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RIFLE, COLORADO - A $102 billion shortfall in critical transportation funding faces Colorado between now and 2035, something the Colorado Transportation Commission and a Blue Ribbon Panel on transportation hope more people will realize.
That need could be met, in part, with increases in state gasoline, sales and severance taxes, according to commission member and panel co-chair Doug Aden.
Under current transportation funding projections, Colorado faces a total funding shortfall of $149 billion from 2008 to 2035 for needed highway, bridge and transit improvements, according to a January report, “Future Mobility in Colorado: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility,” compiled by TRIP of Washington, D.C., a nonprofit organization that researches, evaluates and distributes economic and technical data on highway transportation issues.
The state transportation department estimates that from 2008 to 2035, under current funding estimates, only $47 billion will be available for needed transportation projects.
Aden, who lives in Grand Junction and represents the counties of Chaffee, Delta, Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison, Lake, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, and Summit, said a five-week, 25-meeting community outreach effort across Colorado hopes to spread the word about the funding shortfall.
He attended such meetings in Glenwood Springs on Oct. 21 and Grand Junction on Oct. 22.
“A lot of times we feel like we’re preaching to the choir,” he said. “We get the same people, who know the issues, but we want to reach a broader audience.”
Aden said the meetings hope to address the results of a public opinion survey that found 63 percent of Coloradoans didn’t regard the transportation funding shortfall as “significant.”
To address the funding need, the panel recommended not only increased taxes, which need voter approval, but motor vehicle registration fee hikes, a visitor’s fee on daily lodging rates and vehicle rentals, Aden said. Those increases can be enacted through state legislation.
Amendments 52 and 58 on the Nov. 4 election ballot address severance tax changes and increases, including for transportation, but Aden said both measures were promoted by separate entities. The panel has not taken official stances on either one, he added.
While highways and roads in areas such as Western Garfield County are impacted by the energy industry, Aden said the panel has not discussed going to the industry to help address funding needs.
“There’s certainly an assumption that highways are the state’s responsibility, but we haven’t had any private sector funding sources identified,” he said. “We know county roads in areas like Garfield County are impacted, so we would continue to help out” with a share of any new transportation revenue.
That need could be met, in part, with increases in state gasoline, sales and severance taxes, according to commission member and panel co-chair Doug Aden.
Under current transportation funding projections, Colorado faces a total funding shortfall of $149 billion from 2008 to 2035 for needed highway, bridge and transit improvements, according to a January report, “Future Mobility in Colorado: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility,” compiled by TRIP of Washington, D.C., a nonprofit organization that researches, evaluates and distributes economic and technical data on highway transportation issues.
The state transportation department estimates that from 2008 to 2035, under current funding estimates, only $47 billion will be available for needed transportation projects.
Aden, who lives in Grand Junction and represents the counties of Chaffee, Delta, Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison, Lake, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, and Summit, said a five-week, 25-meeting community outreach effort across Colorado hopes to spread the word about the funding shortfall.
He attended such meetings in Glenwood Springs on Oct. 21 and Grand Junction on Oct. 22.
“A lot of times we feel like we’re preaching to the choir,” he said. “We get the same people, who know the issues, but we want to reach a broader audience.”
Aden said the meetings hope to address the results of a public opinion survey that found 63 percent of Coloradoans didn’t regard the transportation funding shortfall as “significant.”
To address the funding need, the panel recommended not only increased taxes, which need voter approval, but motor vehicle registration fee hikes, a visitor’s fee on daily lodging rates and vehicle rentals, Aden said. Those increases can be enacted through state legislation.
Amendments 52 and 58 on the Nov. 4 election ballot address severance tax changes and increases, including for transportation, but Aden said both measures were promoted by separate entities. The panel has not taken official stances on either one, he added.
While highways and roads in areas such as Western Garfield County are impacted by the energy industry, Aden said the panel has not discussed going to the industry to help address funding needs.
“There’s certainly an assumption that highways are the state’s responsibility, but we haven’t had any private sector funding sources identified,” he said. “We know county roads in areas like Garfield County are impacted, so we would continue to help out” with a share of any new transportation revenue.
