Sustainable Transportation Summit at Longmont Museum highlights rail

Experts, elected officials and enthusiasts of climate-friendly transportation gathered in Longmont on Wednesday to tackle the question: what will it take to bring the next era of public transit to Colorado?

Organized by Commuting Solutions, the seventh Sustainable Transportation Summit pulled local, regional and national speakers to the Longmont Museum to discuss innovative ideas about passenger rail development and expansion along the Front Range.

“Today, on-road transportation is the second largest controllable cause of ozone air pollution behind only the oil and gas sector,” said Erin Fosdick, president and CEO of the Longmont Economic Development Partnership and a Commuting Solutions board member. “…I think it’s a really, really exciting time for us to be expanding rail in Colorado.”

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, began the morning by letting the roughly 140 attendees know that big projects like a commuter rail system require two things — perseverance and partnership.

“I’ve lived in Colorado since I was 5 years old, and the state has changed dramatically within that period of time,” Neguse said. “It is clear that we are at a crossroads, an inflection point, where we now need to make some tough choices. But there are great opportunities, as well.”

Neguse shared how happy he was to see the recent approval of the $25 million grant for improvements on Colo. 119, as well as the millions of dollars that have been distributed to projects throughout the state via the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“Know that you’ll have a partner in our office,” Neguse told guests, “(and) that we will continue to be a champion for this community and for the multimodal transportation needs that the community is going to require.”

Longmont Mayor Joan Peck followed Neguse by adding that a passenger rail system is a topic the City Council has been pursuing for years.

“We can’t wait for the rest of the region to be connected to Longmont,” Peck said. “It is incredibly important for us as the second largest city in Boulder County to be a part of making the vision of rail a reality.”

The summit’s keynote speaker was Julie Meredith, assistant secretary of Urban Mobility, Access and Megaprograms at the Washington State Department of Transportation. Meredith said both her region and others, like the Front Range, need to make smart land use decisions and work to create a fair transportation system that “all can access.”

“Some people cannot afford to live near the activities and the work that they need to participate in…and are often forced to drive,” Meredith said. “It’s not equitable, and it creates more traffic and more pollution.”

Later, Boulder County Commissioner Claire Levy moderated a panel consisting of representatives from the Regional Transportation District, the Colorado Department of Transportation and Amtrak. Panelists offered their perspectives on the feasibility of bringing inner-city rail to the area.

“Governance at the local level is really critical,” said panelist David Singer, assistant director of the Passenger Rail Branch at CDOT. “Longmont, Boulder and communities along the corridor have done…planning that shows that they’re forward-thinking.”

Panelist Dennis Newman, executive vice president of Strategy and Planning at Amtrak, agreed, stressing that local support of a passenger rail system will be key to convincing stakeholders of its value.

“It’ll take a little bit of time, and people need to stick with it,” Newman said of the system. “We have 28 state-supported service routes across the county right now, so that’s evidence that we can get there.”