Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said Monday that he wants RTD to deliver the entire FasTracks program that was promised to voters and will not support some rail lines getting truncated because of budget problems.
As he and other Denver officials unveiled the city’s new Strategic Transportation Plan at a news conference, Hickenlooper said he has assured Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer that Denver supports the full buildout of the Interstate 225 light-rail line.
The I-225 line is one of a number of FasTracks trains that Regional Transportation District officials have identified as candidates for shortening because of a $2 billion shortfall in funding for the project.
“I’d be crazy not to put that at the highest priority,” Hickenlooper said of original plans for the I-225 train, which was to run from RTD’s existing Nine Mile station at Parker Road to Aurora’s City Center and the Fitzsimons medical complex before terminating at Peoria Street and Smith Road. There, passengers would be able to transfer to the Denver International Airport train.
Last month, RTD said that because of budget problems, the agency might be able to build the 225 line only to City Center or the 13th Avenue station by 2017, with the hope of extending it all the way to Peoria and Smith if and when more money becomes available.
RTD similarly said the Northwest train to Boulder/Longmont and the North Metro train to north Adams County also might need to be shortened initially.
Officials proposed terminating the North Metro line at 112th Avenue instead of a planned end-of- line station at 162nd Avenue.
“That’s a horrible idea,” said Northglenn Mayor Kathleen Novak, adding that a shortened line would flood streets in the vicinity of 112th with more traffic than they can handle.
“We need to make sure what was promised to voters is delivered on time,” Novak said.
A task force of the Metro Mayors Caucus is developing a unified response to the FasTracks financial shortfall that could include changes to train alignments, alterations to construction schedules and proposals for raising more money for the project.
“We’re doing this together because the power of FasTracks is its regional connection,” Tauer said. “It’s not a collection of corridors; it’s a system.”
The Northwest corridor is one that might be a candidate for phased construction because it is to get both a train and bus rapid transit improvements to the Boulder Turnpike under FasTracks.
Hickenlooper and Denver Public Works Manager Bill Vidal said the city’s Strategic Transportation Plan depends in large part on the success of FasTracks.
The plan calls for moving away from road expansion and focusing instead on alternate modes of transportation, including public transit, biking and walking.
Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com
