As a new transportation funding bill that could generate as much as $4 billion for infrastructure and multimodal projects across the state moved closer towards its introduction to the State Legislature, the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) hosted a virtual roundtable to showcase the importance of multimodal transportation in Colorado. The event – which in addition to CoPIRG was supported by partners such as Sierra Club, NRDC, Conservation Colorado, Bicycle Colorado, E2, and Denver Streets Partnership – featured nine Coloradans who came to share their ‘multimodal transportation stories’ and call for continued investment in transit, walking, rolling, and biking. While these nine Coloradans were featured prominently at the event, they were just a few of the more than 60 who responded to a survey hosted by the stakeholder group. The survey prompt is as follows: “One of the best ways to show the importance of having safe, affordable, accessible, frequent multimodal options for everyone, whether you are walking, rolling, biking, or taking transit, is by telling stories.”
At the roundtable event, CoPIRG shared a slide deck highlighting Colorado’s lack of transit investment when compared with other states. According to an analysis by the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), Colorado taxpayers support only 2.6% of transit capital costs and 0.3% of operating costs. This is meager when compared with the national average of 22.8% of transit capital costs and 23% of operating costs that other states provide. In addition to improvements in mobility and quality of life, CoPIRG projects that multimodal transportation could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, reduce local concentrations of air pollution, and improve safety for all transportation modes. “More people riding transit, walking, biking, and rolling will play a critical role in tackling climate change, reducing pollution, making our streets safer, and increasing the overall accessibility of our transportation system,” said Danny Katz, executive director of CoPIRG. “The stories we unveiled today are just the tip of the iceberg and they show people want to use their bikes and ride transit and walk around their communities but a lack of service and safe infrastructure is standing in their way. New funding could make a big difference to ensure everyone has the options they need and want to travel around their community and the state.”
As the transportation bill language is not yet finalized, the stakeholder group is still soliciting survey responses. In an effort to advocate for multimodal investment along the I-70 Mountain Corridor to be prioritized, we want to hear your story! Please spare a couple minutes and check out this survey. It’s a pretty fun exercise.