Last Thursday, the Colorado House passed Senate Bill 48 which permits cities and counties in Colorado to use gas tax dollars for any transportation project. I believe that this means that the bill heads to the governor's office to be signed.
SB 48 would allow Colorado's cities and counties to use their gas tax dollars for any transportation projects. This is good as it makes it easier for cities and counties to do what works best and what is most efficient rather. Currently, cities and counties get funding for particular kinds of projects, usually roads, before the planning has been done. Once that funding has been given, the city or county cannot decide that they need a bus or a sidewalk more or even as a part of the project. And gas tax dollars cannot be used at all for anything other than roads, even though buses pay the gas tax.
This bill does not completely solve that problem, but it does take steps in that direction.
There are still some problems. Bike lanes and sidewalks are specifically mentioned while buses and trains are not. This is a problem because the infrastructure we need to build is rail. We need to stop thinking about construction and about using what we have more efficiently. Bikes should be able to use the roads that we have now safely. People should be able to walk safely in their own neighborhoods, especially if they live away from the urban core.
It also does not address the ways that planning departments are structured to decide to build a road or run a bus or build a bike lane, etc. before they have gathered any data about what really needs to be done. We need to be comparing different modes to each other. We need to realize that the same person can be a driver, a bike rider, a bus rider, and a pedestrian.
But this is a good first step towards spending our transportation dollars more effectively.
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