FasTracks needs more bucks

Mayor Nancy Sharpe of Greenwood Village told the Boulder Rotary Club recently that RTD’s FasTracks program may need another infusion of taxpayer money to finish on schedule and as planned.

Sharpe, who represents the Metro Mayors Caucus made up of 38 area mayors, says RTD is considering asking voters for an additional 0.4 percent sales-tax hike (4 cents on every dollar spent) to finish the project by 2017. The project is coming up about $2.2 billion short. Sharpe noted that the Denver metropolitan region is expected to grow by more than 1 million people in the 20 years from 2005 (2.6 million) to 2025 (3.39 million), potentially putting more and more of us on the roads.

FasTracks is RTD's 12-year plan for high-speed rail lines, expanded and improved bus service and park-n-Rides throughout the region. According to RTD, FasTracks includes 122 miles of new light rail and commuter rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, 57 new transit stations, 21,213 additional parking spaces at transit park-n-Rides, and enhanced bus service and FastConnects. Boulder County would be impacted mainly by bus rapid transit along U.S.36 and a commuter rail line from Denver to Boulder.

RTD says its ridership in the past 10 years has increased more than 28 percent. In 2003, RTD carried over 86 million riders. On the current light rail system, extending southward from downtown Denver, ridership has exceeded projections, carrying more than 35,000 riders per day.

The mayors’ coalition has endorsed asking voters for more funding but Sharpe indicated a measure may not make the ballot this year due to the state of the economy. The RTD board of directors would have to decide if and when to ask voters for a tax increase.

Without the tax increase, Sharpe said, some of the planned lines may have to be eliminated or built as shorter stubs for completion later. Part of the problem is that RTD has to complete the light rail corridors to DIA, Arvada/Wheat Ridge and Golden because they will bring in $1.3 billion in federal funding. Materials costs, property acquisition costs and the current economic situation also have affected costs.

Will another 4-penny sales tax be on your ballot in November? Could be. Stay tuned as FasTracks evolves.


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