Colorado Could Reject Highway Expansion in Favor of Climate-Friendly Planning

“After decades of pouring billions of dollars into a transportation system that favors moving vehicles quickly above all else, the Denver region could see a significant funding shift away from road expansions and toward public transit, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure” if a proposal before the board of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) passes, reports Nathaniel Minor for Colorado Public Radio.

The new plan would ax planned expansions of Interstate 25 and C-470 and cut or minimize similar widenings on smaller roads across the region. It would also move $900 million away from road expansions to fund climate-friendly transportation projects, including projects that would overhaul busy streets to help public buses move faster.

To reduce emissions, Colorado is planning for a shift to electric vehicles and renewable energy. “State officials and climate-minded legislators, urged along by clean transportation experts, are also trying to incentivize Coloradans to drive less by making buses, trains, walking and cycling safer and more convenient — and cutting highway expansions that would likely have attracted more drivers.”

The proposal calls for speeding up five bus rapid transit (BRT) projects, with a new completion date of 2030. These include “East Colfax in Denver and Aurora; East Colfax Extension between I-225 and E-470; Federal Boulevard; Colorado Boulevard; and State Highway 119 between Boulder and Longmont.”

The plan doesn’t eliminate all highway expansions, retaining plans for new toll lanes on Interstate 270, Interstate 25, and Interstate 70, as well as roughly a dozen arterial street expansions.