The recent meltdown of the national and global economy can largely be tied to the stranglehold that big oil has on individuals as well as nations. As gas prices climbed to more than $4 per gallon, the American dream was dealt a severe blow.
As a result, demand for alternatives to driving is surging even more. In the past six months, Americans drove 30 billion fewer miles than they did the previous year. Simultaneously, transit ridership has increased significantly. At RTD, we saw ridership rise by almost 10 percent when fuel costs increased, on top of the steady increases in passenger trips we have experienced for years. Our park-n-Ride lots were (and remain) overflowing. Even after gas prices dropped, those new riders have now become regulars who’ve realized how transit adds to their quality of life.
The FasTracks plan provides long-term solutions of efficient, frequent and reasonably priced alternatives to the gas-consuming automobile and excessive petroleum costs.
There are other benefits to completing FasTracks sooner rather than later. In terms of land use and development, the jury is in: Development moves to effective transit investments. It is well documented in metro Denver that office, retail and residential developments gravitate toward the immediate vicinities of rail stations. The station areas transform the way we live by creating sustainable living centers around transit hubs, where people can walk, bike or access transit to meet most of their daily needs. The Denver Post reported that homes in the vicinity of transit stations showed substantial increases in value compared with homes in the rest of the metro area. Economists say that for every dollar invested in transit infrastructure, $8 is injected into the local economy.
The cost to build FasTracks has increased since 2004, which is why we need to continue to forge ahead and minimize the effects of other unforeseen impacts to building FasTracks. As Third World powers such as China and India race to build badly needed infrastructure, the global demand for commodities will continue to rise. We also know that the inevitability of inflation dictates that building the system today will be cheaper than in the future.
At the same time, the ongoing economic recession has created a huge drop in sales tax revenues, FasTracks’ largest funding source. These circumstances call for action now.
The naysayers who oppose transit investment will never relent. Their “head in the sand” view of the world would see us all strangle on congestion, with no intelligent investments in our infrastructure.
Thankfully, the citizens of the Denver metro region know better. In a recent public opinion survey, 83 percent of the respondents said that regardless of how they voted in 2004, they believe that FasTracks is a good decision for our region. The vast majority wants FasTracks, and 64 percent say it should be finished by the original time frame in 2017 – even if that means it will take more money to complete it.
Nobody wants FasTracks to be completed more than RTD. In the end, it is all of us and our future generations who will benefit from the work we do today.
Lee Kemp is chairman of the Regional Transportation Distric’s board of directors.
