I am a relative neophyte to a lot of the workings of Colorado’s state government. I am working feverishly to learn so I can share with others, and I have to tell you that some of what I am learning is an increasing cause for concern on my part. Have you ever thought about who […]
Colorado Department of Transportation
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Sen. Ray Scott: Instead of new fees, let’s restore Coloradans’ confidence in CDOT
During the 2018 and 2019 elections, voters in Colorado considered a number of ballot initiatives seeking to fund the renewal of our state’s transportation infrastructure. Some of those proposals would have raised taxes, others didn’t, but all of them failed. It’s clear from this that Coloradans lack confidence in the state government’s ability to prudently […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Investing in transportation is the key to Colorado’s COVID economic recovery
As of December 2020, Colorado had the fourth-highest unemployment level in the nation, with only Hawaii, Nevada and California having a worse rate. This is a far cry from early in 2020 when the state had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Clearly COVID-19 has been the main culprit, but our economy […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Freeway expansion is the wrong way to spend Colorado’s COVID-19 relief dollars
Gov. Jared Polis’ Colorado Transportation Commission, a group tasked with directing billions of dollars in state transportation funding every year, met last month to decide the fate of $134 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. In the face of a pandemic, a climate emergency and a brown cloud hanging over the state Capitol, the commission […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Shoshana Lew and Karen Stuart: Transparency in Colorado transportation starts with talking to our neighbors
No one needs to explain our state’s growing transportation needs to Coloradans. They live it every day, whether sitting in traffic during rush hour or on Interstate 70 on a weekend, driving harrowing mountain passes or rural narrow shoulders when passing a slow moving trailer, dodging potholes or awaiting a late bus to work or […]
Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
The road to greenhouse gas cuts: Are Colorado drivers ready?
When Colorado’s greenhouse gas battle comes to her Wheat Ridge driveway, Jan Rose will be ready. Rose believes heart and soul that if the state wants to hit benchmarks of 90% cuts to polluting emissions by 2050, Coloradans will have to drive less, and if they do drive, use a clean electric car. Recent successful […]
Posted inGrowth, Politics and Government, Transportation
Colorado lawmakers considering new fee on gallon of gas to boost money for roads
Year after year, Colorado lawmakers in both parties make finding money for road and transit projects a top priority only to see a big deal get downsized — or more often, collapse entirely. “We are Charlie Brown and we are hoping we are going to get that football,” said state Rep. Matt Gray, a Broomfield […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, Energy, Environment, Health, News, Politics and Government
Grand Junction keeps its grave for radioactive, Cold War dirt thanks to new coronavirus-aid package
Cold War-era Grand Junction had a widespread benefit from a uranium mill in its backyard: dirt — fine, sand-like, multipurpose dirt. The Climax Uranium Mill along the Colorado River offered an endless supply of the gray dirt that was free for the taking by anyone who needed material to use in sidewalks and roadways, in […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Coloradans, Environment, Growth
Mitigation “bank” near Greeley will offset wetland damage, meet Clean Water Act rules
Developers often dropped by unannounced at the Allely farm to ask if the family would consider selling their 70-acre property south of Greeley at the confluence of the Big Thompson and South Platte rivers. The answer was always no — the Allelys did not want their land, which had been in the family since in […]
Posted inEnvironment, News
Colorado’s I-25 project on “The Gap” combined data, thousands of photos and engineering to minimize roadkill
It’s a picturesque and remarkable feat of preservation. Meandering plains, mountains and meadows reflect a decades-long effort to link massive, contiguous public and private parcels along a miles-wide corridor that runs roughly from Monument Hill north to Lone Tree. It features land wrapped in expansive conservation easements, protected habitat and, to the west, Pike National […]