Discussion on comments-on-bill

[Marc Solome]

This bill has merritt, but is shy of pleasing the public. To begin,
why would you charge for citizens to use a road built with federal
funds? Also, why would you penalize people who only have two people in
the car to go up to the resorts? Charging the public for the use of a
federal road is both unfair and illegal. Why can't we look into the
monorail idea again, or explore a light rail track up to there? There
are other options then to just tax everybody who wants to go to the
mountains.

[blbob...@hotmail.com]

(1)Yes, traffic is a mess, however, is it not self-regulating? If
left to their own devices, people will get fed up and catch their
behavior (travel at less congested times, etc.)
(2) Why just vehicles over 26 feet? Their are plenty of motorhomes,
etc which are under the 26ft limit, yet can't even keep up with the
semi-tractors.
(3) In your HOV/toll road scenario, where is the exemption for
motorcycles? Most every HOV program in the nation permits motorcycle
use of HOV lanes without additional cost or qualification.
(4) Good luck counting vehicle occupancy via camera - large SUVs,
tinted windows, etc will not lend themselves to easy counting, not to
mention those barely visible infant seats.

[sa...@sandyf.com]

I feel Chris, as a true Democrat, is creating bigger government which
collects money and then gets to waste much of it through necessary
management and personnel costs. And I suspect the toll aspect of it
will create as much wasted time for the travelers as does the current
congestion.

My advise is to do the simple and easy things first. The most obvious
traffic problem is Sunday afternoon and evening. (And, apparently
unknown to Chris, it is worse in the summer.)

1. Install signs and rules of the road: A. prohibiting trucks from
being in the left hand lanes, especially on hills. I have seen these
signs in Germany and they could be electronically controlled based on
the day of week or time of day. B. If possible, restrict trucks from
traveling on the interstate east bound on Sunday afternoon.

The main bottle neck is the twin tunnels just east of Idaho Springs. A
couple lanes which conveniently bypass onto the frontage road would
help reduce the clog and the subsequent backup.

I think Chris's proposal would be ok, but only after we do the easy
things first.

[ed.en...@comcast.net]

Not all of us that go up to the mountains are skiers. There are some
of us that like to go up and do other sorts of things like ice fish or
ride snowmobiles. Taking a friend in my truck, with two snowmobiles,
already costs me $50 round trip to Granby or Green Mountain Reservoir,
or Williams Fork (not to mention gas for the snowmobiles). A toll
would only further discourage me from enjoying what I like to do (I
already stopped skiing because it costs so much). This bill will
stymie ALL recreation - not just skiing. How about the following....

1) Limit resort expansion. This is National Forest Land that is
leased - limit the lease or add terms to it that deal with congestion
or plans to deal with it.
2) How about bus service to the resorts similar to what the Casino's
do to Blackhawk and Central City?
3) How about staggering the hours that resorts close?
4) How about limiting non-emergent medical transports during rush
hours?

I already pay Federal gas taxes and road taxes so I can use the road
and pay for it's maintenance. Why are you trying to tax me again for
what I already paid for? All this does is promote out of state
tourism while leaving the state's residents high and dry by
discouraging recreation.

[lmbak...@gmail.com]

In order to promote people to use the Highway, gasoline,and times to
drive better.
Toll charges may work. I don't like sitting in line either.
We'll see what the bill looks like. I know truckers who've told me
they plan leaving Grand Junction about 3 P.M. just to be out of the
ski traffic.

[sarhelper]

One thing that will need to be addressed is SAR member access to this
corridor. An exemption is justified for responders, as most don't run
code (lights & sirens), we will need to use I-70 without repercussion.
Realize most responders use their personal vehicles for backcountry
search, avy rescue, etc.; so this will be a problem.

[wheel...@gmail.com]

Chris' discourse is great but I have the following grave privacy
concerns:

1. By what authority is the the government proposing to invade
citizens' privacy by filming, tracing, and tracking them? What
ironclad guarantees could the government possibly give that your
identity, image, and privacy would not be compromised and
misappropriated? What databases would this most sensitive information
be stored in? We already know we cannot trust the government to
safeguard our privacy in so many instances; why would anyone consent
to this?

2. The idea that the government could, in principle, coerce people to
stay off a thoroughfare unless they registered via a computer data
base is disturbing. Not everyone is on I-70 to vacation. How can Mr.
Romer even suggest that unless you waive all of your rights to privacy
under the constitution and unless you have access to a compuer (many
poor citizens do not) and unless you register to be on the road at a
certain time that you have no right to be there?

Are there not more pressing matters such as cracking down on drunk
drivers, illegal immigrant trafficking and aggressive drivers?

[al...@alextiller.com]

This is a stupid idea and a waste of time. If voters are actually
calling for something this drastic, perhaps the better solution is to
revisit the previously-tried and failed train solution that was
proposed to run parallel with I70.

[thedev...@gmail.com]

Wow, this is the type of Government that Colorado has to offer? No
wonder Colorado is noting more than a vacation destination.

According to what is proposed: "The bill would turn I-70 between Floyd
Hill and the Eisenhower Tunnel into an HOV/toll road on Sunday
afternoons throughout the year and during the weekend ski traffic rush
hours in winter. Vehicles with fewer than three occupants would be hit
with a toll still to be determined. And truckers would pay the most."

This moron is going to basically tax tractor-trailers for doing their
job? Colorado is a joke (well, the skiing is good, but I prefer
Wyoming/BC anyway, so I'll take my business elsewhere.

The level of stupidity here is staggering.

[Toyma...@aol.com]

we need to recall this political nuts...solving a problem throwing our
money at it... how bout fixing Social Security

[CJT...@gmail.com]

Your proposal is so full of holes... Who exactly gets to define "Peak
Travel Times"? CDOT? A new agency? Three people? I traveled with no
traffic just last weekend. Left Denver at 6:00. Had a nice relaxing
breakfast in Dillon. Skied Vail till 2:00 and was home in the South
Metro are by 4:00p. All the way wondering where is this alleged
traffic? I already have a solution and I implement it every time I
ski. I GET THE HELL OUTTA BED!

[chad...@comcast.net]

This is the most moronic idea I have ever heard. I have high respect
for the former Governor Romer but this idea from Sen. Romer is just
plain silly. Tolls will not be applied uniformly, motorists will use
side roads to avoid cameras, and just how will the lanes be reversed
for miles and miles of highway and safely? The requirement that all
drivers register their cars on the Internet before driving I-70 during
rush hour is the most insane part of all of this. Please, I live in
Romer's district and while based on his father's record it might have
seemed like a good idea to elect the younger Romer to office but this
is no doubt a dreadful mistake!

[fomal...@gmail.com]

Twenty-six feet? I've been driving I70 for years and it seems to me
the problem is not so much the truckers but the skiers. But that is
beside the point. A long term solution is getting people out of their
cars and into mass transit. I strongly believe that resources need to
be put into light rail or a similar system. Our leaders need to lead
on this issue and stop these ridiculous fixes and compromises (i.e.
hov lanes, add another lane, reverse flow and something regarding 26
feet). In the mean time skiers need to step up and take
responsibility in the winter and spring months just as hikers and
campers need to do the same in the summer.

[Elwood]

It seems simple to me. Let the people who are crouding the highway pay
for the fix. If the skiers are the problem let them pay. How about a
highway charge on lift tickets, say 5 or 10 dollars. Put it into an
account and let them widen the highway all the way to the ski areas.

[how...@gmail.com]

Adding tolls makes a worse mess of the problem. Ski resorts and skiers
are the cause of the traffic jams, not truckers and local mountain
traffic. Putting a toll on I-70 is stupid and irresponsible because it
dumps to burden on the wrong people without solving the problem.

Understand that every car making the round trip from Denver to the ski
resorts takes up a certain amount of roadway. At 60-mph a private
vehicle such as a car or light truck uses a minimum of 150-feet of
roadway to maintain safe following distance (MSD). So, 10 cars need
1500-feet of roadway at 60-mph. A traffic jam normally ensues when
about 85% of the roadway is occupied by vehicles at MSD. The maintain
MSD, drivers naturally slow down. They also hit the brakes because
many of them have bad driving habits, such as not signaling lane
changes, not merging politely, or unnecessary braking on approach to a
tunnel.

Let's be generous and assume that the average car carries 4
passengers. A bus that carries 40 passengers takes up one tenth of the
roadway to carry the same number of passengers at 60-mph. So, instead
of 40 persons using 1500-feet of roadway, they use only 150-feet.
Getting 90% of the ski traffic to travel by bus increases the useful
capacity of I-70 by nine times. This would clear the existing traffic
jams.

The fairest and most cost-effective solution is to charge a mandatory
bus fee with every lift ticket. Build parking lots around the Denver
metro area or use existing RTD Park-n-ride lots as pick-up points for
skiers and bus them to the ski resorts. Their lift tickets constitute
bus passes. If they do not have seasonal tickets:
1. Sell ticket stubs on-line that allow for printable bar codes that
can be read by machines on the ski buses and/or
2. Sell lift tickets from vending machines at the parking areas.

A few skiers will insist on wasting money on gas and driving
themselves. Making the bus fee mandatory will ensure that most skiers
will ride the buses. The buses can also make stops along the way for
skiers that want to stop, shop, or dine in burgs like Georgetown and
Idaho Springs.

[hamil...@gmail.com]

Finding a solution has merit. However, wouldn't it make more sense to
charge taxpayers for a mass transit system that would both alleviate
traffic woes and be a huge step in the right direction not only for
the environment, but also for Colorado tourism? That's my vote.

[mount...@yahoo.com]

Ban TRUCKS Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. Next time you drive
I70, watch where the slow downs occur - behind tunnels and trucks.
Since trucks are slow moving they reduce car travel to essentially one
lane. Banning truck travel for 4 hours on Saturday morning and Sunday
afternoon would nearly double the car capacity. It would be simple to
do and is the only practical short-term solution. Truckers caught in
traffic jams lose money. By prohibiting their travel at peak times,
they would learn to schedule travel around the peaks and save money
and I70 car capacity would be nearly doubled. I understand the east
coast figured this out long ago and bans truck travel at peak
times.

[jer...@rkymtnhi.com]

There are some of us that live in the mountains. The ONLY way to get
to denver for medical and shopping is I-70. We choose to live here.
I-70 is our only route. We avoid rush periods but we do not expect to
ever pay a toll for something we have no choice on - if you put a toll
on us, then you have to put one on everyone who drives on colfax or
wadsworth or federal because they are all just roads.
The too for rush periods is fine if it excludes those of us that live
here. Now if you could tunnel under the continental divide to get us
to Boulder - we would NEVER ever use I-70.

[fort...@gmail.com]

WHY DO HAVE TO PAY A STATE INCOME TAX THEN? I thought thats what it
helped pay for. Roads!? I think its wrong to charge truckers extra.
They have a job to do. A hov lanes area good idea and the only
realistic idea unless we can had a couple more lanes in either
direction. The hov lane should be two or more and no buses or
trucks. The fee should be like what they are around the city of
Denver during peak time. To be honest, I think paying extra to drive
on roads that we are already paying for is wrong. I think the ski
industry will suffer if people have to pay extra to drive up there.
Gas is already expensive and now you want to charge people more? Not
cool. Maybe people should go up to the mountains during the week.
Thats when i go. But everybody in this state I guess like to do
everything on Saturdays. So those people on the weekends that can
only go on the weekends is there damn problem like the other drivers
heading up to the mountains. DEAL WITH IT! OR DONT GO!

[DenverShadow]

I agree with the wondering how you are going to stop vehicles over 26
feet, that is getting kind of bad. You would be affecting interstate
transportation, and I am afraid that this could cause more problems
than what this bill is trying to stop. People have always known that
there are issues with the route through the mountains (I-70) from
Denver to Glenwood Springs, but now it is getting worse. But for a
lot of people traveling through, not stopping to ski, this is the
MAJOR travel route to get from East to West, and vice versa, and you
are going to penalize these people when you are trying to help
others. And are we really doing justice to anyone with this law? Who
is gaining, No one that I see, and the cost of putting this into
operation far outweighs ANY benefits that I see that would come out of
it. There have been so many MILLIONS of dollars spent on trying to do
something about this situation and we are still no closer to a
solution than we were 20 years ago.

I really think that a means of MASS transit needs to be developed to
run from Denver to Glenwood Springs, and than get people to use this
when they go skiing, or visiting these areas, this would be a better
long erm solution than what this bill is.

[rjre...@yahoo.com]

I can appreciate that there is effort in resolving this issue within
the senate, but why does it involve money out of the tax payers
pockets? There has been much griping about the road and how crowded
it is but no improvement have been done on this road since the
1970's. Many different ideas have been bandied about for years and
the final answer is to charge the tax payers that paid for this road
(federal or state tax, where do you think the money comes from) to use
it?

Please try something new!

[jer...@rkymtnhi.com]

There are lots of toll roads that were built with federal funds - try
the Indianna turnpike, pensylvania turnpike aka I-80. Bigs tolls and
all built with federal funds. It is called the interstate highway fund.

[chad...@comcast.net]

In addition to my first post on this I would like to add that I have
had a very recent conversation, in person, with one of the CDOT
traffic engineers that would be directly involved in any project set
up to alleviate the congestion on I-70 in the mountains and I am very
happy to say that we both agree on the one and only real solution to
this problem. The only viable, workable, usable solution is to add a
third lane in each direction from Floyd Hill to US HWY 40. The train
won't work, the buses won't work, only extra lanes. The people who
think we can be just like Europe forget to calculate how much
Europeans pay in taxes to subsidize such networks of public
transportation so unless you are willing to pony up a much larger
portion of your paycheck to subsides grandiose ideas of transportation
utopia just get out of the way of the paving machines.

[kenr...@comcast.net]

I am a Colorado native like Sen. Romer. In fact my family lived on No
Bellaire St when his family lived on South Bellaire St and our
families were often mixed up.
I stay here in Colorado because I love the Mountains. I spend my
summers in the mountains offroading or hiking or volunteering with my
local club to support the US Forrest service. This would force me to
pay the toll on the return from every event in the Summer and I am
against any kind of tolls. Tolls are a disservice to the taxpayers
and the incentive to reduce traffic is to penalize with the tolls to
reduce the traffic My local givernment is not serving me well if they
feel the correct answer is to penalize me to reduice traffic rather
than figuring out a way to expand the road system.

What happend to the uniquness of this wonderful state when they pulled
the toll booths off of the Bouldre Turnpike when the road was paid
for.

I agree I-70 traffic is a problem, this is the wrong solution and I
mean no dis-respect to Sen. Romer

Ken Romer

[glenn]

It's unclear to me why we should punish skiiers for driving to the
mountains when there isn't any other option--as an alternative, why
doesn't the legislature fund public transportation (buses) that travel
to the various ski resorts on weekends? I would be thrilled not to
have to deal with the highway traffic, and the cost of a bus ticket
could be pretty high before it wouldn't be cost effective for me to
take the bus, what with the cost of gas.

[bpku...@gmail.com]

This is idiotic... I hate everything

[tjb...@att.net]

Why not require people to use transponders like E-470, or even use the
same ones. If people cross the set up readers during non critical
times, no charge, they can come and go as they wish, pay as much or as
little as they wish if they were within hour in morning but not night
or vise-versa. It would be simple direct, you could exclude trucks or
change the toll on them. Whats critical is the money that is collected
be used ONLY for a program to inprove I-70 later. This plan could also
be easily set up to work on saturdays, or even holidays. A simple
computer program could be programmed for a lot of uses, hours, days,
wether, day night etc...everyone would be required to have one or use
their E-470 transponder!

[zachary....@gmail.com]

Any other suggestions? All I see is complaining about how stupid this
idea is. I have lived here my entire life and simply hate driving in
the mountains on the weekends. Its worse than 1-25 during rush hour.
Something needs to be done...and in the mean time, if that means
charging more for people that don't car pool or have large vehicles,
that makes sense to me. Of course, that is only a temporary fix/
solution to hedge traffic. A large-scale long-term plan needs to be
developed....and don't say widen the freeway. How bout you dont drive
your Hummer and get something more reasonable....

[julian...@gmail.com]

Apply the 80/20 rule:
Weekend truck curfew
Address major bottlenecks like convergence of Clear Creek Canyon and
Floyd Hill,tunnels, etc
Enforce chain law for trucks and cars BEFORE they hold up traffic
(it's too late to be shunting cars at the entrance to the Eisenhower/
Johnson tunnels: they should have been pulled off around Dillon.
Europe does this.)
Other good ideas are a (regular) bus service paid for out of a
surcharge on lift tickets and a
tunnel from east side (eg Moffat tunnel) to eg Winter Park.

[skipowpow]

I don't have a problem with a HOV toll lane if you add a lane (and
bore a 3rd tunnel), but just charging folks to use the road that they
have already paid for is stupid.

Thanks for trying, but again, this is a bad idea.

[sday...@comcast.net]

I have a big problem with the writ of this bill, and I'm not sure
these people complainging have even read it! Does it not bother
anyone else that we will be building parking lots in our beautiful
Rocky Mountains? Does it not disturb other Coloradans that the tolls
they pay will be to benefit skiers only, even if they live in the
mountains and pay the toll to buy things in Denver? Has anybody
thought
of the commercial repercussions of this bill?

We have enough structures in the mountains as it is, we do not need
more land cleared for parking lots. We already destroyed the
historical integrity of Denver by leveling old buildings for parking
lots, now we are supposed to interfere with the natural integrity of
the Rocky Mountains?!?

Not only Skiers would be paying the toll but also people that live in
the mountains, families of mountain residents, hunters, and many
others who use I-70 a little more sparingly than skiers. So why
should all of these other commuters pay for busing to ski resorts? Is
that really fair? Can we ethically charge a toll to a mountian family
with a medical emergency or to buy food? It is not fair to treat the
mountian communities in this way.

Lastly, what of the commerciality of I-70 besides the ski industry?
Many companies will bypass Colorado in favor of Wyoming or another
state to avoid lay ups and delays for a weekend. And when they stop
shipping through Colorado how long before some Coloradans are out of
work who cater to these truckers that flow through our state? How
long until businesses leave to a state where their supplies,
equipment, product, etc. are not delayed or more costly?

All in all as this bill is now written itt is horrible. We are
looking for a quick, easy, cheap solution to something that is long,
complex, and costly. If you, Mr. Romer, are suggesting that ski
traffic is the problem, then why punish all Coloradans? Add a charge
or tax to lift tickets at ski resorts that way only the problematic
party is punished. Or make exemptions for mountain families when
traveling on I-70. Or do the most costly and build a brand new toll
road so it is fair to all.

[junkema...@yahoo.com]

The toll bill overall isn't horrific if done right. The toll would
only need to be on one-way at four points in the week -- Sat A.M., Sat
P.M., Sun A.M. and Sun P.M.

Maybe it is $10 at the height which may be when traffic is awesome and
only charge people. Weekend A.M. if you hit the toll before 6:30am it
is free, 6:30-7:30am it is $5, 7:30-9:00am it is $10, 9:00am - $10am
$5 and after that free again. On the way back similar timing. Put a
toll both maybe around Evergreen on the way up and just past Dillon on
the way back. Give ample signage near Dillon and just before Frisco
to communicate to people their current timing if they got on the road
then. Putting it at Dillon could encourage two things....if it says 3
hours to Denver it is going to encourage people to jump off and grab
something to eat or do something for a little bit. That could help
the local Dillon, Silverthorne, Frisco and even Copper/Vail economies.
Beyond that the toll would encourage people to spend their $10 maybe
on a meal or something rather than a toll. It would encourage people
to carpool maybe more and while $10 ain't going to buy much....it
could be a shirt at the outlet shops, a fast food meal or something.

The local businesses as well could "market" to the opportunity working
to encourage Front Rangers to stay a little longer. Sunday nights
have to be slow for the hotels and stuff. Possibly work to give
discounted rooms to 'car pools' or 'toll discounts' at local
restaurants, etc. I could also see something where people that come
earlier or later could get a discount at a ski area like Breck for
parking or something to encourage it further. People in before this
time or after this time are given free parking in a more premium
area. Or the the ski resort could work somehow with the season pass
office to give credits, discounts or something to the skiiers that
come on off-peak times. It certainly is in their best interest to
keep the road clear and the Front Rangers on those periods are the
folks most directly responsible.

[lo...@thebookfactory.com]

We need to work aggressively to get people out of their cars, and off
the highway, year round.

I would like to see a good-sized train station built at Rocky Flats,
along Hwy. 93, for the Winter Park Ski Train. That is my immediate
dream. Then, I'd like to see an extra ski train added on Friday
afternoon, returning Sunday evening on which you can buy a discounted
roundtrip ticket. Currently, there is no incentive to buy a roundtrip
ticket and ultimately leave your car at home, and there is no
roundtrip ticket that is good for multiple days.

[stev...@aol.com]

I had the privilage of driving to the western slope yesterday 3/14/08
and going up I-70 we it was closed approximately 2 hrs due to
avalanche mitigation. Returning home that same day we were delayed
4.5 hours because I-70 was closed due to an accident. As I sat in the
car for countless hours going nowhere I obsterved all these semi's
that were "BY LAW" needed to chain up. Well maybe 1 out of 10 trucks
had chains. A trip that was to take 8 hrous round trip took 16
hours. The volume of cars and trucks are the problem. You have
semi's passing other semi's in the left-hand lanes causing accidents
or major traffic tie-ups. A simple fix would be to make truckers use
one lane only - and checkpoints for chains - Colorado has grown
tremendously in the 35 years I have been here and the roads can't
handle the amount of cars. Creating an additional 2 lanes might
eliminate some of the congestion but you have to provide the skiers
easy access and fast transpotation or they won't use it. To pay for
it have a tax like $1.00 on each ski ticket purchased and have the
resorts pay to fix access. Stop charging the people - enough tax!!!

[frisc...@gmail.com]

Addition of more lanes to I-70 will be an expensive temporary fix.
Please visit California Mountain roads to observe how 6 and 8 lane
highways can be reduced to parking lots. I, for one would gladly take
an express bus, train or van to all Summit Couty and Eagle County ski
areas.

[Mark]

I heard a comment on the radio this morning that no one can get up the
highway because of the traffic and no one can get to the ski areas
because its to crowded on the roads. Uh, what do you think the traffic
is? Charging a toll on I70 starts a dialog, but it's not a good idea.
You will cause more traffic to go up Highway 285 and Hoosier Pass will
be a disaster. The only solution is widening I70, tear out the twin
tunnels below Idaho Springs, Bore another hole through the continental
divide and be happy that you can get to the ski areas because everyone
that wants to ski can. Force the trucks to stay in the right lane.
When you widen the highway normal vehicles will have two lanes to
themselves. I want someone to think about how much it costs people to
go skiing. You have the vehicle, you have gas to purchase (at 3.50 a
gallon), you have ski lift ticket in which if do not have a pass your
paying up 93 dollars a day, you have parking in some ski areas that
cost up 20 dollars a day, unless you find the free lots, you have food
and equipment. Think of that for a family of 4. Good luck unless you
rich! That's a 550 dollar day. The majority of people going skiing are
single day skiers. Some stay a night or two, but most of us have the
passes and spend the money up front a year in advance so that we can
afford to put gas in our cars that winter to get up their.
As for summer time, you can't bus people up to a camping spot and you
can't build a train to a hiking tail. People have campers, boats,
trailers, motocross bikes, and no one wants to ride rapid transit to
the mountains. I will not pay a toll to go up I70 which is a federally
funded highway. Thanks for the dialog, find the money to widen the
road. It will be painful for a decade or more, but that is what has to
happen.

[St...@resortmeetingsource.com]

Let me guess--Sen. Romer has 2 kids, so he will ALWAYS have at least 3
in his vehicle when traveling I-70 on weekends....

The major problem with this is that some of us actually LIVE up here,
and as much as we try to avoid it, we occasionally MUST drive I-70 on
weekends (i.e. flying out of DIA on a business trip Sunday
nights...). I used to work for the parking department with the Town
of Breckenridge, and I can tell you for a fact (anecdotally, asI do
not have actual figures--although apparently neither does Sen.
Romer...) that the vast majority of skiers already have 3 or more in
their cars. In other words, the ones who will be most affected by
this are those of us who live up here, and out-of-state travelers who
are just passing through on the highway (imagine returning home only
to find a "love letter" in the form of a bill from the State of
Colorado--now THERE'S positive PR for our tourism industry!). This
bill will do absolutely NOTHING to lessen the congestion on I-70.

Rather than adding yet another new tax, why not improve Highway 9 over
Hoosier Pass and US 285 through South Park to provide an alternative?
We have a sign on I-70 westbound just before Berthoud Pass touting
I-70 and US 40 as alternative routes to Salt Lake City--why not a
similar sign on westbound I-70 touting US 285 as an alternative route
to Denver? It is only slightly longer--and MUCH shorter when I-70
becomes a parking lot.

Instead of wasting $1 million for "public art" at RTD light rail
stations (yes, I know RTD and CDOT are separate entities, but
somewhere "up the line" their funding streams do converge), why not
actually accomplish something by putting passing lanes and other
improvements on Hoosier Pass to provide an effective alternate route
for peak period traffic?

[BudSki]

skipowpow writes, "charging folks to use the road that they

have already paid for is stupid."

What is really stupid is letting a precious resource deteriorate.
Every year the drive to the mountains gets worse, longer and more
aggravating. Average peak delays have increased every year and will
continue to increase every year unless action is taken. I-70 becomes
less useful every year.
Let's see if we can figure out how to reduce the peak delays, reduce
the environmental impact, and increase the usefulness of I-70. It's a
key economic and recreational resource.
Labels like stupid don't really help the conversation.
My vote is to use tolls to decrease congestion and use the money
raised to subsidize high-quality, frequent bus service. Free would be
a good price for busses that leave from RTD parking lots and the
airport. Rental cars for destination visitors should be shifted from
the airport to the mountains as another traffic abatement measure.
All toll revenue should be required to be spent on I-70 traffic delay
abatement.
Respectfully,
Budski

[scty...@gmail.com]

I vote for year round mass transit of some sort....maybe start with
buses and then build light rail. I noticed a comment early re: Frex
and lack of weekend service Denver to Colorado Springs, I would be
using that if it were available 7 days a week.

[sud...@yahoo.com]

This strikes me directly as I prepare to come to Breckenridge for a
week of skiing next week. A trip my family has taken annually at
Spring Break for many years. And 'yes' I-70 is a busy drive from
Denver through the Tunnel. I guess I didn't realize I was such a
nuisance to you in Colorado. Here in Missouri, we like tourism. We
like to encourage it. I guess Colorado is not seeing it that way
anymore. Toll roads to punish tourism, smoking bans; maybe it's time
to ski elsewhere.
As a taxpayer, I have paid for this Interstate Highway once and
continue to through various taxes, this is only a punishment designed
to take cars off the road and limit your tourism. Doesn't seem smart
to me. I can't believe that the destination towns, resorts and
casinos are in favor of this type of highway robbery. The alternative
for me is to take, maybe, 285. Is it smart to shift this traffic to
your lesser-traveled two lane roads? I can't believe it is.
Prosperity can be a drag. You folks seem fond of biting the hand that
feeds you.

[suz...@aol.com]

*Use the electronic windshield decal (ala E470).
*Since something "will" be done, start collecting today: 2008-$1;
2009-$2; etc. (w/a cap at $5).
*Early small fees would bring in money and tax on a gradual basis.
*Control trucks by having discounted time periods.

[tlwa...@unitedasphalts.com]

I too am appalled at this "solution" to the traiffic issues. Once
again we have the "wealthy" finding solutions that suit them. What
happens to the rest of us? PAY, PAY, PAY.... make the gateway to the
mountains a toll road so that the average taxpayer cannot afford to
take themselves and their families up to our gorgeous mountains!
The statements of the families that LIVE up in the mountains are a
valid concern, what about our own residents?
The cost of taking your family skiing is astounding, add the high cost
of gas, and with the recession ........, let us enjoy the mountains as
a break from all that is negative in this world! Let us enjoy our
mountains, this is why I live in Colorado! We snowshoe to help reduce
our costs and we love our out-of-doors times.
The impact to the side roads along I-25 will be strong as Coloradoans
will be on those to avoid the tolls.
What is wrong with a viable mass transit plan? Of course if we have
one it must be reliable and it must provide transportation to each of
the ski areas and on a schedule that would fit everyone. It must have
adequate parking at pickup points- and not charge a fee for those lots
and it must be affordable to the "average resident and visitor" to our
state.
I-70 is an INTERSTATE highway, designed to carry people and products
all across the U.S. you are asking to charge for this privilege.The
interstate system was authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of
1956 initially as a defense infrastructure but are now deamed PUBLIC
roads that enable us to disperse throughout the entire country. Note
the word PUBLIC. Charging money to travel on a PUBLIC road of this
importance is unfair to the taxpayers that already pay for these roads
to begin with. I pay over 25% of my wages in taxes, I pay taxes on my
vehicle and for fuel, I do not feel that I need to pay to travel on
these roads, I feel that I already have paid to travel on them!

[BFah...@gmail.com]

A single solution cannot address the many causes for the slow traffic
during peak hours/days, Truck traffic needs to be limited. The old
road around the Idaho Springs tunnels could be opened and used
directionally ( West in the am and East in the pm) as needed. This
would also facilitate the expansion of those tunnels. Adding an extra
lane from the tunnels to Silverplume that would be used directionally
would also help.

Higher gasoline prices have started to help so increasing the state
tax on fuel would add to the solution and help fund the needed
expansion.

[aoi...@gmail.com]

I disagree with the toll idea because it would impact truck drivers
whom shouldn't have to pay to use Interstate Highway that has and
continues to be paid for by tasks. It will also impact locals whom
live up there and have to drive on I-70 on the weekends. Why can't our
government look at better alternatives likes buses or trains? Why not
also include the local governments and even the ski resorts to which
most of the people are travelling to on the weekends? Why not include
the public that is stuck in this every growing traffic problem?
Other solutions that seem so simple like creating a bus system that
Season Passholders to the ski resorts can prepay usage on or utilize
trains (ski train does an efficient job today)? I'd be willing to pay
for alternatives but paying for Interstate usage which I already pay
for in my Federal and State takes isn't gonna cut it. Especially in
our faultering economy our State Government has to be more creative
instead of trying to convert already paid for highway back into "pay
for use."

[Mfrez]

Tolling is a bad idea, until you try other things that can be done
more cheaply. Besides, you spend most of the money building the
infrastructure and servicing it to collect the tolls.

I've been driving I-70 skiing and in the summer for 30 years, so here
is my 2 cents worth:

1. No trucks or motorhomes during Sat and Sun mornings and evenings.
This is already done on other highways in this country, such as
California. They will adjust and time their routes better. Cross
county routes can simply take I-80 if they don't want to deal with it.

2. One lane on the opposite side of the highway can be direction-
changed during peak periods. Its not that difficult. The Golden Gate
Bridge does it every day.

3. Actually make CDOT accountable for plowing and sanding the roads on
time. I'm tired of them closing the tunnel approaches and Vail Pass
AFTER 10 accidents have happened because the road is glaze ice.

4. More trains on the existing track to Winter Park. I'd ride the
train more, but it's too expensive and always sold out. More capacity
would bring the price down and take more people off the road.

5. Advertise ride sharing at the Morrison parking lots more. Many
people don't even know this exists. With gas prices what they are, I
think more people would take advantage of it. The lots were just
expanded.

6. ENFORCE the get-out-of-the-left-lane-law. Use the message boards
to make people aware of it. You have no idea how many people I talk
to who aren't even aware of this law.

A train up I-70 is not as smart as some people seem to think. People
go to many different places in the mountains, not just the corridor
ski areas. They like to be able to move around once they are there as
well. You will only cater to a small percentage with the trains, and
you have to build it from scratch.

[gturn...@yahoo.com]

With out a doubt something needs to be done, a toll road is not the
answer, first tractor trailer rigs need to be restricted to the right
hand lane as well as slower truck/trailer combos, add a third lane
between Idaho Sprgs and Georgetown and don't tell me you don't have
the money, the government makes more off gas and diesel that the Oil
Companies, lastly Chris Romer , to try and legislate a publicly paid
for interstate to a toll road make you MORON of the year. YOu
polticians need to stop taxing us to death and start spending less on
entitlement programs.

[cbmar...@gmail.com]

Your idea of the $5 toll is appauling. This is a federal highway,
that has already been paid for with federal funding. Why should it be
the responsibility of the state to fund upgrades to a federal
interstate highway? Why are you not pressuring the federal government
to provide funding for the highways? I want a response regarding this
post directly.