A Message of Hope and Determination

The 10^th Legislative Breakfast presented a resounding message of hope from start to finish. At the annual event to kick off the legislative session and to begin navigating the road ahead for transportation funding in our region, the message from each speaker were linked by the same common thread: we must work together to solve the transportation crisis in Colorado.

Joined by Representative KC Becker, Speaker of the House, Senator Faith Winter, Senate Transportation & Energy Committee Chair and Representative Matt Gray, House Transportation & Local Government Committee Chair, the Legislative Breakfast focused on what needs to happen following the defeat of Proposition 110 in the November.

Despite this loss, our legislators and industry leaders are more determined and motivated than ever. Their focus going forward is to continue building the coalition across the entire state that will demand a sustainable funding source for transportation.

Entering the Legislative Session

The Colorado State Legislature is in a unique position going into the 2019 session. There is a majority of Democrats in both the House and the Senate, as well as having a Democrat as Governor. Speaker of the House KC Becker believes that this majority will give an advantage to transportation bills that looks at creating a new, sustainable funding source for transportation instead of trying to allocate funds from the State General fund.

There is also a distinct advantage for the northwest metro region as the Chairs from both the House and Senate transportation committees are from the region and are joined by Representative Edie Hooten and Senator Rachel Zenzinger from our region as well. They understand the widespread need to fund both transportation projects and multimodal transportation in the state. The highest priority for our region is finding funding for the projects found on the Northwest Area Mobility Study (NAMS), completed in 2014.

Senator Faith Winter highlighted the importance of looking at all funding mechanisms for transportation, including tolling or a referred measure, because getting funding from the state general fund isn’t a viable option.

When looking back at the November election, Representative Matt Gray said his big takeaway was that the Colorado voters don’t want to have to choose how transportation is funded. Instead, the elected representatives need to do a better job of leading the way and creating funding for transportation projects.

Regional Priorities

Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones spoke directly to the transportation issues and project that directly impact the northwest metro region. The US 36 Mayors & Commissioners Coalition, along with Commuting Solutions, determined a policy agenda and list of priorities for the year ahead to keep our region moving in the right direction. The list includes exploring funding options to complete the Northwest Commuter Rail Project, implementing arterial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)/Enhanced Bus Service networks on corridors identified in NAMS as well as implementing recommendations from the First and Final Mile Study and continuing to seek out funding opportunities for transportation projects.

The Future of Mobility

The Legislative Breakfast also featured a panel comprised of industry and agency leaders who spoke to the future of transportation and mobility in Colorado. On the panel was Mizraim Cordero, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Tony Milo, Executive Director of the Colorado Contractors Association, David Genova, CEO & General Manager of RTD and Herman Stockinger, Acting Deputy Director of CDOT.

The panel concluded that funding large multimodal transportation projects is possible if we all work together. Herman Stockinger pointed to the example of the US 36 Express Lanes project, where there wasn’t just one source of funding. The parties involved worked to find funding where they could and after obtaining a $15 million TIGER grant to start, then were able to find funding for the entire $500 million project.

What Comes Next?

As we continue into 2019, it is important to continue working together, not only at a regional level but at a state level. This effort cannot be undertaken by the northwest metro region alone. We are closely following and actively participating in conversations surrounding new funding sources and legislation that could impact the northwest metro region. Commuting Solutions is taking an active role to explore easing the existing Regional Transit Authority (RTA) law.

Whether you work, live or play in the northwest metro region, we encourage everyone to help us navigate the road ahead in 2019. Attend our upcoming Membership Meeting on March 12                                                                                         to continue engaging in the transportation conversation.

What Brings Us Joy this Holiday Season: Commuting Solutions Staff Share Holiday Cheer

Winter is a magical season in Colorado. Local streets and neighborhoods are filled with festive lights and decorations celebrating the holiday season. People pull out their heavy winter parkas, scarves and mittens to brave the sunny, winter chill. Ski racks are put back onto cars after a summer of sitting in the garage.

At Commuting Solutions, its no different. Our office has been decorated with lights, garland and ornaments to celebrate the season. We all have a reason to love the season and the magic it brings. Learn about why each member of the Commuting Solutions team loves the winter season and one of our proudest moments this year.

Audrey DeBarros, Executive Director

Audrey’s favorite part of the holiday season is all her family traditions that she shares with her husband and their two teenagers. They bake and decorate cookies, trim the tree and spend plenty of time in the mountain playing in the snow. The holiday season is all about spending time with her family and taking a well-deserved break from work.

Audrey’s favorite accomplishment for Commuting Solutions this year was the active and involved role that we served in the Proposition 110 campaign on the behalf the northwest metro region. From getting op-eds and Letters to the Editors in all the local papers to producing a series of videos about the local projects that would benefit from funding if the proposition passed, Audrey was one of the northwest region’s strongest advocates for the proposition.

Jade Krueger, Senior Outreach & Programs Specialist

Jade is Commuting Solutions’ resident adventurer and outdoor activity enthusiast. Her favorite thing about winter in Colorado? The SNOW! She loves getting to go out and play in the snow, whether she’s skiing down the slopes, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or hanging out up in a mountain town. As a proud owner of an EPIC pass, she’s already been up the mountains to ski a handful of times and can’t wait to keep having a great ski season!

Jade’s favorite accomplishment at Commuting Solutions in 2018 was getting to create, organize and run innovative programs to increase mobility in our region. Along with Boulder County’s Mobility for All, Jade helped to pilot a program at the Aspinwall and Josephine Commons communities in Lafayette to provide free Lyft credits for residents to help increase their mobility and travel options. She has also been hard at work on several programs that will be launching in early 2019 so keep your eyes open!

Molly Lord, Marketing & Outreach Assistant

Molly’s favorite part of the holiday season is all of it! From picking out the tallest tree she can find to baking cookies and pastries, there’s no part of the season she doesn’t love. She loves spending time with her mom baking and watching classic Christmas movies like White Christmas.

Molly’s favorite accomplishment at Commuting Solutions this year was working alongside Audrey on the Proposition 110 campaign. Getting to be a part of a statewide campaign and learning what all goes into a political advocacy campaign was an amazing learning experience. She also loved getting to go out in the community and talk to voters about Proposition 110 and all the benefits it would bring to our region.

Rachel Setzke, Executive Assistant/Events

With the holiday season here, Rachel is looking forward to having her two kids out of school and at home for a few weeks. Her favorite part of the holiday break is spending time doing puzzles and baking with her husband and kids.

Rachel’s favorite accomplishment at Commuting Solutions was the planning and execution of the Sustainable Transportation Summit in May. Rachel was involved from start to finish: gathering presentation proposals, developing topics for each of the breakout sessions and getting to meet and network with the attendees and speakers. The Sustainable Transportation Summit was a huge success for Commuting Solutions and Rachel was a big part of that.

All of us at Commuting Solutions want to wish you a happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year. We are so excited to continue our impactful work in 2019 to bring our region the latest innovations in transportation and to advocate for our region’s transportation needs.

A Time For Thanks

As we near the Thanksgiving holiday, it is traditional to look back at the year and think about what we’re thankful for. At Commuting Solutions, we have had a year full of partnerships, programs and people that we are so thankful to work with. 2018 involved much collaboration around our advocacy work.

Collaboration in Advocacy

We kicked off the year with a massive partnership to host our Transportation Matters Business Initiative with local chambers of commerce and economic development partners in the communities in the northwest metro region. It was an amazing opportunity to build relationships with business leaders and residents and to hear their input to the Northwest Area Mobility Study (NAMS).

Building on this momentum, Commuting Solutions continued to work with and collaborate with the US 36 Mayors & Commissioners Coalition (US 36 MCC) to advocate for the northwest metro region. When the Let’s Go, Colorado campaign and CDOT announced they were making a list of projects throughout Colorado that would receive funding if Proposition 110 passed in November, they fought for the northwest metro region. The Coalition worked tirelessly to ensure that our projects would be on the list because the northwest metro region hasn’t gotten our fair share of transportation investments.

As we move past the 2018 midterm elections and continue to look for ways to fund vital transportation infrastructure investments in our region, we continue to be grateful to have such a strong and dedicated partner in the US 36 MCC. While it will be a rough road ahead, we have no doubt that together we can accomplish our goals and bring innovative and sustainable transportation options to the northwest metro region.

Our Guiding Force

We are also grateful to our Board of Directors who bring together public and private sector individuals who are passionate about our mission. It is with their wisdom, dedication and guidance that Commuting Solutions’ continues to be an invaluable resource for the northwest metro region. We were reminded of their commitment at our annual strategic planning retreat in October. Together, they planned for the next three years and set the stage for our capacity building priorities.

Last, but certainly not least, we are grateful and thankful every day for you, our members, the commuters and residents of the northwest metro region. Without you, we would have no inspiration or motivation for the work we do to improve traffic congestion, air quality and the lives of everyone who lives here. So thank you for you continued support and we promise to continue advocating for our region and to bring innovative transportation solutions to all who live here.

Why #voteYESon110 This November

It’s midterm election season and we are all being bombarded with campaign messages telling us to vote yes or no on different propositions or who to support for governor. It can be overwhelming and sometimes those messages don’t always tell us what we need to know to make the most informed decision possible when we vote.

This year, you’ll be faced with two diametrically opposed propositions for how transportation in Colorado should be funded in the coming years: Proposition 109, or Fix Our Damn Roads, and Proposition 110, better known as Let’s Go, Colorado.

The Propositions Summed Up

Proposition 109 asks voters to approve bonding $3.5 billion to fund specified road and bridge expansion, construction and maintenance and repair projects throughout the state. This money would be repaid by taking money out of the state budget.

In contrast, Proposition 110 asks voters to approve a 0.62% sales tax increase that would sunset in 20 years to start working on the $9 billion backlog of transportation projects throughout the state of Colorado. The revenue from the sales tax would be divided between state and local governments. 45% would go to the Colorado Department of Transportation and the State Highway Fund, 20% would be allocated to county governments, 20% to local governments, and 15% would go towards a state multimodal fund.

Why 110?

When looking at each proposition, it does initially appear as if both could remedy the transportation problems we have in the state of Colorado. However, Proposition 110 provides a much more holistic approach to addressing the funding issues we’re currently facing.

Proposition 110 not only seeks to fix the current problems we’re facing with our transportation infrastructure but seeks to provide our state with funding to address our growing population and our needs for the next 20 years. Proposition 109 only provides enough funding to repair our small percentage of our current roads and build new lanes. That is not going to be enough to keep up with our growing population and increased road use.

The allocation of funding that Proposition 110 suggests is an intentional way of addressing that different cities and counties throughout the state have vastly different transportation needs and priorities. In the northwest metro region, we are looking to improve our transit and other multimodal options and increase the capacity of our roads to address our drastically growing population. In other regions of the state, they need to make essential repairs to their existing roadways.

Sean Duffy, a spokesperson for the Let’s Go, Colorado campaign, emphasized this point, telling the Westword publication that, “That’s why we’re trying to reach folks all over the state, whose needs have been neglected for too long and have to be addressed. This has social and economic and quality-of-life impact, and we’ve got to get serious about it.”

CDOT has a statewide approved project lists that would receive funding if the ballot measure is passed. For the northwest metro region, the list includes State Highway 119, State Highway 7, State Highway 287 and the US 36 & Sheridan Underpass. These are just the projects on the statewide project list; local and county governments will have funds to allocate to their own projects. The US 36 Mayors & Commissioners Coalition proposed projects to the statewide list that had been approved in 2014 through the Northwest Area Mobility Study (NAMS).

Proposition 110 also takes into consideration that Colorado residents aren’t the only drivers using our roadways. A sales tax would draw in revenue for transportation funding from the over 30 million visitors who come to our state every year.

For residents of the northwest metro region, being asked to approve another transportation tax following the disappointment over the lack of progress of Northwest Rail after passing the 2004 FasTracks initiative, can be a difficult pill to swallow. However, there is an important distinction between Proposition 110 and FasTracks. The revenue from the FasTracks tax was overseen by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), whereas the revenue from Proposition 110 will be overseen and distributed by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

What Next?

Until Election Day on November 6, Commuting Solutions will be busy advocating for Proposition 110 and all the benefits it will bring to our region. You can get involved in a few ways:

• Engage with us on social media. We’re on Facebook as Commuting Solutions and on Twitter as commutingsltns. Like, share and comment on our posts related to the campaign.
• Grab a yard sign and put it out for all your neighbors to see. Commuting Solutions has a supply of Let’s Go, Colorado yard signs and we’d love to give you one. Email us at info@commutingsolutions.org to request one.
• Ask Commuting Solutions to speak at your next event. We would love to come speak to your business or organization about Proposition 110 in depth. Email us at info@commutingsolutions.org to request a speaker!

Will Toor is director of the transportation program at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), a Colorado based nonprofit that advocates for energy efficiency in six southwestern states. In this role he works to advance both smart growth transportation strategies and electric vehicles. Prior to working at SWEEP, Will spent 15 years in local government, as mayor of Boulder, Colorado , as Boulder County Commissioner, and as chair of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG).  He serves on the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission and the Mobility Choice Blueprint board of directors.

Roots in Conflict

I still remember attending my first meeting of the US 36 Major Investment Study (MIS) back in 1998, with my infant son slung across my chest in a Baby Bjorn, soon after I was first elected to Boulder’s city council. Life with an infant was exciting but chaotic – which kind of described the 36 MIS debates. There were so many different perspectives – “We need rail! No, we need to expand US 36 to ten lanes! No, we need HOV lanes and better bus service!”  – coming from the different communities, that we couldn’t reach agreement. And without a consensus on the corridor, it was pretty clear that the outcome would be nothing happening – US 36 would just sit there, getting worse and worse.

Against this backdrop, three mayors began talking about whether we could change the outcome –Tom Davidson from Louisville, Bill Berens from Broomfield and me. At the time, Boulder and Broomfield were locked in conflict over Broomfield’s plans to build the Northwest parkway, and to develop what Boulder viewed as sprawl along 36, and we were pretty much disagreeing about everything. But a series of conversations  – sometimes over coffee, sometimes beer – convinced us that we could find common ground on plans for 36 – and that if we could, that probably the whole corridor could. Out of these conversations the US 36 Mayors & Commissioners Coalition was born.

The Birth of the Coalition

I still remember the day Bill Berens and I testified together in support of the proposed US 36 MIS alternative – the first time people had seen us in public arm in arm instead of arguing. It made a big impression, and helped get RTD and CDOT on board.

And over the years, I think the initial theory was born out in practice. We had lots of vigorous arguments about what transportation investments we should support, and how best to move these forward – but were always able to come to agreement, and to present a unified front to key decision-makers from regional, state and federal agencies. And that unity made all the difference.

Better Together

The coalition successfully resisted pressure from the Owens administration to add more highway lanes and hundreds of millions of dollars in cost. The years of effort promoting a true multimodal project with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), HOT lanes and a bikeway on the highway corridor paid off when the federal government provided a $10 million TIGER grant and a TIFIA challenge grant, championed by Congressman Polis. The unity paid off when, amazingly, the Coalition was able to leverage that $10 million grant and TIFIA challenge into a $500 million project that combined funding from RTD, CDOT, DRCOG, federal funds and the private sector. It took a while to go from concept to an actual BRT service on 36 (my infant son graduated from high school about the time that 36 was completed), but much of the original vision was realized.

The challenges clearly aren’t over – for example, we need to complete the missing elements of BRT on 36 and complete the arterial BRT corridors that connect to the corridor – but looking back over the last twenty years I’m amazed how far we have come by working together.

Summer in Colorado means weekend farmers markets, spending time in nature and enjoying the amazing summer weather. Here at Commuting Solutions, we’ve been spending our summer vacation with the people that matter most. From making new friends at community events to exploring our region on all modes, summer 2018 is one for the books!

With fall only a month away, we wanted to take a moment, not only to look back at where all we’ve been this summer, but what we have coming up this fall and the rest of the year.

Where We’ve Been in the Community

From the Longmont Farmers’ Market to Taste It Broomfield, we’ve been soaking up the sun and sharing commute options in communities throughout the northwest metro region this summer. Beginning in July, we teamed up with the Regional Transportation District (RTD) to thank riders for taking transit during our Rider Appreciation events at Broomfield and Table Mesa stations. Commuting Solutions and RTD Representatives enjoyed connecting with riders and hearing their feedback!

We’ve also been in Lafayette, teaming up with the Lafayette Energy Sustainability Advisory Committee and Smart Commute Metro North to help teach last summer’s RTD MyRide card recipients the ins and outs of riding RTD thanks to a grant from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program and the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC).

One of our favorite memories of our summer is Bike to Work Day 2018! Over 36,000 riders in the Denver Metro Region left their cars at home and commuted by bike on June 27. Commuting Solutions hosted three breakfast stations and said good morning to nearly 1,000 riders!

Shimano Cycling Gear in the Community

One of the most exciting parts of our summer was finding new and fun ways to distribute the nearly $100,000 worth of Shimano product that was donated to us to celebrate our 20^th Anniversary. Between Bike to Work Day, Bike Wednesdays and other community events, we’ve been able to distribute over $70,000 of product so far. Keep an eye on our social media for our next giveaway!

What’s Coming Up

This year shows no sign of slowing and Commuting Solutions is excited to announce that for the next three months we’ll be working with the Let’s Go, Colorado campaign to help educate Colorado voters on the Let’s Go, Colorado ballot initiative that proposes a 0.62% tax increase to help fund transportation programs across the state.

If you haven’t caught us at a community event this summer, don’t worry! There are plenty more opportunities to come and talk with us about your commute options and the latest in transportation in our region. Look for us at Superior Chili Fest, Broomfield Days, Westminster Harvest Festival and more in the coming months!

We also have more events coming up with RTD! We’ll be in Lafayette for another How-to Ride event as well as Longmont and Louisville in the coming months. Be sure to come say hi and learn about our great RTD bus service.

Commuting Solutions has also been hard at work, along with cities along the US 36 corridor, to design, fabricate and install branded wayfinding signs to help cyclists, pedestrians and transit users better navigate our region. These signs will be installed in next month.

Stay tuned for an exciting pilot program launch coming this fall exclusively to the US 36 Express Lanes!

David “DK” Kemp has been putting people on bikes since 1997. Following an illustrative career as a bike shop salesman, DK moved on to conceptualize and implement the Tour de Fat event series with New Belgium Brewing from 2000-2004.  From 2006-2012, DK served as the Bicycle Coordinator for the City of Fort Collins and helped move the community from a silver to platinum level bicycle friendly community.   In 2012, DK moved to Davis, CA to become the city’s first Active Transportation Planner.  DK moved back to Colorado in late 2014 to serve as a Senior Transportation Planner for the City of Boulder where he now specializes in multimodal infrastructure design and programming and was instrumental in bringing dockless bike share to Boulder.   

What is Dockless Bike Share?

Dockless bike share is a start-up bike share system where people can rent bikes without having to check them in or out of an established docking facility, similar to today’s Boulder’s B-Cycle system. Bikes can be rented wherever they are found by using a smartphone app or digital screen located on the bike. After an individual is done riding a bike, they park it at their location and check it out to make the bike available to others.

The advent of dockless bike share technology has recently taken the U.S. by storm and the industry is very quickly evolving and changing each day.  Cities throughout the U.S. have scrambled, and in some cases, even struggled with how to regulate this fast paced industry.

While in theory, the concept of dockless bike share makes sense in order to provide people greater accessibility to bicycles; however, the ability for a bike to be parked in, or moved into, the public right of way without a managed approach presents significant issues in the way of safety for pedestrians and other cyclists.  Some dockless bikes can be parked and left anywhere, and that’s precisely the issue- they can be parked anywhere.

Dockless bike share technology can be separated into two fundamental categories:  “self-locking” and “lock-to.”  Self-locking technology enables the bike to lock only to itself before and after each use.  Lock-to technology incorporates an integrated locking mechanism that enables the bike to be locked to a fixed structure, such as a bike rack.

Bringing Dockless Bike Share to Boulder

In 2017, numerous dockless bike share operators hoping to conduct business in the city approached the City of Boulder.  Following an extensive research process and coordination with the National Association for City Transportation Officials (NACTO), the City of Boulder adopted an ordinance in June 2018 to regulate the industry in Boulder through a licensing program.  The ordinance requires all operators provide “lock-to” technology on their bicycles and the bicycles to be locked to a bike rack before and after each use.  To offset existing public bike parking, the ordinance also requires that one bike rack per bike deployed be provided.

This approach greatly avoids the potential safety issue associated with bikes parked freely in the public right of way while taking advantage of the benefits associated increased accessibility to bike share for community members. As is stands today, some operators are able to adhere to the City of Boulder’s regulations, while others are not.

In July 2018, NACTO released, “Guidelines for the Regulation and Management of Shared Active Transportation.”  This comprehensive guide provides information for agency officials who are exploring the merits and feasibility of dockless bike share in their community: https://nacto.org/home/shared-active-transportation-guidelines/

For more information on the City of Boulder’s program, please visit: https://bouldercolorado.gov/transportation/dockless-bike-share

Or, contact Dave “DK” Kemp, Senior Transportation Planner for the City of Boulder

dk@bouldercolorado.gov