The Regional Transportation District is drawing up plans to kickstart its dormant Boulder and Longmont rail project. CEO and General Manager Debra Johnson told a special board meeting Tuesday that her staff will deliver a plan to the board within 60 days.
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RTD’s F Line light rail train crosses Ridgegate Parkway near Parker. While light rail trains continue to roll, Parker has lost its two bus lines and that has town officials talking about starting the process to leave RTD altogether.
The Parker town council has endorsed model legislation that would allow it to begin the long process of leaving the Regional Transportation District.
The suburban town of about 50,000, about 25 miles southeast of downtown Denver, saw its two bus lines one local route and one commuter line to and from downtown cut last year as RTD struggled through the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, RTD only provides Access-a-Ride service for riders with disabilities and a small Flexride shuttle within the town limits.
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Residential and commercial development in and around Boulder Junction. If or when a commuter train ever comes to Boulder and Longmont, this would be the Boulder stop. Gov. Jared Polis says RTD must follow through on its promise to build a rail line from Denver to Boulder and Longmont in spite of its budget issues. “The train has to come. It was part of the 2004 ballot initiative,” Polis says.
Gov. Jared Polis, a resident of Boulder, is “extremely concerned” by recent comments from the Regional Transportation District’s new top staffer questioning the wisdom of building a long-promised rail line from Denver to Boulder and Longmont.
"While we're fixated on rail because it's sexy and everyone wants to ride the iron horse, we have to keep in mind what might be more viable," Debra Johnson said.