In a moment of levity several weeks ago, I stationed myself near the entry of a nearby grocery store and asked complete strangers if they knew who “Dr. Cog” was. The answers were wide-ranging, including numerous blank looks and shrugs, and creative guesses such as, “I think he delivered my neighbor’s baby,” and “Isn’t he that CU professor who everybody’s mad at?”
The responses would be amusing – except that this “doctor” has a major impact on the quality of life of everyone living in the nine-county metro area.
The “doctor” is, of course, the Denver Regional Council of Governments, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It is the Metropolitan Planning Organization that determines which roads and corridors will receive federal transportation funds, conducts critical reviews of all major transit projects, and protects people living in the area’s long-term care facilities. It is governed by a board of directors made up of representatives from each of the more than 50 cities and counties in the metro area.
DRCOG had its origins in 1955, when officials in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver and Jefferson counties grew concerned about the area’s rapid growth. They created one of the nation’s first regional planning commissions, calling it the Inter-County Regional Planning Association. The organization continued with that name until 1968, when it was changed to the Denver Regional Council of Governments.
One of DRCOG’s main roles has been to guide the development of transportation and transit in the area. One of the organization’s first actions was to support a route for Interstate 70 through the metro area. It has continued a strong emphasis on transportation and transit planning ever since. For example, in 1969, DRCOG supported legislation creating the Regional Transportation District and hosted RTD’s organizational meeting.
In 1990, after the legislature required that DRCOG evaluate each major transit proposal for fiscal feasibility, the first transit line to be assessed was the one from Auraria to Five Points. Since then, DRCOG has evaluated each corridor proposed for the FasTracks system. Most recently, DRCOG forged a historic agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation that will help ensure the metro area receives a fairer share of highway user gas taxes than in the past.
Air quality is another focus of the organization. After the oil embargo of 1975 drove up gas prices and created shortages, DRCOG created a carpool matching program. It went on to develop additional programs to improve air quality, including vanpools and schoolpools, as well as encouraging teleworking (working at home via computer). It also established a traffic signal timing program under which local governments coordinate their traffic signals to save commuting time and minimize air pollution.
In 1973, DRCOG was given special responsibilities for aging citizens in the region. Today, a small staff and a large number of volunteers visit the area’s 300-plus nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, safeguarding the health of residents.
As the metro area has grown, so has recognition that local governments must work together to guide that growth. Will Toor, Boulder County commissioner and chair of DRCOG’s board, says the organization provides an “invaluable forum” for decisionmakers to “look at the cumulative impact of their local decisions and how they fit together as a whole.”
From development of the first Metro Growth Plan in 1961 to establishment of Metro Vision 2020 in 1997, onto the adoption of Metro Vision 2030 this year, cities and counties have worked together to limit sprawl. The 2020 plan established urban growth boundaries. “That plan focused on how the region must grow in and up instead of ever outward,” Toor says. “It represented a fundamental shift in managing growth wisely.”
Toor believes the 2030 plan is significantly stronger than its predecessor. It identifies “urban centers,” compact, pedestrian-oriented areas with shops, restaurants, cultural amenities, employment and residences, where growth should logically occur (for example, near light rail stations), and identifies the infrastructure needed to accommodate that growth.
DRCOG represents another way that local governments are working cooperatively to plan a healthy future for the metro area.
