A broad cross‑section of local leaders, transportation coalitions and advocacy groups delivered public comments to the Colorado Transportation Commission on Jan. 15 urging prioritization of I‑25 North and I‑270 projects in CDOT's draft 10‑year plan — while other speakers urged alternatives to highway widening.

Lisa Huff, president and CEO of the Adams County Regional Economic Partnership, said many employers and thousands of workers rely on I‑25 and I‑270 every day and asked the commission to "prioritize full safety and operational improvements" early in the 10‑year plan. Several local elected officials and coalition representatives from Thornton, Erie and the North I‑25 Coalition echoed that ask and cited persistent congestion, daily crash rates and freight needs.

Drew Morris, a Thornton city council member representing the North I‑25 Coalition and the North Area Transportation Alliance (NADA), pressed the commission to fund full construction of North I‑25 segment two early in the plan, noting an average of 2.7 crashes per day on some segments and regular fatalities.

Regional planning leaders, including Kristen Stevens of the North Front Range MPO, said the 10‑year plan reflects long‑range coordination and multimodal priorities and praised CDOT's public engagement process.

At the same time, Jamie (Jaime) Valdez of GreenLatinos urged the commission to oppose the proposed I‑270 expansion and asked CDOT to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement to consider a "Healthy Communities no‑widening" alternative, citing public health literature on air pollution and noise impacts.

Becky English of the Sierra Club said the current plan allocates substantially more funding to road‑capacity projects than to transit and active‑transportation projects and urged alignment with Policy Directive 14 to prioritize sustainable alternatives.

Chair Shelley Cook closed the public comment period and noted the commission had received additional written comments submitted online. Commissioners thanked speakers for their input and discussed ongoing work sessions and coordination with regional partners.

Next steps: the commission will consider the public input as it finalizes recommendations for the 10‑year plan and proceeds toward adoption and future funding decisions.