There has been a strong push recently to build an extension of the C-470 beltway through the open lands near Rocky Flats. Many of the proponents are local elected officials who are friends and colleagues of ours, but we believe that they are mistaken on this issue.
It is very difficult to come up with fact-based arguments in support of the beltway extension. Many studies have concluded that an extension makes little sense. Most arguments in favor of the beltway seem based on little more than a compulsion to close the gap.
We don’t share that impulse. The one time that voters were given a chance to weigh in, they agreed, rejecting the beltway by an enormous margin.
After the last major study came to the conclusion that traffic demand did not warrant the beltway, that other transportation needs were far more pressing uses of scarce dollars and that traffic volumes were not large enough to pay for the construction with tolls, beltway supporters turned to former Gov. Bill Owens. Owens initiated a federal Environmental Impact Statement study of transportation options in the northwest part of the metro area.
But Owens kicked off the study by describing it as “the catalyst that closed the gap of our beltway around the metropolitan area.” Not surprisingly, any other options were quickly excluded from the study.
However, reality intruded as the traffic modelers concluded, once again, that most of the travel demand is further east, and that what demand there is goes largely from the northwest to the southeast — 180 degrees off from the direction of the beltway. And the projected costs began climbing past $1 billion. Leadership at the state transportation department concluded that the study should end.
With beltway backers no longer able to pin their hopes on the outcome of the EIS process, they have turned to private investors to fund a new toll road. Given the low traffic projections, it is unlikely that this effort will succeed. However, foreign investment firms are usually willing to accept very low rates of return, so there is some chance that they could bankroll a tollway. Such an outcome, even if no public funds were required, still might not be a good deal for Colorado for several reasons:
• Would it address projected transportation need or just prompt congestion, causing growth in inappropriate locations? The Jefferson Economic Council is looking to the road to jump-start economic development, both near the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and in the Candelas development south of Rocky Flats. While the airport location probably is appropriate for significant business development, the Candelas developers are proposing buildings up to 185 feet high on open lands at the edge of the Rocky Flats wildlife refuge, with the development extending all the way west of highway 93 — permanently obstructing the mountain backdrop that is enjoyed by the whole community and generating huge amounts of new traffic.
• When Broomfield built its section of the beltway, it negotiated in good faith with opponents and agreed to set aside significant open space and use toll revenues for open-space acquisition along the tollway, in order to mitigate the impacts of the road. Would the beltway-extension proponents engage in similar good-faith efforts to mitigate negative impacts?
• As Colorado strives to do its part to address global warming, why would we opt for a “solution” that puts more development in areas where there are no transportation choices but driving, and has no public transit?
As one considers these questions, the promise of free pavement doesn’t seem so free anymore. The fixation with completing the beltway does not adequately address the implications or alternatives. We need thoughtful regional planning, investing in transportation options that give residents real options, supports smart growth and wise land-use planning, and helps to provide mobility while reducing our use of gas and emissions of pollution and greenhouse gases.
Will Toor is a Boulder County commissioner, and Andrew Muckle is the mayor of Superior.
Also contributing to this column were Lisa Skumatz and Karen Imbierowicz of the Superior board of trustees; Bob Muckle of the Louisville city council; and Lisa Morzel, Boulder city council.
