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Public commenters urge protection for communities and more intercity busing, oppose I‑270 widening
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Summary
Speakers at the Transportation Commission hearing urged CDOT to prioritize corridor investments for safety and freight, expand intercity bus service to rural communities and consider a non‑widening alternative for I‑270 with stronger mitigation and community benefits.
Adams County Commissioner Molica told the Transportation Commission that CDOT’s 10‑year plan must prioritize capital investments that improve safety and reliability on heavily traveled corridors such as I‑70, I‑25 North and US‑36, and that funding generated from a corridor should benefit that corridor’s communities. Molica said Adams County supports transit but currently lacks basic intercity bus stops and that operating transit should be funded through dedicated programs or legislative appropriations rather than limited capital construction dollars.
Ian Thomas Tafoya of Green Latinos described using intercity bus service for statewide community engagement and called for expansion of routes to serve rural and suburban communities, citing closures of Highway 50 and gaps between Gunnison and Montrose as examples that left communities isolated from health‑care and economic centers.
Jaime Valdez, Colorado transportation and energy advocate for Green Latinos, strongly opposed CDOT’s preferred widening of I‑270 and urged the commission to require a supplemental draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). Valdez said the prior DEIS presented a false binary between widening and doing nothing, relied on flawed modeling that assumed indefinite ambient demand growth, and excluded viable non‑widening options such as a “healthy communities, no‑widening alternative” (HCNWA). Valdez recommended tolling to manage congestion, expanded transit, pedestrian and bike investments, enforceable mitigation including real‑time air monitoring, bilingual public alerts, and at least 10% of state project funds dedicated to local benefits.
Valdez cited independent modeling that, in her account, found the HCNWA would reduce peak delays by hundreds of vehicle hours, expand access to thousands of jobs, limit induced vehicle miles traveled, and cost less than widening. She urged the commission to fully model and evaluate that alternative and to require specific, enforceable mitigation measures rather than rely on unspecified promises.
Why it matters: Commissioners and staff said they are actively discussing how to fund transit while maintaining road safety and maintenance, and several commissioners praised recent outreach and workshops on the 10‑year plan. Public commenters asked the commission to ensure investments prioritize corridor safety and accountability to affected communities and to preserve intercity bus service as a statewide mobility option.
What’s next: The commission did not take immediate action on the I‑270 NEPA schedule during this meeting; public commenters’ requests for a supplemental DEIS and specified mitigation would need to be addressed in CDOT’s project‑level environmental process or by the commission in subsequent actions.
