal Highway between Boulder and Longmont and along CO 7 between Boulder and Brighton/I-25.

Find details on the city’s TIP webpage.

The post City of Boulder Federal Transportation Improvement Funds appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Expansion follows a successful 2021-2022 pilot program west of 28^th Street

BOULDER, Colo. — The City of Boulder, in partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder and Lime, is expanding shared e-scooter usage citywide.

The expansion follows a successful e-scooter pilot program in parts of East Boulder, Gunbarrel and CU Boulder’s East Campus. The pilot evaluation, which included community engagement, showed that shared e-scooters help to reduce traffic congestion, reduce air pollution, increase mobility options and serve as first- and final-mile connections to transit. Proposed program changes were broadly supported by Boulder City Council, boards and commissions and stakeholders.

Painting and signage to indicate required parking zones, or Lime Groves, will start as early as this week. By Aug. 31, Lime will triple the current fleet size to 900 total e-scooters to meet projected demand corresponding with the geographic expansion of the program to city limits, approximately three times the pilot program area.

The city is taking steps to encourage safe use of e-scooters, which is a priority for this program. Key safety guidelines include:

• E-scooters should be ridden in the bike lane or multi-use paths when available.
• If no bike lane is available, community members can ride e-scooters in the street or on the sidewalk.
• People on scooters must yield to pedestrians.
• E-scooters are not allowed on Open Space and Mountain Parks trails, including paved multi-use trails.

Additionally, Lime has implemented tools geared toward safe use of e-scooters, including location-based technology, that will automatically:

• Limit e-scooter speeds in slow zones
• Prevent e-scooters from operating in no-go zones
• Require parking in designated Lime Groves within the city’s busiest areas

E-scooter misuse should be reported directly to Lime. Contact information is posted on all Lime e-scooters. Lime will respond to reports within two hours.

Shared Micromobility

The expansion is part of the city’s Shared Micromobility Program, a partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder County, the Boulder Chamber, Lime and BCycle. The program supports Boulder’s transportation and climate goals by providing convenient, equitable and sustainable ways for community members to live, work and play around Boulder without a car.

“By providing shared e-scooters and e-bikes, our micromobility program aims to make it easier for our community to get around town, bringing the city closer to its transportation and climate goals to provide travel choices and support clean air,” said City of Boulder Transportation and Mobility Director, Natalie Stiffler. “We’re excited to bring this convenient transportation option to the whole city.”

“We’re thrilled to be expanding in Boulder and we’re working hand in hand with the city and the university to ensure we keep up the same focus on safe riding and proper parking that has made our shared electric vehicles here a success so far,” said Lime General Manager, US Rockies Cody Noblin. “Our goal is to help the city and the university meet its climate and transportation goals by offering people a safe, affordable, and sustainable way to get around. We’re proud Boulder residents, students, and visitors have enjoyed the green transit options our e-scooters offer, and we look forward to growing the program while maintaining our strong safety and parking records.”

“We continue to expand our sustainable transportation offerings as part of our overall sustainability goals,” said CU Boulder Vice Chancellor for Infrastructure and Sustainability Chris Ewing. “Four of our Buff Buses are electric, we offer a vanpool program, BCycle is very popular with our students, and now e-scooters will be an option to get to, from and around campus.”

In the coming months, the city and its partners will also launch a campaign to raise awareness about the program. Learn more about shared e-scooters and e-bikes, including safety tips and frequently asked questions, on the city’s website.

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Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Community members encouraged to ride transit more to reduce harmful air pollutants

BOULDER, Colo. –  The City of Boulder is proudly partnering with the Regional Transportation District (RTD) to provide zero-fare services to encourage community members to travel by transit for cleaner air. RTD’s “Zero Fare for Better Air,” a statewide initiative to help reduce harmful air pollutants by increasing use of transit, takes place July 1 through Aug. 31.

During the months of July and August, all RTD transit services will be free for riders to board, including local and regional bus routes and Access-a-Ride paratransit service. The City of Boulder, in partnership with RTD and Via Mobility Services, will also provide zero-fare services on the local Boulder HOP bus route that features frequent service between downtown’s Pearl Street, Downtown Boulder Station, University Hill, University of Colorado Boulder, and the 29th Street Mall.

HOP Route Map

“We are once again proud to partner with RTD and Via to support this initiative,” said City of Boulder Transportation and Mobility Director, Natalie Stiffler. “Regional collaboration and public transit are key strategies to help meet our goals of enhancing equity, increasing access, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Last year, Boulder City Council passed a resolution in support of Zero Fare for Better Air. The initiative clearly aligns with goals laid out in the city’s Transportation Master Plan. Funding for zero fare is made possible through a partnership with the Colorado Energy Office for the second consecutive year of the initiative. This campaign also provides the opportunity to welcome back those whose travel habits have changed because of the pandemic.

In 2021, on-road emissions accounted for 26% of Boulder’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). By leaving their car at home just two days a week, community members can reduce their GHG emissions by over 3,000 pounds per year.

Other benefits to taking transit include:

• Cost savings 
  Taking the bus and train saves on car expenses including maintenance, parking and tolls, which add up quickly. A household can save nearly $10,000 by taking public transportation and living with one less car.
• Gas savings
  With high gas prices, switching to public transit frees up additional funds in community members’ everyday budgets. Public transportation saves the United States an estimated six billion gallons of gas each year!
• Reduction in traffic
  Taking public transit keeps cars off the road, reducing traffic congestion, air pollution and ground-level ozone.
• Reduction in stress
  Taking public transit removes the stress and anxiety of battling everyday traffic.
• Time savings 
  While taking public transit, community members can catch up on reading, emails, podcasts, or just sit back and relax.
• Improved air quality and climate action
  Transportation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to our changing climate. Using public transit creates 85% less carbon emissions than driving a car. That is a savings of 63 million metric tons annually, nationwide.

To learn how to hop on board to participate in Zero Fare for Better Air, visit rtd-denver.com/zerofare.com. Find HOP bus service and frequencies at https://bouldercolorado.gov/services/hop-bus. More tips about how to use less gas can be found at https://bouldercolorado.gov/news/how-use-less-gas.

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Car-centric models of development create urban sprawl and make planning bus routes to low density areas more difficult.

Riding the JUMP

Cities across the United States are dealing with pressure to offer more public transit services. The Denver metro area is no exception to this. The Front Range has grown at an unprecedented rate over the last 20 years causing traffic to become much worse. Freeways like Interstate 25 are parking lots during rush hour.

Climate change is another reason to provide alternative modes of transportation. According to the Colorado GHG Pollution Reduction Roadmap Final Report, transportation is the largest producer of greenhouse gas pollution across the state. The report states, “Nearly 60% of these emissions come from light-duty vehicles — the majority of cars and trucks that Coloradans drive every day.” The state of Colorado sees our need to convert from combustion engines to electric alternatives, creating goals in the fight against climate change. With such a climate-focused population, Coloradoans need to demand more solutions to our car-centric model of transportation.

Despite Colorado’s attempt to race further and further ahead to meet these goals, consistent public transportation for Boulder County and North Metro is severely lacking. For instance, the town of Erie, located about 15 miles southeast of Boulder, contains a single bus route — the JUMP.

The JUMP starts out at the Downtown Boulder Station on Walnut Street and takes a trip down Arapahoe Avenue traveling east toward Erie. After arriving, the bus heads to the main stop at the Erie Community Center before turning around and heading southwest to Lafayette, and then back to the Downtown Boulder Station. There are limited options to get to neighboring communities like Lafayette and Longmont, and there are no connections to go east to communities like Thornton or Brighton.

To travel east of Erie you would need to take the JUMP to Boulder. In Boulder you’d hop onto one of the Flatiron Flyers to head down Highway 36 and then finally take a bus east to Thornton. This makes a car the much faster option to travel anywhere east of the city despite the rapid population growth and traffic congestion we’ve seen in these communities.

Despite Colorado’s attempt to race further and further ahead to meet these goals, consistent public transportation for Boulder County and North Metro is severely lacking.

Unfortunately, there are no signs to indicate a push for an increase in ridership from these already limited stops. When I visited the bus stop at the Erie Community Center, it was barren. Surrounded by a beautiful library, recreation center, and park with fields, the bus stop showed little indication of its potential use.

There was no structure to protect riders from the elements. The facility’s map didn’t have any indication of a bus stop. There wasn’t even a schedule to see when the next bus was going to arrive. Not to mention, there was no indication where the JUMP goes. Without any of these, each step of taking the bus would require extensive research beforehand to make any trip as smooth as possible.

The average rider would need to have the time to explore the different options before coming to the bus stop. This would need to account for all the time researching, getting to, and riding the bus. The economic component of taking public transit bleeds into this as well, meaning, “What type of ticket is best for me? Is there a stop close enough to ride my bike or walk? If I have a car, is there a spot for me to park near the station? Do I have enough money to travel where I need to today?” There is the assumption that with most of these questions, the user has access to the internet reliably. It also assumes, this person is able to walk, ride, or use a car.

RTD’s role in Boulder

The Regional Transportation District has been providing public transportation services to the Denver metro area for 54 years through a series of bus and rail routes. The district serves the communities of eight Colorado counties including Boulder County.

Boulder is the most populous city in the county with over 100,000 residents, and the city contains Colorado’s flagship university campus with an undergraduate population of 30,000 students — causing a massive influx of residents for nine months out of the year.

The city’s public transportation system is more robust than many metro areas with buses to connect you to every major part of the city. Popular destinations like Pearl Street, surrounding downtown areas, and the university’s campus are easily accessible from multiple routes. CU Boulder even has their own transportation system offering an Uber-like option around campus as well as their own buses.

Flatiron Flyer regional buses connect Boulder to the rest of Denver Metro including Denver’s Union Station, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, and Denver International Airport. Yet, the county’s remaining municipalities — Erie, Lafayette, Superior and Longmont — do not have robust transportation systems in place.

Manager of corridor operations, Doug Monroe, assured there were programs in place to incentivize more ridership with two main ways to go about it — financial incentives and services provided.

RTD’s EcoPass program, employer passes, and college passes offer rides at a huge discount. Other financial incentives Monroe pointed to include RTD’s monthly pass options.

However, the real incentives lie in RTD’s service. Monroe notes, “I think that’s more difficult to quantify and, I guess, tell how that’s actually impacting things because we serve a huge area. We serve 2,340 square miles, and we’re collecting sales taxes on that whole area, and we’re trying to provide as much service to as many people within that area as possible.”

He explained that based on the feedback given to RTD, people overlook the financial aspects of the process, focusing instead on an increase in the number of services offered.

Expanding service

Unfortunately, simply providing an all-encompassing service is not an option due to the organization’s own financial constraints for projects, workforce, and land use.

RTD was able to provide details of the district’s choices on planning the routes for these areas. Nataly Handlos is senior service planner and scheduler for RTD on the North Team. Handlos works closely with service planner Greg Filkin. Together these two outlined some of the barriers RTD faces when planning service routes. The sheer sprawl of the communities in the northern corridor makes public transportation planning more difficult.

Unfortunately, simply providing an all-encompassing service is not an option due to the organization’s own financial constraints for projects, workforce, and land use.

Public transit is mostly designed for high-density areas. Consequently, the low-density suburban housing of the northern service area makes it difficult for RTD to create routes. Additionally, there are no attractions within Erie’s town limits that would constitute the creation of a robust public transit system.

Handlos states, “They are a suburban community, right? They don’t have a downtown. They don’t have a destination per se. You have to have an origin and destination in order to establish a strong transit corridor, and they do not have that. To build out a full transit network — such as in Boulder — would not make sense for Erie, or even Louisville and Lafayette.”

Cities in the northern corridor build out without little regard for the transit system and expect RTD to provide services without building the infrastructure that can accommodate routes.

The premise of this logic makes sense and has recently been echoed by state officials like Governor Polis. Building high-density housing is just one way to build stronger transit systems, but the main resource making these systems successful are the people who need them regardless of the type of housing in a given area.

As a service for people, the main priority should not be on how these systems can make money. Instead they need to focus on the real world wants and needs of people. Greater access to bus routes provide more opportunity for people in need. More employment opportunities would present themselves to people without their own cars; you could live in one area and reliably work in another with expanded bus access.

Planning new routes can be lengthy, and decisions are based on the resources RTD has at hand. Municipalities will typically come to RTD asking the organization to look at its proposals. Once the proposals are modified, there is a public process where a service change is put forth.

The service change process at RTD takes shape three times a year — January, May, and August. These proposals are brought to the public for feedback which is then used by RTD to look into financial impacts on the area, resources, and equity of service.

Planning new routes can be lengthy, and decisions are based on the resources RTD has at hand.

Handlos asserts, “What is equitably compared to the rest of the street? So, we can’t just add service in one area and not add service in the other areas. So if something were to be added in the Boulder area, I’d have to look to my partners in the East and West Team[s], ‘Hey, do you have anything that you can add?’”

The approach allows for the deep, meaningful work attributed to providing services to people disenfranchised through systemic factors of racism and ableism, but the method takes years of planning — delaying needed services. New routes cannot be adopted at this rate to fix any issues caused by our car-centric society. Once the proposal has made it past this stage of scrutiny, it makes its way to a board who votes for or against the service change. Although, this is all determined in the end by RTD’s available resources.

Bus drivers wanted

RTD has been dealing with an operator shortage since 2015. The shortage was only made worse by COVID-19. Even if a service change has all other resources, there is a lack of sufficient staffing to make new routes or provide route extensions.

Currently, RTD is using a guide known as the System Optimization Plan to strategize its service implementation through 2027 and projects it will have 85% of pre-COVID resources by 2027. Using this projection, the district is making preemptive moves to allocate and implement new services throughout the remaining period. This plan does rely on a bit of optimism. These are merely projections and would expect patrons to wait out the rest of the decade for the possibility of new services.

One of the more notable efforts is the CO 119 BRT project to add faster and safer services for commuters between Longmont and Boulder. The project looks to include proposals for new transit stops between the two cities as well as a new Park-n-Ride station and a commuter bikeway.

Additionally, Monroe points to the Northwest Rail Peak Service Study being undertaken by RTD to provide rail extensions to the north Denver metro area including Boulder and Longmont. Proposed service would extend the existing commuter rail service B Line from Union Station using existing BNSF rail lines. The project works as a commitment to the voter-approved FasTracks plan of 2004, which has been struggling with financial funding for the last 19 years. Projects like the Northwest Rail Peak Service Study, however,’ will not put trains on tracks. The study has three main goals: providing updated engineering cost estimates, designing infrastructure for the system to include future sprawl, and aligning RTD with the goals of stakeholders in the project but with no set date to start service.

There have already been success stories. Route 228 had a successful reconfiguration to serve the city of Lafayette in a more effective and equitable manner. Handlos added, “With Lafayette, the 228 extension was one of those, ‘How can we try and serve that area better?’ to route connection that was needed between the low-income housing and Kestrel and you know, Walmart and Sister Carmen for instance. We were able to get it into the SOP to get route extensions for the DASH and the 225 to the new low-income housing that’s being built at 120th and Emma.”

It is important to include the extension of these routes so people in lower income areas can access transportation and continue to advocate for themselves. Previous to the 228 extension, existing routes did not extend to Lafayette’s low income communities. This created a lack of accessibility. Time is another finite resource needed to get from A to B, to attend a meeting, or develop a sense of community  — time that could be used as a means to pay for food or bills.

Projects will be carried out when the resources to make, operate, and support new transit are available: There needs to be operators. The land being used must be zoned properly. The money to build and sustain this infrastructure must be at RTD’s disposal. There must be a push from members of the public.

Conversely, potential passengers may be deterred from taking the bus because of its price. Even with financial incentives provided by the RTD, commuting can be a pricey affair. A local day pass gives you access to travel within one or two fare zones and costs $6 or $42 per week. A regional day pass is $10.50 or $73.50 a week.

Though the monthly passes are considerably cheaper, it could still be difficult to purchase one living paycheck to paycheck. A local monthly pass comes in at $114, and the monthly regional pass is $200 at full price.

Other perks, like the college pass, leave students who are full-time during the academic year  without a pass if they remain during the summer months. Even business passes can be distributed based on your hourly status at work. Part-time employees often receive fewer  benefits and may not meet their organization’s eligibility requirements for passes.

After its recent launch of an extensive fare study, RTD appears to be aware of these barriers to increasing ridership, marking community involvement as a priority when dealing with issues. While recommendations that came out of the study are slated to become a reality in 2024, Handlos, Filkin, and Monroe stated multiple times that getting opinions from the public is a priority in the implementation of any services.

Getting involved might be one of the best ways to advocate for better service in your area. Riders have the ability to carry weight in a conversation that involves stakeholders and local governments. Time and resources can make it difficult to get involved in this capacity, but RTD has embraced transparency in this process.

Riders have the ability to carry weight in a conversation that involves stakeholders and local governments.

Each of the projects mentioned above can be accessed on their website with goals and outcomes or expected outcomes. These pages include the status of a project, the background information to understand the intent of a project, and potential timelines for service implementation.

Finding projects and routes within your area could prove to be a difficult task. The district covers a vast network spanning over 2,000 square miles, but the Community Involvement page could make this task easier.

There are multiple options to engage with RTD on the page. A calendar provides dates, times, and locations when the organization plans to interact with the public. Many modes of communication exist on the page from an online Customer Comment Form to contacting your representative on the RTD Board of Directors. Resources to stay informed and information on RTD making an appearance or presentation at an event also exist on this page.

Commuters on the Front Range deserve better transit services across the expanding metro area. RTD strives to provide these services for the people, but in an area that’s years behind in dealing with pressing issues, are its efforts, even after creating an SOP extending into 2027, enough?

The post Why Is It so Hard to Take the Bus Anywhere but to Boulder? appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

With 17 candidates on the ballot this race isn’t like any in recent memory. The introduction of the Fair Election Fund has allowed more people than ever to run, and Denverites are taking advantage of it. The consequence of everyone trying their hand at running for mayor is that voters have never been so split. No candidate has yet received more than 8% of the vote, and the vast majority of voters are still undecided. If you’re reading this from Denver, the chances are you don’t know who you are putting on the runoff ballot yet (it will come down to the top two). Yellow Scene Magazine interviewed candidates on the most important issues facing the capitol to help you make an informed decision. 

YS isn’t based in Denver, we focus on North Metro and BOCO, so we don’t have a dog in this fight. We are disconnected observers so we can give you perspectives different from the other organizations covering the race. However, don’t think that we don’t care about the outcome of this race. We may be based a little further north, but this race still matters to us. Denver is the center of Colorado, and the policies there will impact all the surrounding towns eventually. For Denverites, the race is even more critical as it will decide what direction the city goes after Mayor Michael B. Hancock. With affordable housing and homelessness on everyone’s minds, now is the time to get invested in the election.

No candidate has more than 8% of the vote, which means Denver’s next mayor might not have the support of over 90% of the population. If you live in Denver, the only way you can stop this outcome is to get informed. Luckily, we’ve got the details to prepare you for election day, as well as our endorsements for who we think will be best for the job. Good luck and Happy Voting.

Primary Contenders

In a race as tight as this, it’d be presumptuous to assert that any one candidate is a clear front-runner. However, some are definitely pulling ahead of the pack. These primary candidates have developed policies, possess relevant experience, and secured funding for their campaign. 

 The candidates and their responses to the questions are listed below. Additionally, underneath their responses will be a small editor’s note for each candidate to contextualize our positions on them. Although YS doesn’t typically explicitly comment on the candidates in our election guide beyond giving endorsements, a sizable pool of top candidates combined with a largely undecided voter base has led us here to believe it best to provide our insight.

(D) Lisa Calderon – ENDORSED

Life Experience and Leadership: I am a fourth-generation Denverite who grew up in poverty from teenage parents, a Mexican American mother, and a black father. We lived in the projects on food stamps. I really understand that our public housing system really needs to be overhauled. If we go to a social housing model, that means that someone like me growing up could have been in a housing unit where you couldn’t tell who was rich or poor just from the looks of it. Everyone would have great amenities and buildings would be up to code.. 

I was also homeless as a teen when I was put out of the house by domestic violence from my parents, and in some ways, it felt like a safer option. Of course, that created its own problems: lack of food, shelter, and couch-surfing. I experienced all of that.

I’ve been a 20-year service provider for 12 years as a domestic violence legal director and advocate. I also ran the city’s Reentry Program. I know the perspective of having experienced homelessness and having provided service for decades for people in that area. I really take the other candidates to task when they don’t know what they’re talking about, especially when they are trying to criminalize people for being poor.

Top 3 Issues: Homelessness & Affordability, Safety, and Inflation

Homelessness: Hancock’s housing and homelessness policies have been a disaster. I’d completely revamp our approach. 

I’d immediately repeal the encampment ban and replace the sweeps with crisis intervention responders. Instead of just moving people, they’d assess the needs of the unhoused and get them into housing.  

I’d also focus on converting motels and hotels to permanent housing. I think temporary measures like tiny houses and safe outdoor sites could also be valuable. However, I want to mainly concentrate on permanent housing. I think we need to transition from a shelter first approach to a housing first approach if we want to see long term change.We also need to audit all our city land and buildings to see which ones are being used to their maximum capacity.

A broader policy we need to push for are social housing development authorities. It would be similar to what has recently been done in Oregon. A city-funded independent authority would be created to manage housing development.

I’m also a big supporter of rent control and a range of rent stabilization tools. I would also support landlords who are providing low-income housing units and struggling with paying their own mortgages. 

Cities to Learn From: The number one city we need to learn from is Houston. They had a rising homelessness problem, but through the housing first approach, they understood that you need to give people homes with keys that they can lock. Houston’s plan included scaled-up coordination including city agencies — but also working as a coordinating entity with the nonprofits, providing resources for the nonprofits.Houston also scaled up. Denver tends to dabble in many different approaches instead of sticking to what works and scaling it up.

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: I can’t believe we haven’t implemented them yet. The ordinance was passed in 2017, but it’s still not legal because of our state law. Our current state law focuses on treating addiction as a crime and stigmatizing it when [policy]  should instead focus on saving lives. We must look at substance abuse through a public health lens instead of a criminal justice or legal system lens. Once the state legislature approves it, Denver should go through with developing a safe injection site; I support it 100%.

Policing and STAR: I’m a big fan of STAR, but I also think the city is putting a massive burden on a tiny little program. We need to give it resources and scale it up. As far as community policing, I think that it’s a great concept in theory that has not worked in the long term. There are many reasons for that, but mainly it’s because the institution of policing must be reimagined. We are two years past the death of George Floyd and nationally we still have more people being killed by police than before his death. That tells me that our next police chief needs to truly be a visionary and really reimagine the institution of policing.

Economic Vision for Denver: My vision is a Denver where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, whether you are someone who came here for the tech industry or you’re someone who makes their goods at home. I’m particularly supportive of small businesses. One of the reasons Denver has recovered from recessions historically better than other economies is because of our small businesses. We’ve been able to be nimble and adapt to changing circumstances. 

Cost of Living:  I want Denverites worried about the rising cost of living to know I’m fighting for you. You need to elect me because nothing is going to change. I waited because I wanted to see a candidate who reflected my values fully in terms of the social justice lens. And what I saw instead were candidates backed by the same people of the current administration. I knew I couldn’t do another 12 years without knowing I’d tried everything to get a seat at the table. The face of the mayor may change, but their policies are rooted in the same thing that we’ve been dealing with in an increasingly unaffordable city. So I stepped in to do something. I need support and votes, so I can help the people of Denver.

Downtown Recovery: I think we need to stop looking at downtown primarily as a business and tourist area. We need to see it as a community. Obviously, there are residences down there, but we need to make sure there is a spectrum of incomes — this is  where social housing comes in. We should promote diversity downtown, so we can have that vibrant community life because we know that society is better when we feel more connected. Additionally, our transit systems need to be expanded so that exploring downtown doesn’t require a vehicle, but we’re not there yet. Improving public transit would be a priority for my administration.

Editor’s Note

Calderón has strong positions on the principal issues of the mayoral race and well-developed solutions. Homelessness and broader affordability issues are weighing on the mind of every Denverite, and Calderón has one of the most holistic approaches to the issues. Many of the candidates implement a part of the many policies Calderón has at her disposal to address homelessness in Denver, however most of the contenders simply lack policies with the same depth as Calderón’s. This likely is in part due to her years of experience working with the unhoused.

Beyond policy, Calderón has proven herself a competent communicator as well as someone dedicated to Denver. She also has strong performances in the political debates she has participated in. In her YS interview, she performed similarly well. Calderón has an earnestness not always seen in politicians as well as an ability to engage in real conversation. She is not limited to a script where she spouts a few talking points. Calderón has the policy, experience, and personality fit for the mayor of Denver.

(D) Mike Johnston – SECONDARY ENDORSEMENT

Life Experience and Leadership: I’ve served as a principal, a Senator, and even a CEO. I think what I was trying to do in each role was build supportive, encouraging communities where people feel like they can be at their best. As an educator, I often had to find the balance between high expectations for people in the community and high levels of support because if you provide expectations without support, then you set people up for failure. And if you give support without expectations, you set people up for mediocrity. I think the goal is to support people in fulfilling their dreams. That means we give them the support and expectations they need. Whether it’s around the school community, public safety, or a micro-community. I think those are all places where we want to find that balance of expectations and support so people can feel successful.

Top 3 Issues: Homelessness, Affordability & Housing, and Public Safety. I’d say homelessness is the single most important issue we’re facing.

Homelessness: . I think we’ve seen things that have worked and others that haven’t. What hasn’t worked is trying to move people one at a time across town. I think the attempt to sweep people off the streets has not worked when there’s no place for them to go because they don’t have access to housing. However, I also don’t think we should leave people sleeping in tents on the side of the street, where they can freeze to death.

I think what we know works is providing housing to the unhoused. That means building what I’ve described as micro-communities— half-acre sites that have 40 to 50 tiny homes on them— where people can get full wraparound services, mental health support, addiction treatment, workforce training, and long-term housing support. They’ll be places where people can be in safe, stable, heated, and protected environments. I would build those around the city. The thing that I think we’ve missed is how this plan respects communities. When people are part of a community that is on the streets, they want to preserve it when moving to a healthier, more stable place. So this allows them to open to a micro-community with 40 to 50 units, so we transition clusters of people to a safer and stable environment. That’s an approach that we know we’ve used before and has worked very successfully and can work at scale.

Cities to Learn From: I think I learned the most when I was in Austin, Texas. They have a place there called Mobile Loaves and Fishes. It has tiny homes, mobile homes, RVs, and all different structures. However, it also has a real sense of community and stability. It’s a much larger site, a 60-acre campus, so I think that part of it is not practical for us. But I’ve seen the places where this housing exists, where people live in safety, stability, and a community. When you add the wraparound services, it feels really dignified and protected, and successful. And that was part of what inspired us to try that here in Denver. I was the head of the foundation for the last three years, and we led some pilot projects with partners to do this. It was very, very successful. So I mean, this is not just an idea that we think might work. It’s an idea we know has worked. We’ve already shown it to work

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: I support harm reduction as a strategy, but I don’t currently support safe injection sites. I don’t think it’s the first important step for Denver to help take on this problem. I think the much more essential step is to help get more people access to treatment and focus on reducing the public use of drugs and the distribution of it.

Policing and STAR: I think my entire focus on policing is built around community policing, on reestablishing relationships and partnerships with neighborhoods. I want officers to protect and serve while also being community members. I’m also an advocate for restorative judgment. I think it’s important for people to focus on repairing the harm they’ve done because it’s the most important thing to come to grips with. I think it’s really helpful for offenders and victims. I’m a big believer in STAR as well. It’s worked really well to have first responders with mental health and law enforcement because sometimes an officer can trigger a more extreme reaction from someone in a mental health crisis. 

Economic Vision for Denver: My vision is to build a city that is economically thriving, and that is equitably thriving. That means creating an ecosystem that encourages people to launch and grow businesses. It means an ecosystem where people can get access to job training they need to get into middle class jobs. And it means one where we see that growth reaching all corners of the city, and not just select neighborhoods or demographic

Cost of Living:  I was the lead author of Proposition 123, a ballot measure we passed last year to try to provide statewide funding for affordable housing because we have such a crisis in Colorado. Right now. 50% of Denverites can’t afford to live in Denver. The biggest driver in people’s costs is housing. That’s why I would build 25,000 more permanently affordable housing units in Denver, meaning you would never have to pay more than 30% of what you make to your income in rent. That is my biggest priority in housing and affordability. If we get that right, we can make Denver the first big city in America where working-class folks can still afford to live. My second priority is to move us away from fossil fuels and onto electric energy. Utility bills are another large expense for people that can be lowered with a move towards electric energy that is more green and affordable.

Downtown Recovery: Downtown must be revitalized because once the center collapses, the city dies from the inside out. Resolving homelessness is critical since it’s perceived as a major reason to avoid downtown because people don’t feel safe or comfortable. That also comes with a more significant police and first responder presence downtown, so people feel like they can go for a run at nine o’clock at night. It’s about a lot of incentives to bring workers back downtown. I’ll reduce fares on public transit for commuters and incentivize childcare facilities to be put on-site in workplaces; so people have a reason to come back down with their kids. We’ll look at how we can reuse some buildings occupied for residential or other public goods. We have a real obligation to revive downtown very quickly. 

Editor’s Note

Johnston is another candidate that has put in strong efforts in developing a plan to tackle homelessness in Denver. He has been tested and has proved the merit of micro-communities before, so we are interested to see how his project scales up. If he can meet even one of his high goals concerning affordability, Denver will be in great shape. We also appreciate his focus on community both the housed and the unhoused. We don’t agree with every position held by Johnston, but he’s a quality candidate with well-thought-out beliefs. During our interview, he was able to clarify and answer tough specifics on his plan — something most candidates are not prepared to do. There are a lot of candidates trying to split the difference between progressiveness and centrism. Johnston is the only one that threads the needle well.

(D) Kelly Brough

Life Experience and Leadership: I’ve worked for the city two times in my career. Early on, I worked for the Denver City Council and the personnel department for the city. Then I came back for the Hickenlooper administration. I was the head of HR  again in the personnel department and his chief of staff. I think I’ve learned from my experience just how huge the city is. More than that, I understand how incredible the city’s workforce is. I have such respect for them. I love being one of them.

Top 3 Issues: Homelessness, Affordability, and Community Safety

Homelessness: When encampments pose a public health problem, the city notices that they have to move [unhoused people]  along, so we sweep them across the street, down the block to the next neighborhood. We do it all again a few weeks later. I think it’s incredibly inhumane and ineffective. It doesn’t improve the living conditions for people who are unhoused or the neighborhoods where they’re living. It was also expensive. We just keep doing it: sweeping people. I’ll end sweeping and instead focus on getting people to housing and shelter at safer locations. To do that I will temporarily sanction safe outdoor sites so we have a safer place for everyone. We can’t get everyone indoors right away.

Cities to Learn From: Houston realized that you can stabilize unhoused people with jobs really quickly if you get them into homes again. I think that was a good lesson about getting people rehoused quickly. Washington DC and Kansas City have taught us important lessons about prevention. It’s much less expensive to support families before they lose their housing. It’s all about whether we can predict who may be at risk and partner with them before they lose their housing. These cities also highlight the importance of collecting more data on the unhoused, so we can make more informed decisions.

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: My husband struggled with addiction our entire life together, we were married for 25 years. I know how hard it is every single day to figure out how to love and support someone but not enable behaviors that are destroying someone you love and your family. My personal experience causes me to say I don’t support safe injection sites because it crosses that line of enabling that was just so hard for my family. That said, I also don’t pretend that any one of us knows exactly how to best support someone who’s struggling with an addiction. So I have visited the Harm Reduction Center to learn more, my heart is open, and my priority is saving lives.

Policing and STAR:  I’m particularly interested in restorative justice; I think it’s powerful. I got the chance early in my career to work with a woman who really has led this work, and that experience stuck with me.Concerning the STAR program, I’ll just add when you look at the data in our 911 Call Center, it’s clear, we can expand that STAR program. I would expand it by at least 50% right out of the gate based on that data, and I would monitor it to see if our 911 calls continue at these volumes. I think there’s an argument to be made to grow it even more, and I would grow it based on the data.

Economic Vision for Denver: We need companies to choose us to bring in great jobs. One of the things I would do as mayor is make sure I’m helping sell our city as a place where companies should make that investment. I also know what really builds a great city is the diversity of the city. Meeting people they wouldn’t have otherwise met and experiencing each other’s culture is powerful. They are the things that build a powerful city. Every single decision I make about our city’s future would be around how do you build a city, so social capital is naturally occurring? You’re removing the inequities we see of race and gender in our economy. We’re creating this really sustainable city, and by sustainable I mean in every way, not just environmentally sustainable, economically stable for all of its residents. That’s my vision.

Cost of Living: I’m interested in building entry-level homes for our own residents instead of trying to get the private sector developers to make them. I want to take publicly owned land, the parking lots to libraries, rec centers, police stations, and public schools, and build on them. I saw this in Germany, where they built on top of a parking lot while maintaining the parking. They had basically these big pillars that took four parking places, and they had 100 units.Additionally, our downtown has a lot of office buildings that don’t have enough people. I would look into transitioning those office buildings to residential buildings. Not only could we now build a real neighborhood downtown, but we could even build it with income levels that invite all the workers who work downtown to decide if they’d like to live there.

Downtown Recovery: On one hand, we need to accept that things have changed, and working from home is the new normal for many. However, I think we should invite small businesses and young entrepreneurs to use space downtown to start their businesses. Since there’s so much vacant space, I think this could be really a way that we revitalize our downtown and make it not only bring people back into it but also introduce a whole another generation into business opportunities. I also would make sure that we continue to keep businesses down there making investments in our downtown, whether it’s the retail or restaurants, or the companies in the office buildings, that we address the concerns that are causing them to leave downtown. We need to make it so you feel comfortable riding the trains to come into downtown, so that we continue to ensure we have vibrant sports and cultural experiences.

Editor’s Note

This doesn’t seem like the right moment for a candidate like Brough. Denver needs someone who can dramatically shake things up, and she isn’t that type of candidate. It’s likely few things would change under her administration. While we’d usually be happy to see someone running with experience, Brough’s status as a long-time political insider only further cast doubt on her ability to move away from the status quo. Brough’s time as  CEO of the chamber of commerce further begs questions about her commitment to business interests.

Strong policies could shake any doubts we had, but we have many concerns about her policies, and her interview with YS did not ease them. When we got into the nitty-gritty of logistics there was just a lot of uncertainty about Brough. We are particularly skeptical of Brough’s plan to seize the parking lots of libraries, rec centers, and police department’s develop affordable housing. She claims she can build on these lots without losing significant parking spaces. She also claims she funds these buildings with no increase in revenue. Brough also isn’t one of the candidates advocating an audit. We simply don’t know how the math will work out, and our interview did not ease this or any other of our policy concerns. Beyond this, we don’t think Brough is pushing for a large enough change to put a dent in this issue. For homelessness, Brough advocates for involuntary commitments, wrap-around services, and sanctioned outdoor temporary camps. Brough’s policies lack the vision or detail of Johnston or Calderón’s plans.

(D) Chris Hansen

Life Experience and Leadership: I have an interesting mix of experience as someone who has worked both in the private and public sectors. Not a lot of people can say they’ve seen both worlds as I have. To run a city you need to be able to come at these issues from a variety of perspectives. I already know this well from my time as Senator. I think that my mix of experiences gives me a balanced view that allows me to better consider the tough issues facing Denver today.

Top 3 Issues: Homelessness & Affordable Housing, Public Safety, and Environmental Sustainability.

Homelessness: What I advocate for most is balance. We need to acknowledge both what is and isn’t working. We cannot be successful if open camping is allowed. To keep people from sleeping on the streets, I support the sweeps. However, I think an encampment ban must be combined with the appropriate wrap-around services. We’re currently failing to connect resources for shelter, services, and support to those who need it. We must do more to bridge this gap.I’d also like to see Denver revalue its budget. We’re spending $250 million trying to address homelessness despite not seeing major improvements. That’s why I advocate for an audit of our major programs. I think we need to reevaluate how we’re spending our money and really look at what the data is saying. That’s why I’ve advocated for evidence-based budgeting here as well as at the state level.I want to bring focus and consistency to Denver’s approach to the unhoused.

Cities to Learn From: San Antonio has made impressive strides in reducing homelessness. San Antonio has found success by using many of the policies I advocate for. They’ve banned public encampments while connecting their homeless population to relevant services. They’ve also sanctioned an outdoor area for the unhoused to easily find these services. We need that combination of housing, a camping ban. and wrap-around services.

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: I’m in favor of harm reduction, but I’m not currently supportive of safe injection sites. The current data suggests that they are not effective ways of dealing with addiction. Safe injection sites just don’t seem to be very efficient.

Policing and STAR:  So far, we’ve lost about 3 million dollars from lawsuits against our police department. That’s just not effective spending. I’m for restorative justice and community policing. I also want accountability for our police. We need to rebuild and reinvest in our police, so they can be better equipped to protect our city.I’m also supportive of the STAR program. It seems to be effective. Our police cannot and should nor respond to every crisis situation and it’s great we have another option.

Economic Vision for Denver: I envision a Denver that is interconnected by public transit. That’s green pushing toward its sustainability goals. And most importantly, that’s safe. Where people feel comfortable going on jogs or letting their kids run around.

Cost of Living: Denver doesn’t look like Denver anymore. That’s a concern I often hear echoes when talking to voters. As the rising cost of living pushes out our working-class families, Denver becomes more and more unaffordable. These fears only grow more reasonable. I want voters to know I hear their concerns and have the policies that fix them. I will push for an expansion of public transit. This will allow people to access more of the city without needing to spend gas money. I will also push for the expansion of new affordable housing units. Another important piece here is sustainability. Moving away from fossil fuels isn’t just good for the environment, it’s something that can easily promote the economy. We’ll see an increase in green jobs, and movement away from fossil fuels will decrease the utility bills of citizens. Other candidates don’t often give much air time to green issues, but I think it’s a key part of the puzzle.

Denver will again move towards being more livable. I will not let our working-class families get pushed out. During my time as a senator, I’ve proven again and again my proficiency in balancing the budget. I will take Denver down the path to be a place we can afford to live. I will help Denver stay in Denver.

Downtown Recovery: We’ve definitely seen a hit downtown since the pandemic. The next mayor needs to focus on bringing companies back down town. We need a balance of both big companies that bring high-paying jobs and smaller businesses that bring culture and community to downtown. We also need to see the expansion of public transit. When it’s cheaper and easier to return downtown, we’ll see an increased amount of people return. We also must continue to enforce the camping ban, so downtown remains safe and appealing.

Editor’s Note

Hansen has a focus on balance metaphorically and fiscally that can come off as delightfully pragmatic. However, Hansen looks less appealing next to other candidates. His answers have often had a more narrow look to them. He’s not a candidate going for a dramatic change or any visionary solution. He’s not the worst candidate, but if you’re looking to see change, his incremental approach won’t get you there.

(D) Leslie Herod

Life Experience and Leadership: We need a mayor that knows how to get things done. As a legislator, I took the bold steps necessary to lead the moment and ensure that we are making changes that affect people’s real lives. I’m really proud of that work and I know that we can work in partnership to tackle some of our toughest issues today. 

I also come from my single mom and the army. We struggled to live; I was on food stamps in college. I put myself through school working two jobs. I know what it’s like to struggle and my real lived experience forms my politics. My sister was incarcerated, and that was predominantly due to mental health challenges and sexual trauma that was never addressed. I know what happens when we push people away — those people are my family. I will ensure that Denver has a more humane approach to politics.

Top 3 Issues: Affordability, Homelessness, and Safety.

Homelessness: Denver’s current plan to address homelessness is completely broken, and it’s just not working. I believe we need a more humane approach to addressing and working with our unhoused population. People on the streets right now are asking for housing. They’re asking for mental health support. They’re asking for jobs, and I think it’s essential for the city to address the challenges from a human perspective.

Cities to Learn From: We need to look towards cities that focus on a humanistic approach to addressing the unhoused. We don’t just have to look outwards. We can also look inwards to see what’s already working in Denver. I created Caring for Denver, which funds organizations that provide mental health and substance abuse services. Now in partnership with Caring for Denver, we have the opportunity to really change the infrastructure of support and make sure that our providers, unhoused, and families are cared for. 

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: I support safe injection sites and harm reduction. It’s an essential piece of a comprehensive strategy for addressing substance abuse and mental health problems in our community.

Policing and STAR: Caring for Denver is what we (congress) funded to create STAR. We set out, we stood up, and we championed STAR. We did it alongside community leaders also pushing for the program. We made it happen, and I’m proud of that work. I support expanding STAR. I also support community-based policing. And I support restorative justice when done right.

Economic Vision for Denver: I believe in a city that supports and embraces every single one of us. I  especially believe in our duty to ensure that those who have been disproportionately impacted by race are supported. That means more support for our small businesses of color. That means more support for our historically disadvantaged neighborhoods and business districts and that we actually have an economy that supports each other.

Cost of Living: The number one thing that we have to do is make sure that we have a diverse housing stock across all of our communities in Denver. That’s anything from a triplex, to duplexes, and below-market-rate housing in the city. Right now, we’re building for the wealthy rather than ensuring our communities can stay. I’ll focus on making sure communities are centered in the conversation.

Downtown Recovery: We must make sure that we activate downtown. We’ve got to make it a place people want to go to again. We need our small businesses to be able to open up downtown together because when they open up in isolation, it doesn’t drive the traffic. I believe we could set up a program like what we did at DIA, where our local small businesses, especially those of color, are incentivized and supported in opening their satellite location. Or opening right in the heart of downtown Denver. In the first 100 days, I will start to work to bring businesses back down, get workers back downtown, and ensure that it’s thriving.

Editor’s Note

Herod received a lot of praise for her work in the house of representatives in pushing for bipartisan support for bills. She has popularity and political experience on her side without being considered an insider. However, Herod seems to have underestimated the difficulty of the transition from congress to mayor. During her YS interview, Herod failed to really flesh out concrete policy suggestions. We agree with Herod on the problems she’s identified, but compared to her peers, she lacks a real policy to get the city out of the crisis. Her interview was dramatically shorter than the other candidates reflecting the lack of depth in her answers. She’s done great work as a house rep, we feel her skills serve the public best there for now.

(D) Debbie Ortega

Life Experience and Leadership: A lot of my life experience comes from my family. My dad was a coal miner and was killed in a mine cave-in when I was young. When he was alive, I saw how he helped his colleagues when they were injured and the impact he had on their lives. I also saw after my dad passed that those same people came back to provide the same love and assistance to my family. My mother also impacted the community. She worked in food banks, and lots of times that food ended up on our table. The impact my parents had on families in our community is ingrained in my DNA and who I am. I’ve never considered myself a career politician; I have been a dedicated public servant. And I do this because it’s been a labor of love.

Top 3 Issues: Crime and Safety, Housing Affordability, and Traffic Congestion. I think crime is right at the top of everybody’s mind. We’ve seen unprecedented car theft across our city. We’ve seen deadly drugs, traveling all across the US that are in our city, or on our streets, or in our schools. Guns are causing a lot of violence and crime across our city.

Homelessness: When our city brought forward this no-camping ban, I did not support it because we didn’t bring services to the table. We’ve seen a proliferation of encampments in our city since that time.  We’ve been housing people for two years. So we have to have an exit plan. I believe that the exit plan helps bring together our workforce tools with our service providers that get grant funds to be helping people get back to work to be training them, and we’ve got, you know, the skilled trades. We have a number of organizations out in the community that are doing other kinds of training programs. For me, it’s always about wealth, building opportunities, and moving people to self-sufficiency. 

As long as we can help people do that, they’re going to be successful standing on their own two feet, and then we can convert that housing to long-term housing for people that will lead it. In Denver. We also need different price points for housing because over time we’ve become very expensive.

Cities to Learn From: So I’ve been to a couple of different cities. I’ve been to San Francisco to see their Delancey Street model, which is more specific to an offender population. But it’s a great model built around social enterprises focused on giving people amazing skill sets and promoting independence. By the time they leave, these people all have skills as managers of different businesses, they understand the financial aspects of it, and they’ve had to order the supplies for the restaurant. They then can use their new skills to be successful in a plethora of professions.

Another incredible model is The Mobile Loaves and Fishes site down in Austin. It’s a combination of tiny homes and trailers that are serving a community. Toyota helped build a facility there where they trained people from the community to work on cars.

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: I supported legislation for a safe injection site, but we couldn’t do anything to move our harm reduction facility to a safe injection site until the state legislature took action. I know that’s a piece of legislation being talked about right now. Whether that passes or not. I don’t know. We can’t do that until the legislature acts. If they do act, we’ve already passed the legislation that would allow that to happen.

Policing and STAR: I support community policing. I want cops to know people in these neighborhoods at the grassroots level, and it’s important for our kids. It’s important to have preventative programs for our young people of all types, not just recreation, but a whole host of offerings for young people.

I also believe that our police must be held accountable for their actions. I also think that a lot of people in our community want the laws to be enforced. We’ve had too many people affected by their cars being stolen.

Economic Vision for Denver: I want to create a Denver where people have opportunities for the connection that leads to wealth building so that people can reach economic stability. As we’ve seen our city grow, we haven’t the economic wealth be spread equally beyond neighborhoods, and that’s something I want to make sure is resolved.

Cost of Living: The economy and its impacts affect everyone. Our city is no longer affordable for everyone. We need to return to having all different pricing levels of housing. That’s why I’m focused on manufactured housing as a way to bring down costs for renters.

Downtown Recovery: We bring back downtown by focusing on many things I’ve already discussed. We need affordable housing. We need improved public transit to mitigate traffic congestion and ease of movement. We also need to welcome small businesses and offer training programs to promote their development. All of that ties back to the economy, but we need to be intentional in our actions.

Editor’s Note

Candidates like Ortega are in an interesting place. She has the boost of being one of the few candidates with extensive political experience. However, like Brough, she’ll be scrutinized as someone who may be satisfied with the status quo to help Denver. Not helping matters is Ortega’s approach to communication. She struggles to answer questions. She’s struggled in debates to answer questions directly, she’s struggled in her YS interview, and she has struggled in other interviews. While we enjoyed the conversation with her, she was the only candidate that pushed us to repeat a question multiple times. She’s done great work as a councilwoman, but as long as she is so hesitant to take strong positions on anything worthwhile, we can’t give her our endorsement.

(R) Andy Rougeot – RADIO SILENT – TOO EXTREME

Editor’s Note

Under no circumstances could we endorse Andy Rougeot. His views on the unhoused are extreme and he approaches problem solving like a hammer.

Fair Contenders

These candidates aren’t front-runners, but they still might have a shot at the mayoral seat. Their responses to our questions are below.

(D) Ian Tafoya

Life Experience and Leadership: Every step I take is another step on the path of my ancestors and my immediate family. My mother, a social worker and union steward, raised me to love and support my neighbors. Growing up in Denver’s diverse West Side, I connected with so many incredible people, including my own Chicano community, and I’ve carried that connection into my leadership today. 

Growing up Denver’s city programs mentored me and shaped me. I rode the bus to my first job at the Museum of Arts and Sciences. I took advantage of the free concerts, arts programs, and youth activities. I went to the Metropolitan State University of Denver where I majored in Political Science with a minor in Native American Studies. These experiences have motivated me to organize policies that improve the lives of my communities: the marginalized and resilient groups traditionally left behind by policymakers. 

And as an indigenous person, I am called to reach out in all four directions and bring people together for the sake of our planet and one another. It’s time to make policy with the urgency our communities deserve and for the benefit of the next seven generations.

Top 3 Issues: Environmental justice, Housing, and Public Health & Safety. 

Homelessness: I don’t believe our city is investing in effective solutions to our housing crisis. First, I’ve always opposed Denver’s sweeps of homeless encampments. After years of wasting taxpayer money cruelly forcing people from one block to another and back again, the unhoused population has tripled. I founded an organization to provide water and trash pickup to encampments because the sweeps don’t address these public health issues. Second, many of the “solutions” our city invests in, like shelters, are more of a band-aid. We need to audit how we are spending funds and make sure they’re going to effective long-term solutions, and we need to do it in collaboration with unhoused communities themselves. 

Research shows the fastest, cheapest way to get people off the streets is to get them into housing with wrap-around services. In 2020, I presented a community plan that leveraged regional cooperation to rapidly get folks off the streets, and as Mayor, I would implement it while expanding programs that have actually been proven to work in Denver. We also have to address our housing crisis so nobody becomes homeless in the first place. 

Cities to Learn From: The Cauf Society released a report in 2022 on four cities that have essentially solved homelessness: Helsinki in Finland, Vienna in Austria, Columbus in Ohio, and Salt Lake City in Utah. They all dramatically reduced the number of people who were unhoused by simply housing them rather than providing temporary shelter or preconditions for treatment. Investing funds up-front in a Housing First Model puts a roof over someone’s head first and supports their recovery after that point. Utah reduced the number of unhoused people by 90% from 2005-2015.

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: I strongly support safe injection sites and view harm reduction as a crucial tool in reducing addiction and drug-related deaths. We can’t punish our way out of addiction and trauma, we have to guide people towards healing. Supervised drug use is the first step to prevent fentanyl overdoses and other dangerous overdoses, as well as reduce the public health risks of using dirty needles and needle disposal. Harm reduction is more than just safe use, though. I would build on Denver Harm Reduction’s existing efforts to supply methadone to help people fight addiction, counseling services and trauma-informed care. We need consistency of care for both inpatient and outpatient addiction services.

Policing and STAR: I strongly support the STAR program, and sat on the task force overseeing its implementation. As Mayor I would expand the STAR program so that they can truly replace police as a response to mental health crises. We need to pair STAR with broad systems of mental health support to ensure continuity of care. I’ll work with communities, experts and law enforcement to identify other areas where we can lessen the burden on police and reduce contact with the criminal justice system. 

I also strongly support restorative justice. This is an incredible way to heal our communities, disrupt cycles of trauma and keep people out of jail. Incarceration as it currently rarely solves the social problems and cycles that trap offenders at the onset. In contrast, restorative justice provides opportunities for everyone involved to heal and grow. Iit gives real mental health interventions and treatment a chance to work. Indigenous communities like the Jicarilla Apache have used restorative justice successfully for ages.

When it comes to Community Policing, I need to learn more about the data on its impacts. On the one hand, I believe it can never hurt to have officers understand a neighborhood and care deeply about it. But community policing alone isn’t a solution to our community’s ongoing, chronic, and persistent concerns about police violence. Police brutality still happens in Community Policing models. And communities of color can still be over-policed under a Community Policing model. Finally even the best police officers are not necessarily the best solution to many of the problems we expect them to address. I believe we need to also invest in non-police, community-based violence prevention programs that proactively prevent conflict in the neighborhood before it happens.

Economic Vision for Denver: I envision a clean, green city accessible to all, including pedestrians and disabled commuters. We’ll have reasonable rent for small businesses and mixed income apartments where all Denverites enjoy a comfortable home, not just the wealthy. We do this by passing rent control and a vacancy tax, using public banking to build more housing for working families and changing zoning so we can build on parking lots and commercial lots. We’ll make sure there are safe bike lanes, expand electric bus networks and thriving downtown parks. A creative arts scene is visited by locals and tourists alike. We’ll increase well-paying union jobs by supporting collective bargaining for all city workers and as we build a renewable transition we’ll invest in local workers with the highest labor standards. Too often “revitalization” in this city pushes our working families out or leaves them behind. I would make sure current residents lead the way on our city’s economic growth and get to enjoy the results. 

Cost of Living: I’m worried about it too. I too am a renter, this is one of our most urgent crises. We need swift leadership that puts people before corporations to address it. First, we need to make sure people can stay in the homes they have by passing rent control and a vacancy tax, so corporations can’t use empty buildings for write-offs. I recently co-led the coordinated campaign to pass ballot initiatives like Waste No More and No Eviction Without Representation, and we need to make sure that initiative is fully funded and enact a moratorium on evicting tenants without legal representation in the meantime. Then, we need to expand transitional housing programs and housing that seniors, the disabled, and working families can all afford. I served on the Inter-neighborhood Cooperation Zoning and Planning Committee, Blueprint Denver, and the task force implementing Colorado’s first inclusionary zoning law. It’s time to take that experience to the Mayor’s Office and push things further. We need heavy requirements and incentives for building actually affordable units for working families, allowing commercial zoning to become residential and ease permitting so people can build single-family homes to fit more people. 

All this housing construction is a huge opportunity for that construction to be sustainable. It’s also an opportunity to invest in local workforce development and contracting local businesses with the highest labor standards. 

Downtown Recovery: We need to lower rent so small businesses can stay downtown, and provide incentives for new local small businesses to move in. By expanding electric public transportation we can also make it easier for both tourists and residents of other neighborhoods to enjoy those businesses and a thriving arts scene. I propose to invest in support for local artists, especially artists of color, to invigorate the downtown cultural scene. 

Addressing our housing crisis will also help get folks housed and avert the public health crisis that is the downtown encampments. This will most importantly help the unhoused downtown residents, but also make things easier for downtown businesses.

(D) Al Gardner – RADIO SILENT

(D) Thomas Wolf

Life Experience and Leadership: Fourth in a family of five, with education in science and a graduate degree in finance, broad work experience with most depth in finance, nonprofit work in affordable housing, art, and education, gives me a circumspect grounding in how the world operates and how government can best serve its citizens.

Top 3 Issues: Encampments, Encampments, Encampments.

Homelessness: Should our laws be enforced and should we deliver shelter to our neediest? YES! Are we properly confronting this crisis? NO! This crisis requires the proper allocation of resources to divide and conquer. Since this population has been measured as chemically dependent, mentally ill, and criminal, the appropriate corresponding resources are clinicians, social workers, and police officers, respectively. This triage is the remedy to this crisis. We must acknowledge this as a humanitarian crisis and get this population sheltered; anything less is inhumane and inexcusable.

Shelter is the answer provided by your city on its land and within its surplus buildings. To not shelter Denver’s neediest is inhumane and inexcusable. The big picture is demand exceeding supply. A couple smaller fixable issues are the state needs to address the length of time builders are liable for construction defects, and our city needs to expedite P&Z, building, and fire reviews to lower costs. I also think there is an opportunity with the city balance sheet to assist credit-worthy renters with home ownership and equity creation, which is a double win because it frees up a rental unit. 

I have a plan to broaden access to affordable health insurance, which should improve citizens’ budgets for housing.

Cities to Learn From: I have been successful in my business career by setting attainable goals, problem solving within budgets, and having a bias to action. My plan speaks specifically to encampments, an identifiable most needy subset of homelessness, and the solution is city provided shelter. Most cities that are making any progress on this issue see this as the most humane and cost-effective approach.

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: I am for shelter for those in encampments, so that they then have a chance to make better life decisions and have access to rehabilitative care. To enable bad life decisions has not shown positive longitudinal outcomes so I would oppose these sites.

Policing and STAR: Our city has been paralyzed with lawlessness for the past three years and it is getting worse while we continue to spend over a quarter of our budget on safety. Safety’s job is to enforce laws, protect and keep our streets safe, this department like all departments needs to be instructed on their deliverables, held accountable for their work, and measured on their outcomes. I have met with DA Beth McCann and have attended a fundraiser on restorative justice, the initial outcomes and cost/benefit appear favorable and if indeed proves to be, should be expanded. 

To the extent the STAR program helps confront and end encampments by triage of care from social workers, clinicians, and police, when necessary, I am supportive. To the extent it just gives water and socks to enable a continuation of bad life decisions, it is definitely not a compelling allocation of budget. 

Economic Vision for Denver: A vibrant internationally recognized mecca that functions effectively and equally for all of its diverse inhabitants. A safe clean smart oasis that benefited from fresh strong competent leadership’s fiscal optimization which in turn generated social awareness and a greener city, with the flywheel of these attributes continuing to compound for the city and the region.

Cost of Living: I would applaud them for their foresight and being budget conscious. Their next step needs to be figuring out how to live within their means, or ideally below, so that they can build savings and equity, to be more resilient to adverse economic trends.

Downtown Recovery: As stated above, the root cause is encampments which make our streets dangerous and filthy, these needy citizens must be removed and sheltered. It is a vivid tale of two cities, upper downtown and lower downtown. Our upper downtown has a high concentration of office space, compounded by the fact that majority of the tenants are car commuters, whereas lower downtown has a mix of office, residential, retail and entertainment, along with a transit hub. We need to support redevelopment of upper downtown to have a winning mix of real estate types and uses. Surface parking lots that are poorly maintained and not landscaped, strike me as upper downtown’s smile that is missing a few teeth.

(D) Trinidad Rodriguez – TOO EXTREME

Life Experience and Leadership: My experience is fundamentally intertwined in how I view the needs of our community, especially given that I’ve been exposed to so many places and moments in this place. 

Homelessness is a particularly personal issue for me. In addition to my single mom and me experiencing housing insecurity when I was growing up, my godfather struggled with addiction and was unhoused. All I remember thinking was “I hope there is someone who can protect him from himself and others.”

Top 3 Issues: Homelessness, Crime, Affordability

Homelessness: I support many of Mayor Hancock’s approaches to homelessness, including the urban camping ban. As Mayor, I will continue sweeps to protect health and safety. I’ll also continue the city’s support of the ecosystem of human service and housing providers providing services and housing options. What I will add to the Mayor’s approach is concrete action toward addressing mental health and substance misuse abuse disorders where access to adequate treatment is currently extremely limited. 

One of my first acts as Mayor will be to institute a state of emergency response to manage the unhoused crisis in Denver with specific disruptive and transformational proposals to address the crisis. Under my state of local emergency proposal, the city will identify a location and build a temporary field treatment center employing similar strategies to what Denver developed to prepare for COVID surges. Teams will be deployed with qualified mental health clinicians to admit persons who are a danger to themselves and/or others either voluntarily or involuntarily. 

We will work with Denver’s Legislative delegation to adopt laws that enable involuntary holds to be used in Colorado to support the completion of the standard of care for mental health and substance addiction disorders necessary to meet a high ethical burden. And to enforce this, I will expand the STAR program to be both proactive and responsive. 

Cities to Learn From: There are a number of other major metropolitan cities committing to voluntary and involuntary commitment of treatment-resistant folks living unhoused: San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. As I mentioned previously, this is the right approach and Denver should commit as well. 

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites:  I do not support these sites, there are more effective alternatives to make a meaningful difference.

Policing and STAR: I support the STAR program, in fact I hope to expand it. Rebuilding trust between our law enforcement community and the Denver community at-large is essential for the success of our city. Our officers need to be doing the job they are trained to do, not more. I also support making STAR more proactive than its current state of responsiveness to help address the homeless crisis on our streets as I previously laid out in my plan.

Economic Vision for Denver: My economic vision is tied to my vision overall is to build a city where every Denverite, regardless of the neighborhood they’re in, can achieve their version of success. This vision is rooted in equity and fairness to achieve affordability and can be summarized with this equation:

Household Income – Expenses = Control of the Future + Stability of Families.

My economic plans are designed to implement this vision by working to boost income by creating and expanding our city’s educational assets to invest in our people’s knowledge and skills while equally accelerating and expanding our efforts to mitigate household expense pressures on the largest line items including housing, food, utilities, and transportation.

Cost of Living: I would say it’s unacceptable. The cost of living has skyrocketed in Denver, and wages aren’t keeping up. I will accelerate the creation of the total housing supply and its diversity, particularly housing stock to meet the needs of the workforce and lowest-income families. Having served on the board of Denver Housing Authority for over 11 years, I helped lead the organization through its first affordable housing bond backed by the city of Denver to speed up the delivery of 5,000 units in Sun Valley, Westridge, and other neighborhoods, and open new opportunities in permanent supportive housing land banking. Denver should innovate this approach to support this development amidst today’s market realities. My involvement on the Blueprint Denver Task Force for three years and my knowledge of capital and development markets have positioned me to catalyze private sector momentum in the supply of so-called missing middle housing types that can be priced to be affordable to moderate-income households. These can be built in medium and medium-low density along high-frequency transit corridors and nodes becoming a large-scale opportunity for our city. Denver also needs to cut red tape and accelerate the permitting process, which involves investing in logistics plans and accountability, which can be through independent contracting and/or resource alignment.

Downtown Recovery:  I will prioritize implementing my plans to reverse escalating crime and spiraling homelessness happening downtown. I believe doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results must be avoided.

I aim to convert surplus commercial buildings to vertical mixed-use communities that will add greenhouses, artistic spaces, housing, and office spaces to liven our community. I also want to develop our mobility system to maximize downtown’s full potential as the region’s mass transit hub working with RTD to deliver convenient and efficient alternatives to single occupancy cars.

I have committed to bringing city and county of Denver employees back to the offices, and I see more activation Downtown as a key to making working in offices a worthwhile choice for workers. I’ll be working with many partners to produce weekday Ciclovias, mass wellness activity events including shared streets, and other unique opportunities. As Mayor, I’ll actively push for collaboration between the public and private sectors and community to bring their unique contributions to the table to ensure our Downtown is a success.

Less Prominent Candidates

These candidates are dragging behind in both polling and funding. We don’t foresee these candidates having a strong showing in the election.

(D) Kwame Spearman – TOO EXTREME

Life Experience and Leadership: My parents instilled in me the value of public service, my father worked for the city, and my mother was an educator who rose to be an assistant superintendent of Denver Public Schools. As a proud graduate of Denver Public Schools, I know firsthand the transformative power of a quality education and have always been committed to giving back to my community. 

My parents also instilled the values of public service, a driving force in my life. As a Denver native, I have seen this city change and grow throughout my life – and it’s made me fully recognize what a crossroads our city is now at.

As a business owner and CEO, I understand the importance of making tough decisions and identifying new opportunities. My experience turning around the Tattered Cover has given me firsthand knowledge of what it takes to manage a successful enterprise and how to grapple with making tough choices when they are necessary and need to be made. We must be realistic about the issues our city faces and make some pragmatic decisions.

Top 3 Issues: Neighborhoods, Public Safety & Homelessness, and Housing Affordability

Homelessness: Though I commend Mayor Hancock for his work to address homelessness in Denver, I believe that we need to take a step back and take a much more strategic approach to solve this complex issue. 

We need to approach homelessness in Denver as a segmented problem, where different populations need different solutions. And we must face the tragic reality that rampant drug abuse is fueling a chronic issue of camping in public spaces. To start with, the camping ban must be enforced, along with our other existing laws.

As mayor, I will accelerate better segmentation and more individualized services for those who need and want them, with a streamlined system to access services such as mental health, addiction, housing, and workforce support. I also believe in expanding the STAR program to improve responses to mental health crises. We can expand on Mayor Hancock’s amazing efforts by creating more units and assigning STAR units in specific neighborhoods across Denver. This will help to provide necessary care to those in need while also addressing the root causes of crime.

We also must coordinate our efforts, launching an audit of current programs so we understand what is working, and reinvesting it. And cease spending on ineffective programs. 

Though I believe in enforcing the camping ban, I also believe that we need to take a compassionate approach to address the many causes of homelessness. 

Cities to Learn From: I’ve looked at cities across the country to see how they are addressing homelessness and there are both promising practices Denver can learn from as well as cautionary tales. Cities like San Francisco have struggled to address the homelessness crisis, and I fear Denver is headed in that direction. An example of a city taking a better approach to homelessness is New York City. The city provides shelter for anyone who needs it, while also enforcing a stricter approach to public camping and using tools like involuntary holds when absolutely necessary for those dealing with mental health crises.  Another example is Salt Lake City, which has had some success working with the state on housing first.

Denver can learn from New York City and Salt Lake City’s approaches, but I also think we need to be mindful of the fact that Denver is very different than both of these cities, and that the solutions that work in the context of New York or Salt Lake City might need to modified to work in Denver, or might not work at all. We need to take a better approach that is more innovative and data-driven to find out what works in Denver. Our current approach is not.

Harm Reduction and Safe Injection Sites: At this point in time, I don’t believe safe injection sites are an appropriate solution for Denver. We need to consider the legality of this in the United States, which has previously prevented Denver from moving forward with this proposal. But even then, I believe that this is not the right way to address the problems Denver faces over the long run.

Policing and STAR: I am committed to ensuring that our communities feel safe and secure. To address the increase in crime that we’ve seen, I believe that we need a clear plan that includes both restructuring the Denver Police Department and expanding our successful STAR program.

To restructure the Denver Police Department, I plan to incorporate policing into my overall Neighborhood Plan, so that police officers specialize in certain neighborhoods and become an active part of the community. This will allow for better relationships to be formed between law enforcement and residents, which can decrease crime and negativity towards the police. I believe that neighborhood policing is the best approach for addressing community safety, and I’m committed to making it a reality in Denver.

Additionally, I believe that expanding our STAR program is an essential component of addressing community safety. This successful program has already shown results, and we must build on that success by dramatically increasing its scope. By assigning STAR units to specific neighborhoods across Denver, we can improve response times and ensure that those in need receive the help they require.

Economic Vision for Denver: As a small business owner, I know that local businesses and workers power Denver’s economy. As the next Mayor, I am committed to building an economy that works for everyone, which starts with supporting, hiring, and building locally.

I have firsthand experience with the challenges that businesses and entrepreneurs face, having saved an independent bookstore, the Tattered Cover, during the height of the pandemic. To help ignite Denver’s economic renewal, I will work to remove barriers that stand in the way of local businesses. There are a number of important policy proposals that I will implement as mayor to power our local economy: 

Creating a city fund for seed and emergency capital for locally owned businesses. This capital will be provided with low interest rates and mandatory timelines for efficient deployment. And it will help foster businesses aligned with our Denver neighborhoods.

Seeking to influence large Denver-based organizations to become “anchor institutions” via leadership and partnership incentives. Anchor institutions will pledge to source goods, workers, and IT from Denver neighborhoods.

Elevating the city’s infrastructure to provide worker training for marginalized and student communities, and incentives for local businesses to employ these workers.  

Using sales tax dollars to emulate the federal government’s Employee Retention Credit program, which gave tax dollars back to businesses that kept their employees on payroll during the pandemic. 

This policy will allow companies to continue increasing minimum wages to their employees, while also lowering their effective labor rates.

Cost of Living: The biggest thing the Mayor can do to impact the overall affordability in Denver is to work on housing affordability. There’s not much a mayor can do about inflation, but as mayor, I can do things to make housing more affordable for people in Denver. My policies include the Vienna Plan, which is a strategy for the creation of affordable housing units. Additionally, I want to streamline the permitting process so that more housing units can be built in a shorter amount of time. This will help to increase the supply of affordable housing and drive down prices.

Denver has grown an incredible amount since I was a kid, and with that has come some growing pains. But there are many exciting opportunities for how we can address this issue. For example, there is still a large amount of unused and underutilized land in Denver, much of it owned by the city.

I will conduct a full audit to see how this land can best be put to use to build affordable housing.

Downtown Recovery: As the CEO of a business with multiple downtown locations, I am particularly aware of the challenges that the pandemic has presented to Denver’s downtown. But now that the pandemic is behind us, we are still seeing downtown being far less active than it was before. The biggest blocker for downtown getting back to where it was is public safety and homelessness. The next mayor has to address these problems and they can no longer be ignored. It’s especially urgent because we are finding ourselves in a vicious cycle where retail shops closing only makes these problems worse.

My focus as mayor will be on improving public safety and addressing homelessness in a compassionate yet effective manner. This means increasing the number of police officers and homeless outreach workers on the streets, creating safe spaces for people experiencing homelessness to access services, and enforcing the camping ban to ensure that our public spaces are clean and accessible to all.

As part of my Neighborhood Plan, I will direct the Police Department to implement more neighborhood policing, where police officers will be assigned to neighborhoods and implement policing policies aligned with the diverse needs of Denver’s many neighborhoods.

(D) Aurelio Martinez –  RADIO SILENT

(D) Robert Treta – RADIO SILENT

(D) Terrance Roberts – PENDING RESPONSE

The post 2023 Denver Mayoral Election Guide appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

By Sonia Gutierrez & Julio Sandoval, Rocky Mountain PBS (via AP Storyshare)

Veronica Talamantes in Wiggins, Colorado. Courtesy of Rocky Mountain Public Media

WIGGINS, Colo. — From Monday through Thursday, Veronica Talamantes spends her days driving to and from school, picking up and dropping off three of her children.

“We live kind of far because we live out in a farm,” Talamantes explained. “You have to [drive], there’s no other option.”

Ideally, her children would take school buses, but Wiggins School District canceled their transportation service this year and the price she’s had to pay for that has been monumental.

Talamantes said it has been hard for her to get a job because she has to plan around driving her kids to and from school.

“For parents that … live far from the school and try to get a job and we can’t because there’s no transportation that will bring our kids safe from school and to school… so it’s hard,” said Talamantes.

Her husband is a farmworker at a dairy nearby. She said the money her husband earns goes to bills and gas. “We live week by week,” said Talamantes.

“I’ll pump gas but I don’t go anywhere else because gas here was almost $5 [per gallon],” she said. Talamantes and other farmworker families have tried carpooling but because Wiggins is so spread out, that has been hard.

Parked School Buses

Wiggins School District canceled their transportation services because of hiring challenges. The superintendent warned that Wiggins won’t be the only district struggling with the shortage if recruitment efforts don’t improve. Courtesy of Rocky Mountain Public Media

The transportation problem is not because there is a lack of buses, but because there is lack of drivers. Wiggins School District Superintendent Trent Kerr said the district sold half its fleet.

“We just had a pumpkin patch farm pick them up so they can use them for a zombie apocalypse type area,” Kerr said of the buses.

The district crunched the numbers and realized they were losing money by having over a dozen buses just sit in a parking lot.

“We had to get new batteries in them,” Kerr explained. “If they’re not being ran, the batteries were being worn down.”

The district is down to six buses that they have for activities and emergencies. As for driving kids to school, Kerr said, “it was something nobody wanted to do.”

Third Year Without School Transportation

This will be the third year families in Wiggins will not have bus transportation. The first two years were because of the pandemic, then the district lost all their drivers to retirement. Recruiting more has been challenging, Kerr said, because of the job requirements. Kerr explained that in order for people to qualify to drive a school bus, they need to earn a Class B CDL. “Which is the same thing as driving a semi-truck,” he said. “So, people don’t want to drive a school bus for $25 an hour when they can drive a truck full time.”

The school district does offer before and after school programs and a virtual option for students to learn from home if transportation becomes an issue.

Often, Kerr said he has had to get behind the wheel himself. In Colorado, superintendents are the only ones who can drive school buses without a CDL classification, he said. Kerr knows of at least four other Colorado superintendents having to do the same thing because of the lack of drivers.

“As a state we need to address the issue — as a nation we need to address the issue — because it’s not going away and it’s only going to get worse. We’re not going to be the only district that’s doing this in the future you’re going to see more and more around us,” said Kerr.

He recognizes this decision is putting more teenagers on the road and more children in cars with teenagers driving.

For moms like Talamantes, she would rather lose half her family’s income than put her children in danger. But, she’s not sure how much longer they can survive with that sacrifice.

Her message to the school district is to allow other people to come help brainstorm different options.

“I think it would be helpful just to see other ideas other options. How is everyone working to maintain their buses? At least to help the parents that need it,” said Talamantes. “The point is to help everybody out. We’re all struggling the same way. Help each other out to make it possible.”

Not Just a Colorado Problem

School districts nationwide are struggling to get bus drivers behind the wheel.

Recent recent shows that 86% of schools say they don’t have enough bus driver applicants despite offering pay incentives, training and flexible schedules.

The lack of drivers is forcing districts to cut corners and parents to get creative.

The post Bus driver shortage leaves parents to fend for themselves in Northeast Colorado school district appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Photo credit: Maico Pereira via Unsplash

• On July 19, the U.S. House vigorously approved a bill—Respect for Marriage Act, RMA (H.R. 8404)—which repeals Section 2 of Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and provides same-sex couples with certainty that federal protection and benefits would flow from a valid marriage celebrated in a state where such marriages are legal, despite if a couple travels or relocates to different state. With many other crucial precedents reposing on the clause of due process people have begun to worry that more civil liberties will be attacked by the partisan Supreme Court.
• As baby formula has dropped to the lowest level of inventory recorded so far this year—with nearly 30% of formula products still out of stock as of July 3, 2022-the Biden administration along with close coordination with formula companies have begun importing products from surrounding companies to bridge the gap; until U.S. production can keep shelves stocked.
• The newly authorized 4th COVID-19 vaccine was cleared for use in the U.S. On July 19, 2022: Novavax. Inc, an American biotechnology company has shipped 3.2 million vaccination doses to federal distribution centers. People could start receiving the vaccines as early as July 25.
• During August 1-31—the highest ozone season in Colorado—the entire month will offer Zero Fare charge on all regional transportation district (RTD) systems to help combat ground level ozone emissions. The fare-free month on RTD transportation was made possible by the Colorado Senate bill 22-180; signed by Gov. Jared Polis on May 26, 2022, and RTDs partnership with Colorado Energy office allowing 68 million to go to transit systems, Bustang service, and to improve main streets.
• As of July 25, DCP operating company LP is set to pay a $3.25 million fine after federal and Colorado state air pollution officials discovered the companies lack of attention to detect and repair leaks resulting in increased health-harming ozone emissions in Weld County. The EPA has Weld County part of the northern Front Range non-attainment area for its continued ozone violations. State officials and the EPA said in a statement that they’re focusing on tightening the oil and gas operations in the northern Front Range regions.
• The City of Boulder is currently seeking out a $6.5 million annual climate tax—The Climate Action Plan Tax—which will help protect and sustain against pollution and rising heat waves. If approved by votes this fall, the tax would shift the majority of the cost to business and industries, and away from city residents.
• Cobalt Abortion Fund has seen their caseload triple since the Supreme Court, in an unprecedented decision, chose to strike down Roe Vs. Wade. Newly released fund data reveals that Cobalt Colorado paid for 710 procedures between January 1 and July 25, with 88 in June alone. And of the 168 clients the organization helped between June 24 and July 21 with practical support such as travel expenses, child care and hotel rooms, 64 percent were from Texas, 31 percent came from other states, and 5 percent were from Colorado.
• U.S. companies that prescribe abortion pills after telehealth consultation have seen an increase in demand in restrictive states since last months Supreme Court overturn of Roe V. Wade. States where it is illegal to have an abortion—women can still receive pills through non-profits and companies based overseas or in nonrestricted states. The Biden administration has sought to protect access to pills used to conduct more than half of abortions in the U.S.
• Since Russia’s first attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, not a single compromise has been made; until now—Friday, July 22, Ukrainian and Russian officials sat at separate tables while they signed the U.N.-backed grain export deal in Istanbul, Turkey. The agreement will clear the way in Odesa and other ports for shipments of wheat out of The Black Sea within weeks, freeing up storage space in Ukraine for fresh harvests.
• Tina Peters was arrested for a second time and released on bond from Pitkin County after contacting Mesa County Elections Director Brandi Bantz under her grand jury indictment for allegedly facilitating a security breach in the Mesa County election office.

Small Talk

By The Numbers

The post Month in Review | July 2022 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

by Garrett Looker

Two years ago, as the world began to change and the COVID-19 pandemic circled the globe, Heidi Leathwood began to change her personal world. With the ideas of sustainability, environmental protection, and a greener future, Leathwood found herself altering what many consider to be a vital part of life. She stopped driving—completely. 

In those two years, Leathwood has continued to put down miles behind her, whether by foot or by bike. For further stretches, such as visiting her mother, Leathwood has been unshaken, relying on public transportation for longer distances. 

Leathwood, a climate policy analyst with 350 Colorado, and others know the concept of transportation is inherently intertwined with renewable energy and sustainability, and it is one that is specifically outlined in the Colorado Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap, a plan created following HB19-1261, the climate action plan to reduce pollution. As dictated in that bill, the Colorado General Assembly put into motion plans to reduce 2025 greenhouse gas pollution by at least 26% compared to 2005 levels. The bill also states that levels must be lowered 50% by 2030 and 90% by 2050. 

Political action such as this suggests Colorado presents itself as a forward-thinking state that values supporting and safeguarding vital ecosystems. However, the latest 2020 Eco-Cycle and Colorado Public Interest Research Group report found Colorado is not meeting its recycling and composting goals and “remains one of the 20 most wasteful states.” Moreover, Colorado has continuously endorsed and funded environmentally integrated bicycle and pedestrian greenways but continues to allocate major portions of transportation funding to highway renewal and expansion. Colorado is adept at cultivating ecological literacy and promoting eco-friendly lifestyles overall, but the Centennial State merely models the skills to be environmentally conscious. Contributing to the comprehensive reduction of climate change is an area in which the state of Colorado falls short.

In a 2021 study, Colorado ranked No. 9 in eco-friendly behaviors but No. 25 as a climate-change contributor (Wallet Hub).

This begs the question, how can Colorado effect measurable change and significantly decrease its overall contribution to climate change? While Boulder and Denver are examples in creating greenways and bike paths, both cities lack a number of walkable neighborhoods—Boulder maintains a median Walk Score of 56, and Denver has an average Walk Score of 61. Walk Score is an online website that rates and scores neighborhoods and cities across America on walkability. These two cities are ranked in the middle tier of scoring at “somewhat walkable.” Compared to a car-dependent community, a walkable neighborhood diminishes greenhouse gas emissions by four tons yearly. Colorado’s environmental goals could be met by generating walkable neighborhoods throughout its more sizable cities, yet it has largely failed to do so. Solutions to create more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods may be on the horizon.

The issue of climate change is rooted in the very idea of who American citizens are and specifically, what they drive, Molly McKinley, policy director of Denver Streets Partnership claims. 

“It’s something I think about all the time,” McKinley said. “We can’t have our cake and eat it too. We can’t make the critical change that we need to. We really need to make a fundamental shift in how we move around our communities if we’re going to meet these goals.”

The fight against climate change and achieving the goals set out in Colorado’s roadmap can only be won by drastically altering the standard way of living and traveling, according to Rachel Hultin of Bicycle Colorado. 

“To me, when you get people out of cars and walking and biking in their communities, you’re making communities better today,” Hultin said. “But what you’re really doing is making the investment for future generations.”

To Hultin, community is tied to how individuals feel about their place—and specifically, how dedicated they feel to making it better.

For her, once people step out from behind the wheel of their car, they become closer to the lives around them. 

“Community—it’s a group of people who feel connected by place,” Hultin continued. “And they may or may not know who’s in their community, but the connection to place connects them. And transportation is inherently connected to place. When you get out of your car and you don’t have a windshield, and whether you’re walking or riding a bike, you have a more sensory experience, and your brain actually processes your experience in a more humanized way.”

Acknowledging that fossil fuels are an antiquated energy source, America has seen a significant shift in the development of electric vehicles across the country. On the national front, Ford Motors recently announced plans to reorganize its manufacturing divisions with Ford Blue, which creates the traditional internal combustion engine, and Ford Model E, which develops battery electric vehicles. John Deere has obtained a majority interest in Kreisel Electric, Inc., an Austrian company specializing in renewable battery energy. Colorado’s own Governor Jared Polis has continued to assert his commitment to a goal of 940,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030.

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, there are approximately 49,271 electric vehicles registered in the state currently. 

The state’s pollution reduction roadmap will focus on encouraging Coloradans to turn to electric vehicles as well as electrifying city and state vehicle fleets. Efforts such as this are to continue past the 2025 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26%. So much so, by 2050, the roadmap plans to have approximately 100% of all vehicles on Colorado streets be electric. In March 2022, Colorado released plans to introduce all-electric, 18-wheeler trucks to the streets of Denver. This effort pairs with Governor Polis’ encouragement for his constituents to purchase electric vehicles.

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the state’s “Clean Truck Strategy would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by at least 45% in Colorado by 2050.”

However, “They just now kicked the Clean Trucks rule-making into 2023 when it was originally for 2022,” Leathwood said. 

More action and comprehensive planning is to come, according to Timothy Hoover, Colorado Department of Transportation communications integration lead, but he cautioned that this is still in the early stages. 

As of Jan. 2022, the United States has almost 113,600 charging outlets for plug-in electric vehicles.

There are three levels of electric charging stations. Level 1, chiefly for home use; Level 2, private and public usage at no charge to the public; and Level 3, direct current fast charge, which can replenish an electric vehicle battery in an hour or less at a cost to the car owner. The Colorado Energy Office fast-charging electric vehicle corridors project comprises 34 fast-charging stations across the state. Remarkably, 20 Level 2 electric vehicle chargers will be installed at state parks by the end of summer 2022, allowing visitors to the state of Colorado easier access to charging stations. While the addition of these charging stations is a step forward in promoting eco-friendly tourism, the move primarily aids affluent tourists to the state. The social disparity of ease of access to charging stations remains a hurdle for most Coloradans.  

“The National EV Charging Infrastructure program is a new formula funding source from the federal government to support the construction of a national network of 500,000 EV chargers along major interstates and highways,” Hoover said. “It’s one portion of part of the broader Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act signed by the President back in November. The goal is to allow for seamless EV travel across the entire country, leading to greater adoption beyond urban areas.” Hoover also stated that Colorado would receive an estimated $57 million in NEVI funds over the next five years.

The inconvenient truth that Hultin and others may subscribe to is that Coloradans, and most Americans, for that matter, can no longer rely on the most dominant mode of transportation of the last century if they are to reverse the trajectory of climate change.

Simply put, local activists believe the automobile—regardless if it is gasoline-powered or the more modern electric vehicle—is a form of transportation stuck in a bygone era. If Coloradans are to achieve a renewable and sustainable future, and if the state is to meet the goals of reducing emissions proposed by elected officials, these activists believe communities must embrace more modest modes of transportation, such as biking and public transportation.

“It’s not new age,” Hultin said. “If you look at transportation planning documents, for decades, what you hear from people when they do community input is ‘We want more access to more biking, walking, and transit.’”

“So communities have been asking for it for a long time. Bicycle Colorado is specifically working with elected officials across the Front Range to help people who are already elected and have a disproportionate influence over project selection and funding. We’re trying to activate those local leaders who actually know from their neighbors what their needs are and getting those local leaders to actually take action with their regional transportation.”

More than incremental numbers on a politician’s spreadsheet or the percentages that define Colorado’s waning dependency on coal, it is not only about meeting those goals, Hultin said. The uphill fight against climate change is an even more personal journey, one that Hultin believes is all about the speed at which we live our lives.  

McKinley believes the future of sustainability and renewable energy must come with a transition of mind and community. Without it, Colorado’s goals will not be met. 

“I think a lot about the concept of your car being freedom,” McKinley said. “If I’m driving, and I find myself on I-25 at rush hour, I just think about how people think that that’s freedom. It’s mind-blowing to me, and a lot of it comes down to, I think, imagination. We’re so caught up in our lives and moving so fast that we don’t take a second to say, ‘There’s got to be a better way.’ It’s slowing down that imagination to see that things can be different.”

There is a gaping disconnect between what constituents believe and what they do, McKinley said. In reality, she said, people don’t truly want to change. “That’s going to be our downfall. We’re talking the big talk, but we’re not doing the big do.”

Aside from transitioning to biking and public transit options, according to Leathwood and McKinley, electric vehicles may not even be as green as climate-minded drivers would hope.

Depending on where a Coloradan may be plugging in their electric vehicle, there is a potential they are still contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. 

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Colorado still pulls more than 70% of its energy from greenhouse gas-emitting sources such as coal and natural gas.

Conversely, energy from renewable sources have been growing over the last decade, specifically driven from solar and wind from the eastern half of the state. 

“I don’t know if I can put it into those terms, but we have far too many fossil fuel-fired plants,” Leathwood said. 

Data published by the EIA indicates that Colorado’s electricity is produced by four primary sources: coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, and non-hydroelectric renewable sources. Coal and natural gas account for 40.77% and 23.57% of Colorado’s electricity, respectively.

One innovative and measurable way that Colorado could potentially significantly reduce its carbon footprint is by continuing to build upon and encourage its relationship with Swisspod Technologies. The Switzerland-based transportation system currently uses its hyperloop model to transfer cargo or up to 30 passengers through a vacuum-sealed tube, reaching supersonic speeds in minutes with a carbon-neutral propulsion system. Swisspod has begun building a full-scale prototype for the hyperloop facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The company plans an hour-long test on the prototype in late summer 2022. The hyperloop prototype will measure energy consumption, carbon footprints, and speed.

There are already examples of the new age to be found across Colorado’s Front Range. Boulder, a city of more than 106,000, has led the charge on renewable, solar energy.

According to the City of Boulder Climate Initiatives spokesperson Emily Sandoval, there has been a concerted effort to equip city-owned buildings with solar panels. As reported by the city’s website, solar panels can be found on top of the visitor’s center, parking garages, city fire departments, and more.

The effort of electrifying Boulder via solar power is nearing capacity of city-owned land. The next step, according to Sandoval, is crucial in continuing the commitments to reducing greenhouse gases—encouraging private citizens to install solar panels on their properties. 

“We talk about resilience,” Sandoval said. “The thing I’m talking about here is combining all these technologies, leveraging them to their fullest extent possible, rethinking a bit of how we manage the grid. What you might have thought was out of reach a couple of years ago might be in reach now.” 

However, Sandoval suggested that the reality of climate protection may be different for individuals who live in Boulder, a place she jokingly estimated may have the most ecologists per capita in the world, compared to the rest of Colorado that is more dependent on coal and natural gas. 

Sandoval’s sentiment echoed a similar one of Hultin’s, who believes the fight against climate change is just that—not a fight against gridlocked politics, but a cohesive, persistent battle, with which citizens and government agencies are aligned.

“We’re not fighting anything right now,” Hultin said. “There’s a new status quo around the expectation for how transportation investments are actually addressing our current needs and preventing tomorrow’s problems. What we’ve really been a part of the last several decades is a very, very car-centric transportation planning process, in which projects that have been identified are from the get-go created around the idea that we need to increase efficiency for cars to move quickly through corridors.”

The complex issues that Coloradans face require complex and comprehensive solutions—solutions that address the intersectionality of communities, activists say.

30Pearl, a neighborhood project in the city of Boulder, is one example of a new approach that considers multiple levels of community that need to be addressed to lower greenhouse gas emissions. From considerations of walking and biking to where people live and work, 30Pearl promises to introduce diversified zoning in a pedestrian-centric neighborhood.

“Boulder has an extensive network of multimodal infrastructure that makes it easier to choose non-vehicular forms of travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Samantha Glavin of the Boulder Communication and Engagement Department. “We have more than 300 miles of bikeways, including 73 miles of multi-use paths separated from streets and nearly 90 bicycle and pedestrian underpasses that allow bicyclists and pedestrians to cross busy streets without having to travel alongside car traffic. But we recognize that there’s even more work to be done. For people to choose walking, biking, or taking the bus instead of driving, those options have to be just as convenient as driving. This means having safe and easily accessible bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure located near where people live and work and that connects them with their daily destinations.”

Hultin circled back:

All in all, a greener future must be a slower future.

For 10 years now, she has dedicated her life to educating others on the benefits of bicycling and attempting to improve her community. After all, she is the mayor pro tem of Wheat Ridge. The true meaning of a slower life came to her when she realized her son could easily be hurt, or even killed, in a moment’s notice from an automobile. 

Because of this, communities must slow themselves down, Hultin believes, and when people slow down they begin to develop a stewardship for their place.

“Human nature, it develops a sense of accountability,” Hultin said. “When you experience your built environment, or you experience your community or place, through the human experience of not being in a car, it develops a sense of accountability.”

According to Hultin, once that happens, maybe people will begin to see all the good they can do, and all the change they can make in their world. 

The post End of the Road: Solving Colorado’s Climate Threats by Leaving Cars Behind appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Editor’s Note: Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Join us – and cyclists around the world – Friday, Feb. 11, 2022, to celebrate Winter Bike to Work Day!  The annual event encourages seasoned cyclists to brave the elements and ride to work on their bikes. If you plan to join, let us know by pledging to ride!

Bike to Work Day is an annual event organized by Way to Go, a program of the Denver Regional Council of Governments, in partnership with seven regional transportation management associations. Each Bike to Work Day, commuters in the Denver region are encouraged to bike to work to save money during their commutes, improve their health and lower stress levels — all while reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality.

Way to Go also celebrates Winter Bike to Work Day, an annual tradition for seasoned cyclists.

Learn what other programs, events and services Way to Go offers to help commuters ditch their cars in favor of other transportation options.

The post Winter Bike to Work Day appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Not all taxes are created equal.

In a city like Boulder, where residents pride themselves on liberal and progressive identities, forcing behavior changes through the use of taxes is rarely perceived as problematic. In fact, just a couple of years ago Boulder passed the soda tax to curb residents’ intake of sugary drinks that often lead to expensive health conditions. So in November, it is highly unlikely that Boulder residents will bat an eye when reading the thirteen ballot initiatives proposed, including and especially “Let’s Go Colorado!” or Proposition 110 (originally called Initiative 153)—a regressive tax increase to pay for statewide transportation improvements.

The bill is one of two bills competing to be a solution for our state’s infrastructure woes. “Let’s Go Colorado!” is competing against the “Fix our Damn Roads” Proposition 109 (originally called Initiative 167). Proposition 110 posits a solution rooted in a 0.62 percent sales tax increase while Proposition 109 demands a solution that does not involve tax increases but rather proposes borrowing or bonding. Neither hits the mark and both ignore the elephant in the room about why Colorado, at the height of a population boom, lacks the revenue to address our growing challenges and what the state is doing with available resources.

With recent state growth, one has to wonder what is preventing us from thoughtfully crafting not only a more effective transportation and transit systems but also the funding structures that will manifest them. We are undoubtedly generating the most revenue we ever have in our history and the demand for a bustling world class multimodal transportation network is everpresent. Yet, the best of our state’s talent are proposing two solutions that fail to reimagine mobility with a 21st century lens on climate change, equity, and connectivity. The root of the debate is how do we expand interstate superhighways—a solution from 1956 that President Dwight Eisenhower modeled after Germany’s Reichautobahnen network of rural superhighways, built mostly under Adolph Hitler. They were also uniquely funded ninety percent by the federal government.

Colorado currently has an annual state budget of $30 billion with $1.7 billion going toward transportation. Prop 110, backed by the establishment and business sector, would raise $766.7 million annually via the tax increase for twenty years and authorize up to $6 billion in state bonds. Prop 109, backed by the conservative Independence Institute, would allow the state to borrow up to $3.5 billion in state transportation bonds without a new revenue stream. Both initiatives bank on the current economic boom for generating the funds through taxes or paying back the massive debt of bonds.

The problem with the sacrifice we are being asked to make is that while we have the ability to vote on the actual tax, we haven’t historically had the ability to vote on what the funds are spent on, project by project. Thus we find our state spending billions on projects that waste our limited funds. A prime example is CDOT’s recent decision to take down the I-70 viaduct in Denver and triple the size of the I-70 footprint in a 2-mile stretch through Denver from Colorado Blvd. to Brighton Blvd. without securing full project funding. Many think that this $2 billion project is a thinly veiled attempt at completing a pre-requisite for an even more financially wasteful project, an Olympic bid. By conservative estimates, the project is expected to last anywhere from 5-10 years and is being spearheaded by the same leader who led the Boston “Big Dig” which was plagued by cost overruns and lasted about a decade.

The responsibility of residents in this state is to pay attention. We have a critical chance to recognize that multiple options doesn’t mean either one is worth the trouble. In fact, with two initiatives that essentially throw money at a problem that leaders refuse to address, we still don’t have a real solution for our transportation challenges and taxpayers still won’t have a voice in what improvements are made. Neither solution makes attempt to curb or change behaviors either. Both initiatives do the opposite by expanding roads for the growing number of solo drivers and excluding mass transit from using the funds generated. When there is a vision for transportation and transit that catapults or even inches us toward a more connected state or a more sustainable funding model, then vote yes. Until then, we cannot afford to mortgage our future or tax ourselves for more of the same.

The post Voices: Candi Cdebaca appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

As Denver’s population grows rapidly with few signs of stopping, transportation rushes to keep up, developing high-speed tube networks and carless transportation—or at least, driverless. As we expand our technology, we need to do more than just envision the most futuristic vehicles possible. We need to change the way we think about mobility entirely.

Imagine traveling from Denver to Houston in 90 minutes. That’s 66% faster than a commercial jet. If all goes well, Virgin Hyperloop One would be able to make that happen, or a route like it. The company hopes to reach the speed of sound with their technology, though passengers would likely travel at slower velocities. For now. While there are military aircrafts capable of reaching double that, for most of us, approaching the possibility of traveling near the speed of sound for the price of a train ticket feels like living in the future.

In 2013, Elon Musk released a white paper called “Hyperloop Alpha” that sparked the formation of numerous groups, including Hyperloop One, that focused on bringing this technology to fruition. Hyperloop systems resemble futuristic trains and can be built above or below the ground: the vehicles float above the track via magnetic levitation and are accelerated forward by electric propulsion through a low-pressure tube. According to Hyperloop One’s website, their technology has no direct carbon emissions as the result of an “energy-agnostic system” that uses solar and wind power in addition to more traditional sources, making it much cleaner than other modes of transportation. The vehicles will also be fully autonomous, but don’t worry: they will have multiple emergency brake systems. In fact, a hyperloop is expected to be safer than either high-speed rail or cars, having eliminated the potential for driver-error and interactions with other transportation or wildlife.

Hyperloop One launched a Global Challenge in May 2016 soliciting proposals for potential routes. David Clute, now a member of the Hyperloop Advanced Research Partnership (HARP) board of directors, helped form the Rocky Mountain Hyperloop Consortium, a team that assembled a proposal for the longest route in the North American entries: Cheyenne to Houston, with a stop in Denver. The team became a semi-finalist, along with two others also proposing routes through Denver, out of more than 2,600 entries from around the world. According to Clute, Hyperloop One has since picked finalists and is working with each team to “take it to the next level,” which involves feasibility studies to further develop the technology.

Courtesy of CDOT

Courtesy of CDOT

Rocky Mountain Hyperloop Consortium was not selected as a finalist, but Clute went on to cofound the nonprofit group HARP, which hopes to facilitate the collaborative advancement of the research. “We saw a need for an independent third party to act as an industry clearinghouse for information,” he explained.

Hyperloop groups claim that this technology can offer “faster, cheaper, cleaner, and safer travel” according to the Hyperloop Partnership website, a welcome change in a world where time, money, the environment, and even life are sometimes sacrificed for the sake of mobility. But the technology is still relatively young. Andrew Goetz, a geography professor at the University of Denver and coauthor of “Metropolitan Denver: Growth and Change in the Mile High City,” warned that the possible outcomes of these developments could range dramatically from “huge improvements in mobility, reducing congestion, reducing pollution and energy use, all the way to making things worse.”

Although Hyperloop One’s goal is to develop a fully-operational system by 2021 and they have plans for a loop between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Goetz believes that hyperloop presents a significant gamble since it is still young in the development process. “It’s not being tested in real conditions yet,” Goetz explained. “But if it can actually deliver people and goods at speeds that are over 700 mph and do so safely and comfortably, that would be a huge breakthrough.”

Cars of the Future

Courtesy of CDOT

Autonomous vehicles, on the other hand, are already being tested in the real world: in 2016, the Uber-owned company Otto had a semi drive itself from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs running beer (of course), the first commercial delivery by an autonomous truck. Another company, Google’s Waymo, started developing the technology in 2009 and has already racked up over four million miles on public roads.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has partnered with Otto and other groups to help Colorado adopt cutting edge technology. In 2016, they committed $20 million to launch RoadX, a program dedicated to accelerating 21st century technology and preparing our infrastructure for the future. In another partnership with Panasonic, CDOT plans to build a transportation “ecosystem” where advanced technology vehicles can communicate and share information about road conditions. CDOT estimates that this “talking” feature of autonomous vehicles and other smart cars might be present in up to four million Colorado vehicles in the next 10 years, so a data platform like this one is fully warranted.

Courtesy of CDOT

This communication helps elucidate the widely shared estimate that self-driving vehicles could reduce car accidents by up to 80 or even 90 percent. Autonomous cars would essentially eliminate operator error, distracted driving, and drunk driving. They would also offer another mobility option to those who are unable to drive, such as seniors and the disabled.

Self-driving vehicles could also help reduce congestion significantly, since their communication systems would allow them to move much closer together at higher speeds. It’s also possible that the cars would be less bulky than ours are now: “They may not need as much space—the lane width may not be as wide,” Goetz explained.

Courtesy of CDOT

There are also environmental motivations to pursue this technology: the vehicles offer increased mileage thanks to more efficient braking and accelerating. An important consensus seems to be that we need to proactively set standards for these technologies that will carry us toward a sustainable future. According to Benjamin D. Leibowicz, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, autonomous cars might have unexpected environmental impacts, and lawmakers should prioritize emission reduction initiatives while these transportation options are still being developed rather than waiting to regulate later.

Connecting the Front Range

Courtesy of CDOT

Another CDOT partnership involves Arrivo, a transportation company with “hyperloop-inspired” technology meant to facilitate regional mobility—up to 30 miles—rather than connecting multiple metropolises. One proposed route is from Boulder to downtown Denver, which would take just 8 minutes. The system runs similarly through tubes, but magnetically levitated sleds carry cars, cargo, or passengers to their destination at speeds around 160 miles per hour. Segments of the system might be elevated above the ground, but it’s designed to operate within existing highway medians.

Given the nature of the technology, this option will likely cost less than hyperloop transit. It is also likely to beat a hyperloop system into Colorado. Feasibility tests are set to be completed this year, and with the help of the construction company Aecom, Arrivo estimates the system could be operational by 2021.

“This is a very exciting time to be looking at transportation,” Goetz said, speaking to the development of emergent technologies like Hyperloop and autonomous vehicles. “They have the ability to transform and revolutionize our transportation systems.” But the technology itself, and any changes we make to our current systems, need to be ushered in by public interest. “In fact, it’s more of a social and economic challenge than an engineering challenge,” stated Clute. “I think it has to be a very collaborative and community-based initiative.”

Moving Toward Car-Free Cities

Courtesy of the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative

The social challenges of implementing a new transportation system certainly exist in trying to get people out of their cars, as the most immediate future of Denver metro depends on reducing car use generally. As more people move to Colorado, the most obvious solution would seem to be expanding roads, but the rule of induced demand dictates that more road space only leads to more cars and equal congestion.

Because of this phenomenon, preparing for Colorado’s future growth means reinventing the way Denverites think about mobility. Public corridors have long been yielded to cars, but reallocating road space to transit, bicycles, and pedestrians would help our roads accommodate more people, and do it in a way that’s safer for travelers and the environment. “This has been the goal for a number of cities for quite a while: to encourage people to get out of their cars,” explained Goetz. We can look to Paris and Amsterdam for inspiration.

According to Goetz, driving, suburbs, and highways were a “way of life up” until the 90’s, when Colorado experienced an initial shift in thinking, and the city of Denver began the light rail initiative. Goetz is fairly optimistic about our ability to move away from automobile-oriented “land use patterns”: “Chances are better in Denver than LA and Phoenix because they’re more reliant on driving than we are here. I think we’ve taken some steps toward reducing our reliance on cars.”

Courtesy of the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative

This philosophical shift is apparent in the way that more public spaces are being redeveloped using traffic calming techniques that lend agency to pedestrians and cyclists. Larger sidewalks don’t just mean more space for pedestrians, but also slower vehicle speeds and safer road sharing. The City and County of Denver has projects aimed to accomplish more of this in the foreseeable future. Denver Moves Bicycles plans to build out a citywide cycling network and improve crossings and signage, though at the rate of funding it has received, this particular portion of the initiative won’t be completed until 2042.

Another barrier to managing growth is the low rate of transit use in Denver. In fact, rates are even going down and have been for the last few years. “People aren’t using transit enough,” said David Sachs, editor of Streetsblog Denver: in terms of downtown Denver commuting, “more people drove last year than took transit.” RTD is trying to incentivize ridership by subsidizing transit use, but according to Sachs, “frequency and land use are the two most important parts of a recipe for high ridership.”

Denver’s ridership issues are in part a legacy of the way the city has been developing for over 60 years. In the 40’s and into the 60’s, the primary thinking, especially for low-income households, was just to get a roof over people’s heads and to do it in the cheapest possible way, which led to urban sprawl since the cheapest land was on the outskirts of the city. Goetz explained that a lack of density makes it difficult to place strategic stations capable of serving large groups of people: “when you try to put transit back into a landscape like that, it’s a challenge.”

The Social Effects of Development

An obvious challenge in adapting Denver’s transportation exists in the practical application, which requires an incredible scope of considerations in order to meet the ephemeral needs of mobility without compromising existing neighborhoods. CDOT has come up against difficulty in this area with its project to reconstruct 10 miles of a 54 year-old viaduct on I-70. CDOT is sinking the highway 30-40 feet and installing a 4-acre park on top of the expansion. This is a titanic $1.2 billion project, of which $20 million has been spent on outreach and community involvement.

Courtesy of the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative

According to Megan Castle, a Communications Manager at CDOT, there is “a lot of community outreach that’s done to educate the community as to what kind of impacts [construction] will have” throughout different stages of the process. CDOT has 11 transportation commissioners statewide that represent their regions, and elected officials that give residents a voice. She validated the concerns of the community but stated that there was some “misinformation” surrounding the I-70 project. “The community process has been over 14 years long of community outreach,” she explained. Castle recognized that these outreach attempts wouldn’t solve every problem but claimed, “CDOT knows that it’s doing its best.”

Some see it differently, and although construction is slated to begin this spring, opposition to the project is widespread among community members. It has even become the basis of a lawsuit filed against CDOT claiming that if the project is completed as planned and traffic is as heavy as predicted, the emissions will exceed standards of air quality outlined by the Clean Air Act. Models from CDOT have shown that the amount will just barely meet EPA requirements. However, the Sierra Club—one of the entities filing against CDOT—has completed modeling of their own showing that levels will exceed the standard. They are also claiming that CDOT followed an altered version of the EPA’s model when gathering data.

According to Goetz, CDOT didn’t consider the community’s proposed alternative, which would have move the highway around the neighborhood and through a less populated area. He went on to say, “They’re making a similar mistake that they did 50 years ago.”

Sachs furthermore claimed that the I-70 project, which he called “the most expensive project in CDOT’s history,” also goes against the goals of the city by adding car lanes when we should reclaim space for bikes and buses. He also said that the expansion will actually triple the footprint of the highway and that the project, with its  park awning, could even be called “disingenuous.”

This type of behavior goes back to the 60’s, when the highway was originally built through the middle of a close-knit immigrant community. Goetz explained that, at the time, highway engineers “didn’t pay attention to community impacts—in fact they were told not to.” They wanted to create highways as cheaply as possible, and that meant going straight through. The highway split the community quite literally, and also presented air pollution that residents today claim has negatively impacted their health by increasing their risk for asthma, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

Despite these concerns and the lawsuit, the Denver Post reported in early April that a federal judge ruled not to halt the project.

Advocating for Transparency

Modern planning is supposed to consider community impacts, and while methods are in place to solicit community involvement and measure effects, the community feels that their voices have not been heard. Jordan Hill, director of the social justice program at the University of Colorado at Denver, decided to launch a website called North / East Denver Change, a nonpartisan, bilingual resource for information on projects scheduled to occur in that area. That district of Denver is frequently referred to as the “Corridor of Opportunity,” but it became apparent to Hill that most residents didn’t understand what the phrase meant in practical terms. They didn’t know where its boundaries were, and when Hill asked about its most prominent project, I-70, he was “startled” to find that even very socially conscious people couldn’t convey much information.

As managing director of the site, Hill assembled a team and started digging. It took 20 people with advanced research skills 4,000 hours of research over six months to fully grasp what was happening in the eight projects associated with the Corridor of Opportunity. “I think what we learned, if nothing else, is that… these documents make this very hard to understand for anyone. It’s almost like the language that they’re using is so intentionally dense.”

From there, the project’s goal is to provide an accessible resource for residents. “North / East Denver Change was the first organization to show people in the Front Range community where the Corridor of Opportunity actually was,” Hill explained. The website also provides an alternative to the political rhetoric: “On the surface, it sounds great, but for us it became a question of, ‘Well, an opportunity for who?’” To Hill and his team, it’s clear that the opportunity is for “wealthy, non-local individuals” rather than families who have lived in these neighborhoods for decades.

The Globeville Swansea Elyria communities that will be impacted by these developments are the last neighborhoods in the city that are somewhat affordable. The process of gentrification is nearing completion in neighborhoods like the Highland, which were previously culturally and economically diverse, leading toward what Hill describes as a “modern and cultureless” downtown.

True Apodaca, a graduate student, participant in North / East Denver Change, and Denver resident, explained that he grew up in north Denver and has witnessed the evolution of the neighborhoods there. Regarding the I-70 corridor, he said, “This is something that’s been going on for years—the fact that the highway’s there in the first place was a deliberate attempt to divide that community.” He explained the impact it had on the residents there by saying, “It destroyed some of the strong social networks and the connections people have with each other.”

When development projects roll through, it’s often not possible for everyone who is displaced, or even most, to return to home. Even in situations when it might be possible, Apodaca views the situation practically: “Think about what that is asking people to do,” he suggested. “What are the chances that people’s lives are going to align with the developers’ schedules?”

In addition to harm inflicted on the culture of these historically immigrant neighborhoods by displacement, Candi CdeBaca, a fourth generation Swansea resident and founder of Project VOYCE, identifies compound financial impacts of this project. According to CdeBaca, the compensation promised to those who must relocate doesn’t apply to the undocumented, which means the numbers measuring the program’s efficacy are inaccurate. Most individuals also end up farther away from public transit, or from friends and family who would provide free child care. Moreover, the program that pays additional housing costs at new units for 42 months only covers renters, and homeowners often need to take out additional loans to buy a new home, even if they purchase outside the metro area.

“Beyond the tearing of social networks, you have an incredible loss of generational wealth,” says CdeBaca. The people in these neighborhoods have not seen increased value of their homes even with the growth that the city is experiencing—the very growth that is driving expansions in the Corridor of Opportunity. So when they are compensated for their homes, the payoff is not adequate to buy something similar within the city, or even in the metro area. “It’s completely unjust,” CdeBaca explained, “because we know that the primary tool for wealth-building is home ownership.”

There’s an emerging term for this experience of displacement, root shock. “There are health impacts and psychological impacts of ripping the social fabric in that way,” CdeBaca said. And these communities have seen it happen again and again. CdeBaca pointed to the light rail that RTD placed through her neighborhood as another example: the rail is another barrier, and “after all of the community participation and the demand for access within the neighborhood, we ended up with a train that we don’t even have neighborhood access to.”

CdeBaca and others feel that community meetings surrounding development in northeast Denver were not undertaken in a truly collaborative spirit. She explains that this version of the I-70 project was presented at early meetings and broadly opposed, but is now being pushed forward by CDOT, the City and County of Denver, and the Federal Highway Administration. “[They] decided to bypass community,” she said. “They completely ignored the input that was being provided. So the meetings happened for the sake of having the meetings, not to actually collect community input and integrate those into plans.”

Final Words

Like Cdebaca, Apodaca thinks more should have been done to foster a genuinely reciprocal environment: “I think the actual community was either ignored, or they would get meeting fatigue because they would go to these meetings and just hear about what was going to be done to them.” Sachs has a similar outlook. “I hope these processes will become more transparent,” he said, but added, “I think it’s a matter of leaders needing to have a strong enough backbone to make a tough decision that might be unpopular, but might be better for the city overall.”

Far from thinking the situation is getting better, CdeBaca thinks they’re getting worse in some ways: “Over time we’re backsliding… Especially in an era where we have incredible access to soliciting real feedback.” Hill similarly acknowledges that the volume of meetings doesn’t really matter if the residents do not see themselves represented in the development project: “The community has to self-acknowledge that they feel they’re a part of the planning process.”

Even if I-70 is somehow blocked, Denver will continue to change as it grows. As Sachs put it, “You can either try to stop the change, or you can accept that it’s happening and then try to shape it.” The future isn’t far away—it’s happening right now. And while it’s easy to get caught up in the transportation of tomorrow, we need to engage the people of today in our planning.

Whatever we stand for, we need to demand transparent, equitable development that takes the wellbeing of every resident into account. Without that element, we could lose the things that make us who we are for the sake of growth.

The post Glass Highways: The Future of CO Transportation Is Transparency. We Hope. appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

If you live or work in Boulder, you probably don’t think twice about your daily driving woes. But gridlocked roadways and pricey parking aren’t meaningless frustrations. They indicate that our population and living costs are soaring — and that we’re divided on what to do next. So where do we go from here? It all starts with the Transportation Master Plan.

When the plan was first drafted in 1989, its core goals were to decrease single occupancy vehicle travel and increase citywide access to walking, biking, and public transit. Today, city bus ridership has more than doubled and 26 percent of Boulder residents live in walkable neighborhoods. The future envisioned by the transportation plan has in many ways come to life, but a number of challenges prevail.

Anyone commuting into Boulder for work can tell you, the city is full. A 2016 traffic study revealed that approximately 49,000 vehicles enter Boulder during the morning rush. And, the percentage of these people who drive alone is the same as it was 28 years ago. Besides causing congestion along the US 36 corridor, this exacerbates existing parking and air quality issues within the city limits. To manage this influx, the city’s Transportation Master Plan established an aggressive target: reduce the amount of single occupant trips by residents to 20 percent by 2035. That means putting more commuters on buses or in carpools.

INCENTIVES

Leading Boulder towards this goal is GO Boulder, a division that works to increase multi-modal travel. According to GO Boulder’s transportation planner, Randall Rutsch, the best way to change travel behavior is through transportation demand management (TDM). TDM is one of the five policy areas of focus in the master plan, and it includes strategies like the EcoPass, secure bike storage and flexible work hours. Paid parking is also considered a TDM program because it encourages alternative modes of travel. This hit-them-in-the-wallet method requires a building’s employees or residents to buy a space if they’d like to park there. “We do know that paid parking is a big disincentive, and part of what it does is make the cost of using the single-occupant vehicle more transparent,” said Rutsch.

Everyone benefits from programs that try to mitigate demand and offer more travel options. But as federal budgets shrink, Rutsch noted the importance of alternative funding sources. He said that more funding could come from a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax. This innovative tax charges drivers based on their travel frequency and promotes more sustainable behavior. CDOT has a small volunteer test program to see how such a tax would work. Colorado drivers currently pay a flat gas tax of 22 cents per gallon, but raising that tax requires legislative approval. Since raising a tax is unpopular politically, the gas tax has been left unchanged since 1991.

OUTSIDERS

A significant amount of Boulder traffic comes from inbound commutes, and for decades, roughly 80 percent of those have been single-occupant vehicles. It has been hard for planners to cut down on that number, especially since it requires coordinating with different municipalities.

Boulder County transportation director George Gerstle explained that when affordable housing decreases in Boulder, the county’s transportation challenges increase. “As people move further away to find an affordable place to live, the costs of commuting increase, often offsetting the benefits of the more affordable housing.”

For Boulder County, where driving is more common, transportation goals have focused on decreasing car use and increasing multi-modal transportation. Gerstle said one such success has been the expansion of bus services that make it easier to forgo driving. “We have worked with the city of Longmont to successfully implement the RideFree Longmont program that has tripled ridership on the local buses,” he said. “Similarly, we have worked with RTD to increase the BOLT bus service on the Diagonal, and the JUMP service connecting Erie, Lafayette and Boulder.”

From further away, a new FLEX bus service also connects Boulder to Fort Collins, making it possible to take public transportation from CSU to CU.

City planners in smaller areas have tackled congestion problems by testing out universal passes for residents. In Nederland, an EcoPass pilot was so successful that voters supported taxing themselves to make it permanent. A community EcoPass has also seen success in Lyons, which is exploring additional funding options to sustain the program. Lafayette voters, already served by buses from Denver and Boulder, turned down an EcoPass initiative on the November ballot.

THE RENT IS HIGH

Since much of the county’s roadway congestion is a side effect of the city’s high living costs, one solution is to create more affordable housing in Boulder. According to community advocate Eric Budd, this can be achieved by transforming existing homes into affordable rentals, like housing co-ops. “The idea behind the cooperative house is to make allowances within the existing framework of occupancy limits, which typically in residential neighborhoods, will not allow more than three unrelated people living together.”

Budd has spent the last three years working to expand Boulder’s cooperative housing options. He explained that since co-ops often buy bulk food and cook together, they use less water and energy than single-family households. They also provide affordable, short-term living arrangements — but these too are challenged by zoning laws. Budd was a major proponent of the co-operative housing ordinance passed last January, which sought to increase Boulder’s occupancy limits for cooperative living. Having earned approval from city council, the ordinance now allows for around 10 co-ops to be licensed each year. In the community’s low-density zones, cooperative occupancy is capped at 12.

This win represents what can happen when we include more voices in important infrastructure decisions. Like Budd pointed out, many of the people most affected by affordable housing policies are absent from the conversation. “If you attend any of the public meetings, it’s very rare that you’re getting younger people or people that rent involved in the conversation — those are important voices that we need to be considering.”

Those who’d benefit from affordable housing policies should have a say in decisions that affect them. But this demographic is often comprised of people who are busy, hardworking and bootstrapped. Is it fair to expect them to show up at town hall and fight for their right to fairly-priced homes?

Danica Powell, owner of real estate consulting firm Trestle Strategy Group, doesn’t think so. That’s why when Powell works on an affordable housing project, she often visits these communities and gets to know them herself. “By walking the site with these people and talking with them in their neighborhood, I’m really trying to break apart these contentious, big community meeting settings.”

Powell’s community approach coincides with a greater shift towards more inclusive city development. In Seattle, officials are battling a housing crisis by breaking down barriers to civic engagement. The city created a number of community commissions — which are comprised of low-income residents, renters, and the homeless — to advise neighborhood development.

Establishing a more inclusive planning strategy would ensure that the people who already work in Boulder still have a place to live. Powell stressed that it also reflects who we are as a community and who we want to become. “We all benefit from the teachers and the police officers and the people who work in the city. They’re part of our community. If we can’t retain employees or attract the wage earners, what happens?”

PLANNED COMMUNITY

If you’re wondering what it looks like when housing is designed with transportation in mind, look no further than Boulder Junction. Built atop a neglected industrial site, Boulder Junction is transforming into a thriving mixed-use space and a prime example of what walkable, mixed-use developments should look like.

Here, all parking is paid and managed, and it’s the city’s only establishment with a parking maximum (one parking space per dwelling unit). The development also provides immediate access to bus services and the Goose Creek bike path.

Alongside designated commercial spaces and a number of market rate apartments, Boulder Junction also includes 71 permanently affordable housing units. Mixed-use spaces are a creative way to meet some of the city’s most pressing transportation and housing goals, but at the same time, land use codes, low density zoning laws and other policies halt further affordable housing progress.

Boulder’s high cost of living continues to force people out, causing an avalanche of transportation and housing obstacles. Now, it’s on the verge of becoming a place that’s open only to the most fortunate. That’s why we must ask ourselves: what do we as a community value most? If it’s equality that matters, we must better incorporate diverse needs and interests into city growth plans. Boulder’s ability to unite around its values will ultimately determine what kind of place it becomes.

Statistics
Regional forecasts expect the population to increase 50% by 2035.

26% of Boulder’s population lives in 15-minute walking neighborhoods.

Over 80% of revenues generated from the 2013 transportation sales tax increase will be used for maintenance of the existing transportation system.

Bus ridership more than doubled from 1990 to 2014, when 33,000 passengers boarded daily.

In 2015, over 70,000 Boulder residents, students and employees had access to EcoPasses.

The percentage of non-Boulder residents who drive to work has remained at 80% since 1991.

Boulder’s B-Cycle program has grown from 85 bikes in 2011 to 300 bikes.

In April, Longmont launched its bike share program with a fleet of 50 Zagster cruisers among 10 stations.

[Sources include the City of Boulder’s 2016 Transportation Report on Progress and Transportation Master Plan 2014]

The post Boulder’s Changing Infrastructure appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Peter Hurst is making it cool to walk to school. Through his work with the Boulder Valley School Department of Transportation, he has invented a program that will make it easier to hang up your car keys and dust off your bike before heading to school. The Trip Tracker Program is a way to reward students in the area for using alternative transportation with a goal to largely reduce the usage of automobiles as the primary method of getting to school.

 
What are the benefits besides the obvious exercise and cleaner air? Participants can earn Trip Tracker Dollars by doing things such as walking, biking, or taking the bus as transportation for school. The incentive program is not just about active transportation and also rewards students for carpooling. Hurst encourages parents to drop their children off a few blocks away from school and let them walk or bike the remaining distance.
Participants track their trips, and as a reward, one Trip Tracker Dollar is given for every four trips, and a two dollar bonus is given if alternative transportation is used for all possible trips in a given month.

 
One Trip-Tracker Dollar is equal to a real dollar and is redeemable at designated locally owned businesses. Hurst’s intention is, “to keep money in Colorado and the district area,” by building a strong sense of community. Hurst buys back every Trip Tracker Dollar for 50 cents from the businesses, allowing them to help a good cause and receive a nice tax write off, which gives them incentive to participate. Gateway Fun Park and Glacier Ice Cream are the most popular places Trip Tracker Dollars are spent.

 
Staff members are not excluded from partaking in the program, and are rewarded in the same way as students. Bike to Work Day may have passed, but Trip Tracker motivates participants to ditch the car everyday. “The program has the potential to build habits,” said Hurst, “the whole concept of a district transportation department being interested in anything other than school buses is ground breaking.”  Trip Tracker has already been integrated into elementary, middle, and high schools within the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts, with plans to expand to nearby Louisville and Lafayette.

 
The Trip Tracker program makes everyone a winner. “Kids desire to have dollars,” said Hurst, “so we reward those already using alternative transportation, and the others will all want to sign up.”  Participants receive a monetary incentive while parents can rest easy knowing their kids are taking part in a safe program.

 
Hurst believes that even in the most susceptible neighborhoods the program can succeed. “Everyone thinks about safety for their kids,” says Hurst. Trip Tracker Program creates a safe environment for kids at school by eliminating the number of cars at school drop-off areas and the amount of pollution present from idling cars. Another concern amongst parents is kids traveling to school alone, however Hurst has organized a school community transportation network directory for walking and bike groups. Over 100 people participate in these groups, giving more students the opportunity to be involved in the program, as well as offering another safe way to get to class.

 
Trip Tracker offers more than Tracker Dollars as incentive, as the habits instilled in participants can last a lifetime. Hurst claims that we have to let the culture change to where getting dropped off at school is obsolete and using alternative transportation is the new cool.

The post Trip Tracker Program appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

From a distance, they look like your run of the mill Schwinn, chrome and lipstick red as classic as a Bazooka Joe cartoon. But lean in closer, and the gizmos glare at you. A lithium-ion battery. A geared hub motor. Regenerative braking. A throttle. Its torque is measured in Newtons.

E-bikes are the souped-up cousins of your childhood bicycle, engineered for the modern—and affluent—professional, who might not be ready for the motorcycle plunge. Sherri O’Hara explained the phenomenon in the open showroom at Small Planet E-Vehicles, Longmont’s go-to source for e-bikes.

“Some of the bikes are great for commuting, some are great for carrying cargo—in California people load their surfboards on here and it’s almost like a family SUV,” she said proudly. “The New York Times said it’s the ‘new family station wagon.’”

Whether it’s going to supplant the Escalade remains to be seen, but regardless, the variety of products is intriguing. The shop boasted touring bikes, commuting bikes, kid’s bikes, and, of course, the long sturdy ones with the surfboard grips. The benefits are as varied as the selection.

Efficiency is a good one, if you’re comparing to cars. “E-bikes get the equivalent of 1,500 to 2000 miles per gallon,” said O’Hara. “So some people ride for a full year on that.”

Beyond efficiency, they can carry more than your average bike, make you sweat less on your commute, relieve you when you’re touring, and act as a great equalizer if one half of a couple is a stronger cyclist. (It’ll save your marriage!)

We had the same questions that are probably running through your head right now: What does it feel like when you pedal?

O’Hara set us up on two bikes—mine a $4,000 touring model, I might add—and we set off across Main Street, over to Roosevelt Park, and down a long sloping hill. In short, it feels like someone else is pedaling along with you. Or, imagine you have the calves of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Going back up the hill was the real test. Usually the dread of all bikers, the sweat-inducer, the knee-acher—the hill was a breeze. My model sported a throttle. I didn’t pedal once.

The post Downhill Both Ways appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

On February 19th the High Performance Transportation Enterprise convened in the Colorado Department of Transportation’s auditorium in Denver, opening its doors to the public to vent their concerns about the impending deal giving Plenary Roads control of much of U.S. highway 36.

Among those wishing to speak were Ken Beitel and Cliff Smedley of the Drive SunShine Institute (DSI), a Boulder-based company that offers employers a way to invest in clean energy. The most vocal opposition, DSI had recently threatened a lawsuit against CDOT claiming the environmental evaluation of the pending project had been carried out improperly.

As the HPTE panel announced it was shuffling the open speaking agenda, DSI’s lawyer Karen Hammer objected, to no avail. When Beitel and Smedley’s requests to donate
Hammer their time were similarly refused, angry protests ensued. State troopers forcibly removed all three from the room. As the Denver Post reported, as Smedley was pulled away he yelled, “I spent nine years in the National Guard to try and uphold the law, and today all that was smashed.”

In the days following the hearing, the deal was quietly finalized. By the 21st the Colorado Transportation Commission had unanimously signed off on the contract, and by the following Wednesday the concluding signatures were inked.

After a year of negotiations, the tumultuous race to the finish line both brought to light the unsavory way CDOT handled the deal and spawned myriad myths about what U.S. 36 would look like under private operation. Here are a few: All of 36 is now a toll road. It will cost $17 to drive from Boulder to Denver (as if gas isn’t enough of an expense). Wall Street overlords Goldman Sachs will be running the freeway.

Like any governmental debacle (let’s not get carried away with the word “scandal”) there are elements of truth here—and there is also a healthy dose of sensationalist misconceptions.

Let’s start at the beginning. The rationale for a private overhaul is to accelerate the construction of new express lanes, provide efficient maintenance of existing general lanes, create new commuter bike paths and—as proponents are fond of saying—“support continued economic growth of the U.S. 36 corridor.” (CDOT’s executive director Don Hunt, upon the deal’s closing.)

The deal deflects some financial responsibility for continued construction away from the state. “It really comes back to money,” CDOT spokesperson Amy Ford said. “CDOT has an annual budget shortfall of about $600-700 million to address the transportation needs around the state, and 80-90% of our current budget is
dedicated to maintenance.”

The post 36 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Who among us isn’t a little wistful as the year ends and a new one begins? Really, all it means is another revolution around the sun, but we have some need to extol the virtues of closure and seek out optimism in the form of a collection of pledges we make to ourselves…which normally end in failure…which then lead to binge drinking, excessive eating and watching reality TV. The truth none of us want to admit: There’s a Real Housewives Of…in all of us.

So, as we wrap up 2011 and look forward to the last year of our existence, I figured listing a slew of resolutions would be even more pointless than usual. Instead, I only have one: to survive.

That’s it. And I’m going to do it. This is one resolution I won’t toy with for a few weeks and then leave languishing on the floor of a 7-11 as I walk out with a bag of Funyuns and a Dr. Pepper under my arm. Nope. This time, it’s for keeps.

So, you can either bow to the whims of the fatalist Mayans and wait for the end, or you can stand up and refuse to go gently into the night. I’m going rage against the dying of the light like a room full of honey badgers on an epinephrine bender. And here’s what I’m going to need to do it:

Guns

First thing’s first, in post-apocalyptic Earth: Protect yourself from the hordes of the dying. For that, I’m heading to Grandpa’s Pawn and Gun, 312 Main St., in Longmont, where they have an enormous arsenal of new and used weaponry and ammo. grandpaspawn.com

Survival Gear

Obviously infrastructure’s going to crumble and that means basic necessities such as power, running water, etc. will cease. So, we’re gonna need to load up on everything from tents and tarps to matches and rope. So I’m heading to Jax Outdoor Gear, a locally owned company (just because the world’s ending doesn’t mean I can’t shop local) that has pretty much everything I’m gonna need, 900 Hwy. 287, Lafayette, jaxmercantile.com

Transportation

If zombie movies have taught us anything, it’s that the end of the world will result in a mass gridlock of dead cars on the highways. Which means, if we want to get around, we’ll need off-roading vehicles, and for that, Rocky Mountain Kawasaki, 645 Frontage Rd., Longmont, fits the bill just fine. I mean, a side-by-side will make getting around in post-apocalyptic Earth possible and fun! rockymountainkawasaki.com/

Electronics

Sure, electricity won’t be an option for very long, but there is no shortage of battery- and solar-powered options available for pretty much anything I’m going to need. Remember how awesome Radio Shack used to be? You could pretty much buy and assemble a robot henchman purely from stuff you bought there. Now, however, Radio Shack is where you go to buy remote control cars and sign up for cellular phone service. No worries, though, because there’s SparkFun Electronics. It’s like the way Radio Shack used to be, but times a thousand. Screw the generator. I’m gonna build a particle accelerator with their stuff! 6175 Longbow Dr., Ste. 200 Boulder, sparkfun.com

Alright Mayans. I’m prepared now. Give me your best shot.

The post Survival of the Fiercest appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

With increasing opportunities for public transit in the last decade, many have taken to the streets with bus pass, bike or sturdy walking shoes in possession. But what else do you need?

Reflective gear: “Whether you’re biking or walking, be visible,” said Marni Ratzel, city of Boulder’s bicycle and pedestrian transportation planner. “It’s important to have something for when it gets dark or if the weather turns bad.”

Book: Joe Kramer has spent the last four years in Boulder without a car. “It’s never a bad idea to have a book or headphones with you,” he said.

Also: It might seem very obvious, but a cell phone is one of the most important tools you can have; Google a new route home or text someone to meet you for a beer. We also suggest a map and a little sustenance.

The post Sans Car appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Getting around Metro Denver and the Front Range is getting easier every day. But making faster progress may mean digging in to our collective couches for the pocket change to make it happen.

In the next 10 years, transportation issues will be among the top political and policy items our lawmakers wrestle with. In a world of limited resources and rising costs—fuel chief among them—there are projects large and small that will vye for our attention and money. Some may seem out of reach; others are no-brainers. But they all impact our quality of life, level of safety and air quality. Here is our list of the top 10 transportation issues on the to-do (or at least the to-talk-about) list of many Front Range lawmakers and citizens.

1. The “last mile” solution: B-cycle

Most of us could use a long walk. But one of the complaints about busses and trains is that they don’t go quite far enough. In fact, the deal breaker for many people using mass transit is traveling the mile or two to their stop or from their stop to their destination.

Enter B-cycle, a bike-sharing program that lets you “check out” a
well-maintained, robust bike for a $5 daily fee (or $50 annual membership). Just swipe your B-cycle card (or a credit card) and off you go. Ride to where you’re going and lock it back into any B-cycle rack when you’re done.

The program launches in Boulder May 20 with B-cycle stations in the downtown core and around CU. Denver re-launched its 500 B-cycle bikes in March. The program’s success will depend on its saturation and scope.

Get all the info at boulderbcycle.com. So, now there is no excuse for not
taking the bus.

2. For whom the road tolls

Negotiations over the proposed Jefferson Parkway—the 10-mile, $800-plus million road that would go from 120th Street and McCaslin Boulevard to Colo. 93 north of Golden—are expected to continue between the city of Boulder, Boulder County, Golden and Jefferson County. Boulder has agreed to drop its longtime opposition to the road if they can work out a deal over a piece of land, known as section 16, which would become open space. Proponents, such as the city of Broomfield, say the road would realize the vision of a completed beltway around the metro area and it would help transport workers from suburban areas to corporate facilities like the ConocoPhillips campus. The city of Golden doesn’t want the toll road cutting its town in half and has threatened lawsuits to stop it; Superior has also expressed opposition because of potential traffic impacts. Despite those concerns, Jefferson County officials have told area media that construction could start within a couple of years.

3. How much is too much fun?

Denver, Boulder and even Longmont are embracing the bicycle as a source of fun and socializing. As the number of participants increases, dealing with the volume of riders is becoming an issue, and an opportunity. The Longmont Wednesday night ride—May 18 to Labor Day this year—has increased over seven years from an average of six riders a week to 75. This is dwarfed by Denver Cruisers, which gets upward of 3,000 on a big Wednesday night. Both rides employ costume “themes” for attracting riders and generating enthusiasm. While the Denver ride makes no bones about being a bar hop, the Longmont ride aims for being family friendly, despite occasional stops at breweries. What both ride organizers do is emphasize safety and obeying traffic laws, endearing them to police and making the growing events avenues for education about bike issues.

4. FasTracks: Just build it so we can all move on

FasTracks is a noble vision that—to the extent that it has been realized—is an unmitigated success. The rail system that today connects much of south Denver with downtown is growing to Golden and DIA. Ridership has exceeded projections and people want more of it, not less.

No one foresaw the financial apocalypse that crippled the economy, sent tax revenues plummeting and slowed the flow of funds for FasTracks to a trickle. In response, RTD is thinking of asking voters in November for an additional 0.4 percent sales tax increase to finish FasTracks faster, as opposed to dragging it out over decades at a much higher total cost.

The tax would amount to an additional 40 cents on a $100 purchase and would be the best money we will ever spend. As gas heads to more than $4 a gallon, a comprehensive, effective and efficient transit system can’t get here fast enough.

5. High-speed Rail on I-25 and I-70 Corridors

Installing high-speed rail from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins and from Denver to Grand Junction would cost an estimated $21 billion, according to a feasibility study finished last year for the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority.

As is the case with most Big Infrastructure, such a sweeping project would also fuel an estimated $33 billion in benefits to the state, including thousands of jobs, increased economic development, higher real estate values along the corridors, more productivity and better air quality. Travel times make your mouth water: two hours from DIA to Vail; an hour from DIA to either Colorado Springs or Fort Collins. And while such a system won’t eliminate rush-hour congestion in the Denver Metro area, it would make a decent dent in the I-70 gridlock in the Mountain Resort Region. We can dream…

6. Apocalypse soon: $5-a-gallon gas

The cognitive disconnect is amazing: As long as it costs less than $40 to fill a 16-gallon tank with gas, life is good. But toss some freedom fighting Libyans into the mix and send a full tank north of $60 and we’re sure to see the return of standing-room-only busses, lighter weekend ski traffic and waiting lists for hybrid cars. It’s fine to put an extra $30 to $40 billion a year in profits into the pockets of Big Oil, but God forbid if we were to tack an extra 25 cents onto a gallon of gas to pay for more (or free) busses, light rail and expanded transit service. That extra quarter would be a burden, but the extra dollar or more per gallon that does nothing but make Big Oil companies rich is just fine? We haven’t increased the 22-cent-a-gallon gas tax in 20 years. Figuring out that bumping that up by a dime or quarter will be a benefit, not a detriment, is among our biggest challenges.

7. Solutions for I-70

Congested I-70 traffic in the mountains isn’t just aggravating for drivers. Businesses from the Red Ram in Georgetown to the Dillon Dam Brewery in Dillon suffer. According to a six-year-old Denver Regional Council of Governments study, I-70 congestion in the Mountain Resort Region costs Colorado a couple of hundred million a year in lost business (people don’t want to exit and “lose their place in line”), lower productivity, personal lost time, sales tax revenue and air quality. One solution would be to poke additional tunnels next to the existing ones at the Eisenhower Tunnel and Twin Tunnels west of Idaho Springs as well as improve several interchanges (Cost: $16–$20 billion). The new tunnels could be used for rail in the future, but the cost is huge.

8. Boulder don’t need no stinkin’ Light Rail

The U.S. 36 Corridor—from Boulder to Westminster—is the backbone of Boulder’s transit system. Long before the promise of connecting Longmont and Boulder with Denver via commuter trains lured voters with rail lust to pass FasTracks, there were buses and EcoPasses that put butts in seats along one of RTD’s most heavily used transit corridors. Local officials, along with RTD Board Representative John Tayer, are twisting arms so money flows for improvements to make U.S. 36 slog faster and easier. Pending projects like Bus Rapid Transit (which includes more slip ramps like the newly opened one in Broomfield, High Occupancy Vehicle lanes and bike paths) will continue to need vocal support to ensure Boulder County doesn’t become a transit backwater as we wait for the train.

9. Smoother roads ahead for cyclists

If you want to see smart taxation at work, check out Boulder County’s transportation department schedule for road improvements for the next two years. The 0.1 percent sales tax (10 cents on a $100 purchase) will put wider shoulders for cyclists on Lee Hill Road and Valmont Road from 75th to 95th streets; Cherryvale Road between Baseline and Arapahoe; on Colo. 93 from Marshall Road to Colo. 128; and on Niwot/Neva roads from U.S. 36 to 63rd Street. The 2001 tax, extended to 2027 by voters in 2007, has put dozens of vital county transportation projects into high gear that would have taken decades to complete without a dedicated funding source. In addition to wider shoulders—which are nice for both cyclists and drivers—the work includes trails and drainage projects. Check out bouldercounty.org for a complete list, maps and schedule of work.

10. Crank up the fare box feedback

As RTD finally gets around to installing new fare boxes and Smart Card readers on all its busses, the transit agency will at last begin to get an accurate picture of its ridership and detailed information about who rides its busses, when and where.

This kind of information has been missing forever and the information vacuum led RTD staff and board members who oppose the EcoPass program to wrongly claim it loses money and should be cut. But with no hard data to prove otherwise, keeping the popular (at least in Boulder County) EcoPass program alive involved a full-time fight.

Now, as better information becomes available, RTD will be able to collect the fares it is due as well as fine tune its routes and schedules to maximize its service. And who knows, maybe better information will lead to an expansion of the EcoPass program.

The post Down The Road: Ten Transportation Issues Impacting You in the Next 10 Years appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

A few years back, I interviewed a woman who had a degenerative eye disease that took her vision slowly and awkwardly. Several accidents ensured her vision constantly changed—partially blind in her right eye, mostly blind in her left eye, and then almost completely blind in both.

As her vision changed, the woman willed herself to relearn the basics; cooking was always an interesting process, she told me, referring to an incident during which she mistook peas for blueberries while making muffins. But from the beginning, the hardest part about losing her vision was giving up her license to drive.

Transportation, she said, was a facet of mobility, and mobility was everything. When she lost her ability to get out of the house easily, she also lost her independence. Before finding transportation assistance through a local organization, she grew isolated and depressed.

I think of her every time I ride the bus, and I thought of her many times as we planned and edited this issue’s 10 Transportation Issues in the Next 10 Years.

We so often forget transportation is tightly bound to our connection with the outside world. We forget the greater significance: When there is a lack of transportation options, when public transit becomes less affordable, when para-transit programs are cut, a whole segment of the population looses its mechanism for active living, socializing and thriving.

Now more than ever, our community’s transportation and mobility needs—access, affordability and awareness—must be top of mind.

As always, it’s because of the Baby Boomers (I say this jokingly…kinda). In less than 10 years, the population of people in this country who need mobility assistance will skyrocket. It’s predicted that 20 percent of the Boulder County population will be older than 65 by 2020. Our fast-aging Boomer population—cheekily known as the Silver Tsunami—will soon become a major burden on our entire bureaucratic infrastructure. From Social Security to Medicare to human services to ways we still don’t know, our financial systems, governmental programs, medical technology, housing and care-giving support will soon be tested. And transportation will be a major part of that, especially if we don’t plan for it now.

I was recently invited to take a tour of the new Special Transit building. While Mary Cobb, Special Transit’s communication director, had warned me that the “older adult population is the fastest growing population group in Boulder County and their projected mobility needs are one of the hot topics in transportation planning in the county,” I was happily surprised at how the regional nonprofit has examined the exact problem for years. And knowing the future demand, they’ve acted accordingly. Their new facility is magnificent—a result of strategic fundraising and adept planning—set atop 6.3 acres of land east of Boulder. There are empty desks throughout, waiting for the latent staff that will be required as the need for their services increases.

Special Transit’s philosophy, Cobb tells me as we stare at the building’s view of the Front Range, is about “mobility management.” It’s about creating a web of support for anyone who needs mobility help; from door-to-door rides to helping residents find public transit.

“And when FasTracks comes on line here, we will help our riders access those options,” said executive director Lenna Kottke. It’s a holistic and proactive approach that leaves no one in the dust.

The post Cruise Control appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

The sluggish recovery from the financial meltdown of 2007-08 doesn’t feel like a recovery at all; lots of people and institutions are still being fiscally flogged. And as institutions go, Denver’s Regional Transportation District is feeling the pain like no other. What it needs—and what would benefit us all—is a serious infusion of cash.

Based on current projections, RTD faces an $18 million shortfall in 2011 and it’s not looking much better after that. Thankfully, fuel prices haven’t gone through the roof, but regardless, it’s looking like something’s got to go. At least that’s the accepted wisdom.

RTD gets about 70 percent of its money from sales taxes and the other 30 percent from fares. When money is short at RTD, one of two things—or a combination of the two—usually happens: fares go up or service gets cut. To try and blunt this death spiral approach to the fiscal management of our transit system, RTD Board Member John Tayer from Boulder will be chairing a task force that is going to comb through the organization, looking for any efficiencies or cost-cutting measures that don’t involve cutting service or jacking up fares.

Tayer is good at this, having served as chair of the finance committee for the past several years. But apart from some loose change found among the cushions at RTD, there’s little to trim; five years of falling sales tax revenue, punctuated with a brief but painful kick in the shins by $4-a-gallon gas, have left the place cut nearly to the bone. Short of asking passengers to help with the driving, it’s not likely much of the $18 million will be made up with new found “efficiencies.”

So that leaves increasing fares and/or cutting service. Both are bad ideas, especially today. With people generally making less, if they’re working at all, a comprehensive, cheap and efficient transit system is needed now more than ever. And what isn’t said, but what needs to be done, is to raise the transit tax.

Oh NOOOO! We can’t raise taxes, not in the midst of a recession!

Wrong. We can and we must. Paying a mere dime more on a $10 purchase isn’t going to break the back of those who are out of a job or who have had to take a pay cut. What WILL break their back—and what will impact them far more—is paying an extra quarter to get to and from that lower paying job, or job interview, day after day.

And as for you Tea Partiers out there who whine about too many taxes and too much government, listen up. Ask any real estate agent in downtown Denver where the hottest properties are going to be and they’ll grab the map of the future buildout of the FasTracks system and start pointing to neighborhoods surrounding train and bus stops.

Transit-oriented development isn’t a fleeting fad like Lady Gaga. A comprehensive and cheap transit system fuels residential and commercial development. Why? Because people want to live where they can walk or ride a bike to a bus or train that takes them to work and back. Why? Because driving sucks; it’s wasteful and aggravating and expensive.

In an ideal world, our federal government would slap a 25-cent a gallon tax on gasoline tomorrow and fund transit systems nationwide, as well as an interstate high-speed rail system. If we start now, it may not hurt nearly as bad when gas goes back up to $4 a gallon or more (and it most certainly will).

In the meantime, we need to let RTD pull the cushions off the couch and be glad they found the remote. But when the handful of change they find comes up short, and it will, we need to support a bump in the sales tax, because that’s what it’s going to take to keep RTD healthy and ensure its valuable existence into the future.

The post RTD Has No Cushion appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

People in the alternative transportation sector talk about motivation in terms of cost-benefit ratios and environmental and economic influences.

For me, the love of the automobile (and thusly the subconscious opposition to things like buses or even carpooling) is rooted in self-sufficiency, and the future of travel and transit is dependent on balancing our united need for oil-independence with a want for personal independence.

As you can tell, those Chevy commercials have swayed my point of view.

My car is my rock. It gets me from A to B and back to A on my terms. There are no schedules. No helmets. No awkward conversations. No standing on the side of the highway alone and cold and feeling like a perfect idiot.

That’s where I’ll start my story of the seven days I spent sans auto—the part just before I step off the bus in Niwot and do a walk of shame down the highway. I set out to explore first hand the ways in which Boulder County residents transport themselves: bus, bike, carpooling, ridesharing and alternatives in personal vehicles. The goal of this experiment was to see if abandoning my car necessitated abandoning my autonomy as a commuter and to test the practicality of it all. Can our infrastructure, technology and attitudes successfully support alternatives in travel? Are the barriers to using alternative transportation too big to sway the masses? And can I get to work on time riding an electric bicycle?

But first, I must learn how to ride the bus.

There’s a section on the Regional Transportation District website called “How to Ride the Bus.” It includes tips on how to “find your bus stop” and how to “get off at your stop.”

“Schedules may look complicated, but once you become familiar with them,” the site reads, “they’re really quite easy.”

I realize as I sit on a bus—I think it’s fair to call it the wrong bus—that I have not yet become familiar with the RTD bus schedules. I, in fact, suck at riding the bus. Instead of heading to the office in Erie, I’m on my way to Boulder. I send an expletive-laced text to a co-worker, and my phone immediately rings.

“Where are you?” she asks.

“On the bus. I don’t know what happened,” I say, trying to play it cool and calm.

She laughs.

“Get off at the next stop. I’ll come get you.”

She hangs up.

As I step off the hulking bus, steaming and wheezing in the chilly morning rush hour, out onto the Diagonal Highway outside of Niwot, it occurs to me that my experiment is not just about freedom from my single-driver lifestyle or independence from foreign oil but about the kindness of others. I buy her a soy latte for her trouble.

There are people who have this whole thing figured out—bus schedules, bike paths, tricks of getting from here to there. There are those who have whole-heartedly adopted the culture of buses and bikes. People like Joshua Jackson, a court specialist for the Boulder Municipal Court and Go Boulder’s 2009 Commuter of the Year. Jackson lives in Longmont and rides the bus or his bike to Boulder for work. His mantra on public transportation is “it’s really not that hard.” He gets a free bus pass through work, and he enjoys cycling.

“Obviously, convenience is a pretty strong engine,” he says. “I drive my car once in a while, but when I do, I’m like, ‘Wow, this is a drag.’’’

Jackson’s thought process is: “I have to get up a few minutes earlier. So what?” And his motivations are a blend of cultural, economic and environmental. He seems like a “just do it” sort of guy who says things like, “Make it happen.”

“Relax. It’s not that big of a deal,” he tells me. “If you miss the bus, it’s OK. If you stand there, another one will eventually come.”

But Jackson is not typical. Most people don’t just make it happen.

High gas prices caused increases in Boulder County public transit ridership last year as well as increased investment in vehicles like scooters and electric bikes, and today people generally walk, ride the bus or take their bike when it’s practical; the “green” aspect is usually ancillary. Even traffic jams, according to a recent Wall Street Journal story, discourage people from driving their cars.

Which all means that municipalities must be prepared for ups and downs in ridership.
“I have a deep personal belief that fuel will go back up. It’s our charge to ensure that systems are in place, so that when there is a spike there are real options for people to get on transit,” said Scott McCarey, Boulder County’s alternative transportation coordinator. “People here live and work regionally. There are a lot of people who pulse in and out of Boulder daily. If that system is crimped by $5-a-gallon gas, you will have a tough economic situation. So, it’s not just a sustainability issue, it’s an economic one.”

With what seem like endless grants, the Transportation Department and RTD work to find what will get people out of their cars and onto the bus. They add and tweak and “market the hell out of” different routes. They’re even testing a system that would allow approaching busses to communicate with a light signal, giving priority to the bus and the 20 or so passengers aboard.

After talking with McCarey, I feel almost prepared as I walk up to the RTD stop on Main Street in Longmont. The Bolt—the wrong bus—approaches, stops and leaves, and I feel victorious as the L pulls up minutes later. The L runs between Denver and Longmont, and it drops me off on 287 near Arapahoe, in the midst of busy highway traffic.
I walk to the light and cross the street and head east on Arapahoe, where there is another bus stop. Ten minutes later, the Jump picks me up and takes me to the Erie Community Center.

I am quietly joyful as I walk to the office. My final mile is a pleasant stroll on a nice morning. It takes me about an hour and fifteen to get to work, way longer than it takes me in my car. Still, I’m relaxed and I think that maybe this newfound skill will come in handy in the future. I think, “No big deal.”

***

Tom Wilson tinkers with his souped-up tandem, which he’s pulled into Small Planet Earth. The bike is Frankenstein-esque. Wilson’s taken off the back seat and added a battery and motor. It can hold eight grocery bags or 350 pounds of cargo.
“It’s great ‘cause I can commute on it and if I need to pick up something from the hardware store on the way home, it’s not a problem,” he says.

In the midst of Longmont’s bustling Main Street, Small Planet Earth is a “green” oasis. Wilson and owner Chuck Ankeny peddle a sundry stock of electric vehicles: traditional-looking HEBB bikes, tank-like A2B bikes, bright-colored scooters and a kelly green three-wheeled car parked out front. Ankeny opened the shop as “my little contribution to getting people out of their cars.”

Certainly, there are challenges here. Battery technology is continually advancing—but a next-generation battery that will ensure long-distance reliability is not yet marketable. Both Wilson and Ankeny say cities need to provide better access and infrastructure for electric vehicles. And residents need to take a more proactive, individualized effort.
“I’d mandate it: One day a month when people have to get out of cars,” Wilson says.
They don’t talk like eco-snobs but like men who genuinely care. And when I ride away on one of their electric bikes—a silver HEBB—they look at me with pride.

An electric bike is like a normal bike that lets you cheat. It’s fun—like, really fun. I dawdle around on bike paths and residential streets and find my way to County Line Road, which I take south to Erie.

County Line is sketchy for bikes, as anyone who cycles on this picturesque rural road knows. But mid-morning, it’s calm and the motor makes the hills less daunting. I average about 17 mph until I’m a mile from Erie, and then my battery begins to run low (note: the battery was not fully charged when I started). Wilson told me that it would last about 15 to 30 miles, depending on how much I used the motor.

Still, I roll up to the office 45 minutes after leaving Longmont feeling good. My ride home is better; I charge the battery fully (about four hours) and take more back roads. I ride past rush-hour traffic and drivers smugly staring at the bumpers in front of them.
It occurs to me, I am having a ball.

***

At this point, I want to hitchhike. I’ve carpooled, taken the bus, walked, ridden my bike, ridden an electric bike, test driven an electric car and bummed many, many rides, and none of that captures a Kerouac-type of romanticism like sticking your thumb out on a dusty country road. But as practicality and safety goes, it’s not the best of transportation options. So, I opted for an alternative but similar form of catching a ride.
Wilson from Small Planet Earth told me about his favorite tool for taking longer trips: Craig’s List rideshare. So, I posted a listing that read something like, “I need a ride from downtown Longmont to downtown Loveland for an appointment
tomorrow around 1:30. I will happily help with gas.”

That’s how I found the White Knight of Craigslist.

Peter Gabbani is tall with rust-colored hair. He’s a writer, traveler and reader of philosophy. He’s planning on teaching English in Korea, but for now, he spends his days giving rides to strangers he finds on Craig’s List. It’s not a large part of his income, he tells me, but it helps pay for groceries. Plus, he likes it.

“I like to drive and, as you can tell, I like to talk,” he says. “And I’ve met a ton of interesting people with these great stories. Some of (the stories) are horrible, some are amazing. Since I pick people up from the airport a lot, I hear about their travels.”
His riders often tell him he offered them a ride when no one else would. They’ve called him the white knight.

Today, Gabbani has driven from his home in the Highlands area to Longmont to pick me up. We head up 287 and he parks in downtown Loveland. While I’m at my appointment, he stays in the car. Then he takes me back to Longmont. For this, he charges me $20. I pay him and he goes.

It keeps him busy. He’s done it for four months. He’s the affordable personal chauffeur who finds people in need and gives them a ride on his silver steed.

“Some people will say, ‘So, why are you going to Crestone?’ And then I’ll have to explain that I’m only going because they’re going,” he says. “It’s a little awkward at first but then people get it.”

***

On the eighth day, I slip into my car, the cold leather hugging me. With a tug of the key, Kings of Leon greet me. It’s comfortable, safe and mine.

My feelings toward transportation are a continuum: the ease of sitting on a bus (the right bus), reading the newspaper; the power of pushing a bicycle through town and country; the simplicity of walking on a blanket of crispy leaves; the convenience of a car sitting in your driveway; and the nostalgic feeling of riding into the sunset.

There are costs that come with all: fuel, emissions, money and sore muscles. There are barriers all around, but bridges abound. While the environment is a big green elephant that lurks in every commute, transportation really comes down to individual wants and needs. I set out to see if giving up my car meant giving up my independence, and I realized I have let myself become dependent on my car. I’m not going to be a full-time bus commuter and I’m not buying an electric bike, but I now have the skills, knowledge and motivation to—as Jackson would say—make it happen…occasionally.

If you give a man (or in this case, a woman) a bus pass he’ll ride for a day. If you teach him how to read a bus schedule, he’ll ride for life.

—————

Transportation Resources
RTD: Public transit info, rtd-denver.com
RideArrangers: Carpools, drcog.org
eRideshare: Carpools and rideshares,
erideshare.com
SkiCarpool: Carpools to ski areas, skicarpool.org
Colorado Jitney: Winter rec transit, cojitney.com
eGo CarShare: Car-sharing, carshare.org
Bicycle Colorado: Cycling info, bicyclecolo.org
Colorado Walks: Walking programs and events, coloradowalks.org
Smart Trips: Various resources, smarttrips.org

The post On the Road appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Yes on ballot issue 1A
Open space tax extension
You are already paying this 0.10 percent sales tax. Why? Because you love open space and want to leave a legacy of preservation for decades to come. Voting ‘yes’ extends the tax from 2009 to 2029, thus insuring the funds to buy and maintain open space will remain for a few more decades.

Yes on ballot issue 1B
Transportation tax extension
You are already paying this 0.10 percent sales tax. Why? Because transportation projects are of the utmost importance and there’s rarely extra cash laying around to pay for them. This ballot item will extend the tax to improve roads, intersection safety, bike paths and trails, to name a few. ?

The post Boulder County Issues appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

A City On The Brink
A lot has been said recently about Lafayette’s “friendliness” to some of the big box retailers. (See Lowe’s, Super Wal-Mart.) The city desperately needs to pump up its retail sales tax base, but it can’t do so at the expense of its charm, one of the primary reasons for living there. That being said, the city has jumped on board a regional sales tax sharing revenue study, but the new council will need to go a step further. Old Town Lafayette is in need of a facelift. Major blight potential at South Boulder Road and South Public Road needs to be addressed sooner than later. And officials must take a hard look at a budget that could turn into a gorilla of a problem if not addressed now.

City Council Seats (pick four)
Kerry Bensman, Frank Phillips, Alex Schatz and Jay Ruggeri over Brian Herzfeld, Stacia Lupberger, Robert Brown, Melinda Medrick-Nye* and Laura Oster

Usually you keep an incumbent in office because the city is running smoothly and everybody seems happy about direction. We’re telling you to re-elect Kerry Bensman because he knows how to ruffle feathers and can get a city staff member to roll his or her eyes in seconds. And it’s not because Bensman goes over the top with outlandish ideas; it’s because he has well-thought arguments that sometimes don’t mesh with popular opinion, and he is never afraid to speak up. With a background that includes an MIT and Harvard education, Bensman will be a leader in helping the city fix serious budget problems it’s expected to face in coming years and will continue to be the watchdog that keeps the rest of council honest. He also gets bonus points for sticking up for the small business owners devastated by Wal-Mart’s move from South Public Road to Highway 287.

With everyone touting redevelopment with a side of transportation, Frank Phillips is making sure open space policy doesn’t get lost in the mix. As a sitting council member he continues his work in saving the “chicken barns” on Highway 7 and sees open space as one of the great ways to keep Lafayette a small town that thrives off its mountainous setting. This is not to say Phillips is a one-issue candidate. Far from it. The incumbent expects the city to become a leader in energy conservation, clean energy and building affordable housing for seniors. He’s concerned with business in Old Town, and would like to encourage small business to move in via incentives and increase foot traffic on South Public Road with more community events. As far as redeveloping the Old Town entrance vacated by the Wal-Mart move, he prioritizes the South Boulder Road extension so it becomes thruway instead of an afterthought on travel to 287. He says that road project will be a shot in the arm to Old Town—and he’s correct.

Two years ago, Jay Ruggeri garnered the fourth most votes in the council election, meaning he was granted a two-year, mini-term in office. He’s taken his trial period and run with it, working extensively in breaking down barriers many city residents face. He helped change building codes so all new home construction is built with proper sizing so disabled owners can easily retrofit the houses without adding ugly ramps or tearing down walls. He was instrumental in helping the Latino Advisory Board become a reality, giving area Hispanics a voice. The same goes for a youth advisory board that has given the area’s youngest residents an avenue to talk to city representatives. He championed for the city’s new comprehensive recycling service, and now wants to tackle building codes to truly make green building a viable option. One interesting idea of his is to close West Chester Street in Old Town and turn it into a park to help lure residents to stay downtown. He expects it’ll cost a worthwhile $100,000, which could be recouped in the sales tax generated by the additional traffic flow.

Alex Schatz is strong-willed, much like incumbent Kerry Bensman. He was upset with how city officials handled the moving of Wal-Mart, when the city gave the retail giant incentives to set up shop down the road, leaving a gaping, blighted shopping center at the foot of Old Town. He realizes transforming this site quickly is a key to pumping up South Public Road and stabilizing the city’s lagging tax base. Punching South Boulder Road through to the Northwest Parkway is key in making the commercial strip a viable development option, he says. Schatz, whose resume includes being an analyst on the joint budget committee of the Colorado General Assembly, will be a great voice in trying to fix some major budgeting problems the city will face in the coming years. Schatz has also been active in Lafayette government, serving on the planning commission and open space advisory committee, to name a few. With a law degree from CU and a landscape architecture degree from the University of Wisconsin, he brings a unique skill set to help Lafayette grow into one of the top North Metro communities.

Yes on ballot issues 2A & 2B
Road and rec center improvements
By going forward with both these issues, Lafayette could pay for street, traffic and parking improvements (2A), as well as upgrades to the recreation center (2B). This gives the city the authority to sell bonds to pay for such improvements ($6.25 million for 2A and $660,000 for 2B) without raising taxes.

Yes on question 2A
Residential growth management
Lafayette’s plan to limit residential growth to 200 homes per year was a great start to ensuring smart development in the city. Now voters are asked to renew the limits, and considering the city hasn’t reached that number of homes being built in recent years, it makes sense to continue the restriction. If the economy turns up, Lafayette will be protected from mass developments that may not be in the best interest of the community.

Yes on questions 2B and 2C
Council actions and procedures
The first stipulates that council only act by ordinance, resolution or motion, and defines when these actions should be used, the later clarifies language relating to how council members assume office following elections. Basically, it’ll streamline processes.

Yes on ballot question 2D
Penalties
The books are a bit messy when it comes to fines and sentences for crimes that reach the municipal court. This will clarify the role of council and give it control over sentence structure within state statutes.

Yes on ballot question 2E
Ethics
This measure will reduce redundancy in city charter in regards to its ethics policy. Basic house cleaning, really.?

The post Lafayette Races appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

About the worst way to view the beloved foothills behind Boulder is while sitting in bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic on U.S. 36. Transportation gurus have bounced around ideas to ease the traffic, and two have made the cut. One includes, gasp, tolls. Take a look at a similar project along I-25. The toll/HOV lane through the heavily congested northern Denver section has been a huge success. If you’re driving with someone else, it’s free. If not, pay for a stress-free cruise. Critics say it’s elitist. But it eases congestion and brings a bevy of cash.

What’s Next: Public comment began in July, and traffic remains bottlenecked on 36.

The post Pay Your Way Out Of Traffic appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Apparently, RTD’s $4.7-billion FasTracks project will fall short of expectations no matter what. First, stories of budget issues for the project that will bring more than 100 miles of train service to the metro area sprouted—officials have toyed with scaling back routes, using more diesel trains. To make things worse, RTD can’t even succeed in picking stations for the voter-approved project, as witnessed last month when Thornton residents protested in droves a proposed stop at 144th Avenue and York Street because it was too close to a middle school.

What’s Next: We wait for RTD to make a final decision, although finding money to keep the original plan intact should be a priority.

The post Another Stalled Train appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.