The president of France is launching a bold initiative, inviting 10 internationally known planners and architects to transform metropolitan Paris into the first sustainable city.
By 2025, the Japanese will have a 310-mph bullet train, running on magnetically levitated lines, connecting major cities.
In the U.S., three of this country’s smartest local political leaders — Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — formed Building America’s Future. This bipartisan coalition of public officials and agencies, non-profits and citizens is committed to rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
And what is metro Denver doing? Waiting.
Waiting for the ship of fools running our regional transit authority to build the comprehensive, multi-modal transportation system voters approved nearly five years ago — FasTracks.
Not so fast. Huge budget overruns, mismanagement and thorough opacity from the agency define the initiative:
• RTD sought legislative approval for a tax increase to complete the $4.6 billion — now nearly $7 billion — project prior to getting buy-in from the metro mayors.
• In an insult to taxpayers and a further attack on public credulity, Cal Marsella, the highest-paid public official in Colorado, is offering to return a piddly $1,500 of his more than $50,000 automatic pay raise/bonus.
• Recently and without much data, the agency claims to have stripped $1 billion from the cost overruns.
And, further insulting the good sense of metro voters, RTD may go to the ballot this November to ask for another sales tax increase — up to 4 cents on $10 — to complete the system.
The trains have been hijacked by a ship of fools.
Before asking for a tax increase during the toughest economic meltdown in recent history, leaders ought to try a different tack. Completion of a comprehensive transportation system must begin with a vision about connections, job creation, economic development, sustainability and great urban design.
Why aren’t 50 or 100 of the region’s leaders locked in a room, scrubbing RTD’s numbers, doing the metrics? How many jobs will full build-out create? How much steel, concrete, lumber and material will the project use?
Why aren’t these leaders setting off to Washington, amidst a parade of enthusiastic citizens insisting the feds fund the gap?
Denver has the opportunity to raise the bar and be a model for other regions addressing growth, sprawl, inadequate resources and failing infrastructure. A comprehensive plan is about connecting a region, celebrating the unique character of each place and the common spirit linking them together.
Today’s leaders must follow the steps of the Coloradans who, in the 1860s, built a rail spur connecting Denver to Cheyenne. This spur eventually brought nearly every transcontinental rail line through Denver.
Bold action was taken in the 1980s and ’90s when leaders persuaded us to build a new airport, the biggest and most efficient in the nation. It is time for leaders to articulate an empowered regional vision that inspires the people who fuel the engine of a strong economy.
Susan Barnes-Gelt (sbg13@ ) served on the Denver City Council and is a consultant to local architectural and development companies.
