Posted on 06/23/2007 8:24:04 AM PDT by george76
Colorado Department of Transportation Director Russ George wants to see an “absolute, irrevocable” start to a mass transit system along Interstate 70 to come out of an ongoing transportation needs study.
George told a seminar Friday he hopes a blue-ribbon panel on which he sits will ask lawmakers to allow his department to use mass transportation to confront the state’s transportation needs.
“They will likely say (the department) can do highways, but it can do other things, too,” he said. “Yes, we need to have rail, we need more trails and transit. There’s no question in my mind that we want that.”
The department, he said, has a $1.1 billion budget, but has $100 billion in near-term needs.
To complicate fiscal issues, George said construction costs have recently skyrocketed by 15 to 30 percent a year.
(Excerpt) Read more at gjsentinel.com ...
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We have totally lost Russell...
Just not outside of Manhattan Island and the Chicago Loop.
ESPECIALLY not in a place where the population density is so low that there are more sheep and snakes than people.
If you spent 100 million dollars on mass transit in freaking COLORADO, what would you spend it on?
There is a people train to Winter Park, to Minturn / Vail, to Glenwood Springs / Aspen, to Grand Junction from Denver.
There are Greyhound Buses on I-70 and Mountain Express Vans from DIA to Breck, Vail, Aspen...
Russell does not need another $100 Billion from the taxpayers.
He wants $ 100 Billion...
” If you spent 100 million dollars on mass transit in freaking COLORADO, what would you spend it on? “
DIA
Democrats in action
Remember DIA it want from a $3 Billion estimate to $8 Billion total.
He also is pandering to his new boss, liberals in Summit County, the unions, and the 2008 DNC...
To run a train next to I-70 with the grades next to Georgetown, the E tunnel...they would have massive engineering problems. Maybe many loops, cog tracks...
To your bigger point : it is crazy.
Well, I grew up mostly in Massachusetts. What I learned there, watching about 20 unending years of "work" on Route 128, is that the money is spent on hiring all your relatives to do "construction" work.
The trick is, they buy an old truck, park it on the verge, put up a signs saying "Construction," and just leave the truck sitting there for a few years. Meantime they collect state money for the truck and state money for maybe six cousins who are nominally connected with the truck--on paper.
You could spend $100 million easily in such a way, and hardly get started on the project.
I live in NYC and feel the same way.
However, I do believe in a good, efficient bus service in medium to large cities. They are an excellent way to web the city together, bring the poor into the work force, and prevent certain sections of the city from falling off the map.
Before I had a car (and before I realized how my disability interfered with my ability to lead a practical life), I used buses extensively in Minneapolis. I thank God for these. I was able to get out to the suburbs to work, and eventually found a job that helped me purchase my first car.
Then, of course, I drove to NYC in that car, loaded with everything I owned, and got rid of it! Haven’t owned or needed a car since!
A transportation panel appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter and charged with taking public input around the state the rest of this year is, “little more than an attempt to justify the governor’s next big tax hike,” Senate Republican leader Andy McElhany .
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1838486/posts
Lots of no-show jobs for friends and relatives plus :
FasTracks is nearly $1.5 billion over its original $4.7 billion budget, forcing RTD ...
The new, $6.2 billion total - a 32 percent increase - reflects requests for extras on FasTracks corridors and unexpected spikes in things such as steel, concrete and copper.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836360/posts
Outside of the flat Denver area, there are many small towns thousands of feet in elevation above Denver ( 5000 feet )... Breckenridge is at 9,600 feet.
The mountain passes between small town can be at 12,000 feet. Other than the Pikes Peaks solutions, trains do not do well on steep hills.
Many counties are 90 to 99 percent federal lands that are empty.
I-70 is a very steep road. There is a reason in the 1800s, that the railroads ran their main lines thru Wyoming.
The Sentinel has also hired some new liberal kids with stupid ideas.
I often use bug me not.
Montrose claim that they are doing well. An exception in the liberal media. I am not sure of GS
The people need to say “No”.
>If you spent 100 million dollars on mass transit in freaking Colorado, what would you spend it on?<
Pounding red rock? This is unbelievable! The Commies will soon want a useless Interstate light rail across the entire country! The least they could do is rely on the railroad system. They’ll do anything to get us out of our cars, and strip us of our money. It’s a control thing.
We’ve voted it down at least twice in my county, (different state), but they are proceeding like it wasn’t even on the ballot!
Having lived in the city for half my life. I can attest to the virtues of Mass Transportation. Here is my abridged version.
One gets to read the news while riding. Half the news is about mass transit fraud. Experience drives the point home.
One learns to not touch the holdbars to keep their balance. This is good for your balance and hygiene
One learns they will catch lots of colds and flues each year. Remember how airlines had to cope with SARS, but the mass transit champions never, ever speak about mass transit as the major vector spreading airborne diseases.
One learns how to not step in vomit.
One learns to be patient sitting still for hours when the train's electricity goes off.
One learns the transit employees have the IQ and moral integrity of a Massachusetts toll collector or John Kerry-integrity, integrity, integrity.
One learns not to panic when the subway train catches fire.
One learns mass transit is the best excuse for explaining why you are late. It takes twice as long to get anywhere by transit as it does by car or bike.
One learns the urban poor who ride the subway to the suburbs are not looking for jobs. They have something else in mind to transfer wealth.
One learns sitting in a traffic jam in your own car listening to talk radio complaining about traffic is preferrable to riding mass transit.
We already have Amtrack that always loses money and does not move that many people. This should be an excellent example for the liberals.
In rural areas with wide open spaces between small populations, it is crazy.
and there are big mountains with high passes up very steep grades...
Unfortunately we are invaded by illegals who vote in safe cities like Denver.
Plus we have many city liberals from other states who have fled their mess they created there who now want to destroy us next.
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