Public Meetings on Widening I-70

Tuesday, September 23
Sable Elementary School
2601 Sable Boulevard
Aurora
Bus: 153
Within walking distance of the 121 bus.

Wednesday, September 24
Kearney Middle School
6160 Kearney Street
Commerce City
Bus: 88
Within walking distance of the 48 bus.

Thursday, September 25
Bruce Randolph Middle School
3955 Steele Street
Denver
Bus: 24, 44

5:00 to 6:00 pm     Open House
6:00 to 8:00 pm     Presentation/Formal Comment Period

If you can't go to one of these meetings, you can comment on the I-70 EIS until October 14 by sending a comment to contactus@i-70east.com.

You can read at several locations throughout the metro area, including many libraries, as well as online (PDF).

Your Chance to See if Changes in Broomfield are Improvements

Transportation Progress: Broomfield and Beyond
Thursday, May 23, 6:00 - 7:30
Broomfield Auditorium (south of Mamie Doud Library)
3 Community Park Road
Broomfield
Bus: 112
The 120 and the 128 are also close.

The official meeting announcement reads, "Join experts from CDOT, RTD, 36 Commuting Solutions and Smart Commute Metro North to learn about progress to implement transit and corridor improvements in the North and Northwest regions, including I-25 and US 36 Express Lanes Project, US 36 Bus Rapid Transit, Northwest Rail, North Metro Rail."

I am concerned that a lot of people would not consider all of these things to be improvements. In fact, I dislike using the word improvement to describe transportation projects. Very few things are 100% good and pretending that something is shuts down public input, leading to tax dollars being used for projects that taxpayers don't want. It also means that we don't mitigate the negative aspects of the projects that we do want. For example, the FasTracks project is taking a lot more space than it needs to, making blocking pedestrians and transit oriented development.

Let's Oppose Widening Our Highways

Let's support bus and trains instead. FasTracks turned down financing for the North rail line to Thornton, and now that financing is going toward widening I-70. And the North Line has no financing and no start date.

Tuesday, November 13, 5:30 to 8:30 pm
Commerce City Recreation Center
6060 E. Parkway Drive
Commerce City
Bus: 40, 48, 88

Wednesday, November 14, 5:30 to 8:30 pm
Swansea Recreation Center
2650 E. 49th Avenue
Denver
Bus: 48
This location is very close to Focus Points where the East I-70 team has its monthly meetings.

I would love to hear why fixing the highway is not one of the options.

Social Action for Transit is Meeting in Globeville

Sunday, July 29 at 2 pm (We will be there by 1:30, if not earlier.)
Holy Transfiguration of Christ Cathedral
349 E. 47th Avenue
Denver

Bus: This location is a ten minute walk from both the 8 and the 12. I would like to be closer to the bus, but I love being in the middle of the neighborhood that we are reaching out to. If you are taking the bus, you will probably get to the church around 1:45, and we will have snacks and social time before the start of the actual meeting. You can call 720-980-3408 on the day if you have trouble finding us.

We will be discussing the costs, both monetary and to our society, of widening highways, and how we can better use this money. We will also have reports about rail planning and FasTracks with reports on the efforts of other organizations. In particular, we will talk about efforts to oppose the widening of I-70, getting a rail station in Globeville, and connecting Five Points to the DIA line.

And, as always, snacks will be provided.

Should We Expand I-70?

I think not. It seems that highway expansion is no longer creates the economic development that it once did. Putting money in transit AND fixing the roads we already have create more jobs. Better buses and trains also improve our quality of life.

We apparently don't have enough money to fix our roads or to run enough buses or even to fund our schools. How do we have enough money to add four more lanes to I-70?

If you would like the state of Colorado to use its money more wisely, please come to the next I-70 meeting so you can tell CDOT what you think.

Thursday, May 3 at 5:30 pm
Swansea Recreation Center
2650 E. 49th Avenue
Denver
Bus: 48 (I think that this drops you off right at the door of the Rec Center, but I am not sure.) The 24 is also in walking distance.

You can also call the Project Office at 303-757-9413.

Update: The meeting materials are online at http://www.i-70east.com/meeting_minutes.html#c-wide.

I-70 Collaborative Effort (???)

The next meeting of the I-70 Collaborative Effort is going to be on Friday, December 3 from 8:30 to noon in Silverthorne.

Now I am a board member of an organization that is supposedly a part of this effort, and I don't really know what this is. It appears that the members might get to decide what happens to the I-70 corridor rather than CDOT doing what the public wants. It is at the Silverthorne Pavilions which actually would be a good place for a protest. I might see if I can get a couple of people to go up with me and we can ask the shoppers at the outlet malls what they would like to see happen with the area.

Here are the details:
I-70 Collaborative Effort Meeting
8:30 am - 12 pm
Silverthorne Pavilions
400 Blue River Parkway
Silverthorne, CO

The public can comment sometime between 11 am and noon.