Front Range rail scales back plans ahead of November vote
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Colorado lawmakers and rail officials are looking to limit who gets a say in a potential November referendum on a Front Range passenger train.
Why it matters: The vote will determine the fate of the train service, a major priority for Gov. Jared Polis and a key element in the state's efforts to reduce air pollution.
Driving the news: The Front Range Passenger Rail District — recently named Colorado Connector, or CoCo — included most cities along the Interstate 25 corridor from Fort Collins to Pueblo.
- The district's voters will decide whether to hike the sales tax by half a cent to fund the train service.
Yes, but: A bill at the state Capitol would remove conservative cities, like Castle Rock and Greeley, and most unincorporated areas from the district, the Colorado Sun first reported.
- What's left is more urban and liberal — and more likely to back a massive transit project.
Zoom in: Sal Pace, general manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail District, told the Sun the new map is more likely to pass the sales tax increase, though it wasn't "the driving criteria."
- Each municipality on the list has at least 20% of its residents within five miles of a railway stop.
- The planned stations are in Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Broomfield, Westminster, Denver, Littleton, Sterling Ranch, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, according to a preliminary map.
What we're watching: In its first hearing Monday, the legislation won approval despite numerous questions about which communities would pay the tax and benefit from the service.
- After Democratic state Sen. Kyle Mullica objected that Northglenn would pay but get no stop, an amendment removed the city from the taxing area. The bill next goes to the Senate appropriations committee before moving to the full chamber.
What they're saying: "Senate Bill 172 will bring us one step closer to having intercity passenger rail on the Front Range with its promise of mobility, congestion relief, emissions reduction and economic development," Boulder County Commissioner and passenger rail board member Claire Levy told lawmakers at the hearing.