CDOT is making the decision between highway and rail right now.  They need to hear from you today!

The transportation decisions that we make now will determine growth patterns in Northern Colorado for the next 30 years.

Do we want a community based on sprawl, big box retailers, and the automobile?  Or do we want a community with a town center, walkable and bikable, with independently owned shops, and sense of unique culture?  Do we want our region to have natural areas and open spaces separating our towns or will towns be delineated by exit signs on the highway?  Do we want healthy rivers or drainage culverts?  When you look east from the foothills, what do you want to see?

If we continue to invest in I-25 expansion then our community will look more and more like Southern California everyday.  Very few people want this type of development for Northern Colorado, but this is what we have become accustomed to as a society and this is what real-estate developers and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) are used to providing.  Sprawl is fast and profitable for developers (in the short term) and they have invested a lot of money in politics to keep this type of development coming.  Up until 1991 CDOT was known as the Colorado Department of Highways and the highway mentality still runs deep.

If we change our emphasis from sprawl and highway development to redevelopment of urban areas and train travel then our community can remain more as it is today.  People value our open spaces, relatively clear skies, clean water, ease of travel, and unique culture.  First we need to recognize ourselves that the change is needed.  Surveys suggest that over 75% of residents in Northern Colorado want commuter rail and are against further sprawl.  Next we have to convince politicians, developers, and CDOT that this is really what we want and we are serious about getting it.  That is what Community for Sustainable Energy is doing right now.  After we convince the decision makers, we must hold them accountable to getting it done.  That is up to us as citizens and responsible politicians and business leaders.  We are closer than many people think.  Smart developers are buying property close to future transit stations and some local politicians are focusing on redeveloping downtown areas. 

Some logistics:
Cost comparison – Highway expansion = $1.184 BILLION.  Commuter rail = $615 million
Travel time from FTC to Denver (2030 projection) – Highway = 107 minutes.   Commuter rail = 97 minutes
Rail is cheaper and faster than highway expansion!   (www.dot.state.co.us/nfrtafs/ and CDOT updates)


CDOT is currently in the process of prioritizing projects:  Should they phase in rail before I-25 expansion, or vise versa?  They also need to consider which projects voters will and will not fund.  Larimer County Commissioner Tom Donnelly sits on a committee to help them make these determinations and he is not yet committed to rail or highway.    

Write a short note to Larimer County Commissioner Tom Donnelly and to CDOT.  Say what you like.  Tell them what you want.  Ask for a reply.  Tell them that you will vote in the next election.

Commissioner Donnelly                            CDOT  Region 4
P.O. Box 1190                                            1420 Second St.
Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190                    Greeley, CO 80631





 
 
 
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