Policy makers across Colorado are considering banning cell phone use while driving, because they feel that it leads to car accidents. Regulations controlling cell phone usage in cars will not reduce the real problems of driving safety, and in fact may decrease road safety.
READ MOREThe Regional Transportation District, claiming it’s out of cash, is cutting bus service throughout the district. Of course, RTD wouldn’t cut service unless it was a last resort. Passengers are RTD’s most valued assets.
READ MOREThe cost of traffic congestion exceeds the cost to eliminate it.
An ongoing project of the Texas Transportation Institute estimates traffic congestion annually. TTI calculated the cost to the U.S. economy at $68 billion in 2000. Because the cost is growing faster than the population, congestion is making Americans worse off. This is more than enough money to add an additional lane to every interstate highway in the United States in each direction. Less extreme proposals could instantly eliminate all traffic congestion. The reason traffic congestion exists is political.
READ MOREDenver’s high housing prices prevent low-income people from attaining the American dream. The Center for the American Dream will promote affordable housing by finding ways to protect neighborhood values without needless regulation.
READ MOREDenver is the nation’s third-most congested urban area, and congestion costs Denver residents nearly $1.5 billion a year. Spending 60 percent of the region’s transportation budget on 1 percent of the region’s travelers will not solve this problem. The Center for the American Dream will find low-cost solutions that can solve congestion without raising taxes.
READ MOREIm trying to prepare myself now so I wont become nauseous when my car insurance renewal notice arrives in October. Thats because the already high auto-insurance rates in Colorado are going even farther up. Its gotten to the point where some people can barely afford to drive, according to Carole Walker of Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. She says rate increases are averaging 15-20 percent, to double the national average. This is in a state that already has the 13th costliest auto insurance rates in the nation.
READ MOREIt’s the same story over and over. Transit districts ask the voters to approve taxes to build expensive rail systems. The voters consent, and get half of what they bargained for — the tax. As for the promised rail system, it almost always turns out that there just isn’t enough money to deliver on the promises.
READ MOREt looks as though the end may finally be near for Denvers embattled photo radar program. If stubborn, revenue-hungry city officials have their way, however, it is just the beginning of another fight that will ultimately result in the flawed program resuming operation again.
READ MOREOzone is a known cancer-causing agent. It also causes lung irritation and difficulty in breathing, especially among the very young, elderly, and those with respiratory ailments. Ozone is an unstable form or oxygen. Light rail trains generate ozone. Is there a problem?
READ MOREIn the age of condoms, you’d think rubber would get more respect, especially when it comes to transportation. The U.S. 36 corridor is served by one of the best regional mass transit lines in the country RTD’s Boulder-Denver bus route. But the lust for steel wheels could damn this corridor to a fate worse than T-REX.
READ MOREBoth the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) can expect a dramatic reduction in highway and transportation funding from traditional sources over the next few years. Colorados highway network is already overrun with travelers, yet widened and expanded highways will not be pursued.
READ MOREFederally-mandated emissions testing of automobiles in Colorado has decreased emissions, albeit much less than predicted. Recent breakthroughs in manufacturing low-emitting vehicles and in remote sensing of a moving car’s exhaust could enable Colorado to phase out or drastically increase the efficiency of treadmill-style testing centers.
READ MOREEvery year, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) is required to report to the Transportation Legislative Review Committee (CRS 43-2-145) about its compliance with a legislatively mandated farebox recovery ratio of 30 percent (CRS 32-9-119.7). The farebox recovery ratio means that passenger fares must pay for at least 30 percent of RTDs operating costs.
READ MORELike a cobra mesmerizing a mouse, lobbyists from RTDs utopian light rail team have convinced the Lakewood City Council to enact a city framework plan, which will set guidelines for a 22-month environmental impact study along 13th Avenue. Light rail is the ultimate goal of the framework plan, which will cost $450 million.
READ MOREThe failed monorail proposal contained interesting aspects, one of them being the absurdity of its discussion as a viable proposal. Voters wisely recognized the dubious and speculative nature of the exaggerated technological and economic claims. Even if the monorail could have worked at any price, then how would this massive capital outlay ever do anything to address traffic congestion? To succeed, the monorail would have to absorb all future as well as some of the pre-existing trip demand. When expectations transcend the unlikely and range to the impossible, advocates engage in delusional fantasy.
READ MOREEnough studies! If this tax grab passes, it will add, at minimum, another three years until we even begin to fix the traffic problem on I-70. Despite the impression given, this proposal does not build a monorail, or anything else, in the mountain corridor. It is just another study replicating work being done by the Colorado and Federal Departments of Transportation. It will, however, cost every couple in Colorado about $40 out of their tax refunds.
READ MOREAmy Oliver Cooke, Director
Email: Amy@i2i.org
Phone: 303-279-6536, ext 107
Amy Oliver Cooke, Director
Email: Amy@i2i.org
Phone: 303-279-6536, ext 107
After a lot of recent attention, it seems to have grown awfully quiet this month in the Adams 12 school district. Two of four scheduled negotiation sessions with teachers union officials already have taken place, but beyond that it’s left to the open-ended curiosity of a perpetually precocious 5-year-old to try to guess what’s taking […]
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Merit Academy: A Story of Perseverance tells the eventful story of how citizens in the small community of Woodland Park realized a gap in educational options. Determined to meet the needs of families, they worked against all odds so that families wouldn’t have to drive their children long distances to other communities. Read about Merit
READ MOREIn 1993 Colorado became the third state to adopt charter school legislation. Born out of frustration with lackluster school performance and limited options, the Charter Schools Act resulted from the hard work and dedication of many parents, educators, and political leaders. Careful and colorful recollections from many active, influential figures combine with other original sources to highlight the foundation and origins of the Act.
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