I-70 is F@&KED

[MakersTeleMark]

I think the take-home from this thread is that, indeed, I70 is fucked.

[adrenalated]

I think the take-home from this thread is that, indeed, I70 is fucked.

The solution is the same as the solution to all other Denver metro issues (water supply, etc): nuke Aurora.

And Colorado Springs, just for good measure.


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[Danno]

I still maintain that you either deal with traffic or hope for increased pass prices.

I would add a few ideas to this: not just increased pass prices but increased cost overall. It could be pass prices, it could be the cost of gas, it could be a toll.

Other ideas: build a 3rd lane and dedicate it to HOVs and buses. That would help year round. Resorts could also help by offering free parking to vehicles with 3/4 (or more) people, and paid parking of a not insignificant sum to cars with less than that number.

[simple]

Other ideas: build a 3rd lane and dedicate it to HOVs and buses. That would help year round. Resorts could also help by offering free parking to vehicles with 3/4 (or more) people, and paid parking of a not insignificant sum to cars with less than that number.

Cdot wants to try the toll idea. Resorts are doing carpool parking now and it seems to be working.

Anyone want to comment on if the tunnel metering is working or not ?

[that dude who did that thing]

Pretty sure no one is saying the train won't work in winter. If they did it it would help and a ton of people would take it.

What doesn't make sense is spending 10 billion or whatever to solve the problem for winter only. Summer traffic is just as bad if not worse and a train won't do anything to solve it.

What? You don't think any of that summer traffic is going to people's condos in the exact same places they go during the winter?

In America people look for excuses to lay more pavement, they never look for a reason to put fewer cars on the road.

[concretejungle]

What? You don't think any of that summer traffic is going to people's condos in the exact same places they go during the winter?

In America people look for excuses to lay more pavement, they never look for a reason to put fewer cars on the road.

You're out of your element Donny.

[Danno]

What? You don't think any of that summer traffic is going to people's condos in the exact same places they go during the winter?

In America people look for excuses to lay more pavement, they never look for a reason to put fewer cars on the road.

How familiar are you with these places? I'm going to guess "not very". Yes, some people are going to those condos, but that is a very small number of the overall traffic figures. And even those people, once in their condos, generally want to travel all over the county to hike, bike, etc. In the winter they want to travel only to the ski resorts. It's simply a completely different ball game in the summer, and if you insist that it's not by saying that people are going to the same condos, you don't understand what is actually going on here.

I don't want to simply lay pavement with no additional plan, but I also don't want to champion a multi-billion dollar boondoggle that has no chance of actually being effective.

Edit: what concretejungle said.

[Soups]

What? You don't think any of that summer traffic is going to people's condos in the exact same places they go during the winter?

There is no way the "condo" group would have much effect on SUMMER traffic. You have rafters, boaters, 4-wheel/off roaders, mountain bikers, car campers, backpackers, fishermen, day hikers, RVers, road trippers, etc, etc that make up 80% of the people on the road. All of which aren't going to some specified stop right off of I-70 to take a bus to a condo. They either have a car full of shit or towing a trailer and headed to one of the hundreds of trailheads, campgrounds, or put-ins that are accessed by the I-70 corridor.

Edit: What Danno and CJ said

[Name Redacted]

Summers are busier than winter. Traffic is bad in winter because of the weather. Summer, it's sheer volume.

[jrbd]

I think that cheap ski buses would help, with the key word being "cheap". If it's more than $5/head round-trip people will drive instead. Also, the big resorts would have to provide lockers for the bus riders. Convenience is a necessity to make this work - you can't make the bus riders walk a mile each and carry all their stuff around all day, or else they'll just drive. Likewise you have to allow flexible return times.

The problem with this approach is that it will be seen as giving freebies to the "rich" skiers, ignoring that it would mostly get used by budget-conscious families who aren't afraid to rub shoulders with the hoi-polloi. It wouldn't even be that expensive (compared to adding lanes), since the buses are only needed on weekends and holiday periods during peak periods, maybe 20-30 days per year.

Buses could also help in the summer, as a sizeable fraction of people just go to a fixed location (like Breckenridge) and shop. Taking 10% of the cars off the road can make a huge difference in traffic flow, and the campers etc can still drive but won't get delayed as much.

[fantastic_damage]

Vibes+++ for my Colorado breatheren having to drive that on weekends

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[Soups]

Vibes+++ for my Colorado breatheren having to drive that on weekends

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Honestly it's not that bad if you do it right in winter. Just sucks waking up so early to do it. Summer just kind of sucks and it's hard to avoid. Also, I have no remorse for people in the front range that just HAVE to ski Vail.

[Danno]

Summers are busier than winter. Traffic is bad in winter because of the weather. Summer, it's sheer volume.

That isn't true. Traffic in winter can certainly be bad (or made worse) because of weather, but it is also bad because of sheer volume (albeit lower than summer's peak volumes). And that volume is more concentrated to specific times in winter (for ex, between 2 and 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays).

[Name Redacted]

Yeah, volume on a Sunday with weather was what revived this thread. Sunday without weather sucks, but usually isn't that bad. Fortunately, I rarely make that drive. Even when I lived in Denver I just stayed up and drove to work Monday morning.

[fastfred]

highest vehicle counts are in august

greyhound runs a bus service up and down 70 it was 20 or 30 bucks from frisco to downtown denver a couple years ago one way

cdot is looking into wasting money running a bus service from glenwood to denver starting this summer (sort of like an rtd thing) they'll run the buses a couple months are realize they are driving empty buses

white people don't ride the bus

[hatchgreenchile]

Morrison CO- Keystone CO straight line distance- 40 miles
Goddard Base Tunnel Cost (~35 miles)- $10.3 B
Estimated Tunnel Cost- $12 B.
Mass transit hub in Dillon and Englewood
Call it the Summit County Slingshot.

[The SnowShow]

Build that damn Breck to Vail gondola

[goldengatestinx]

Cdot wants to try the toll idea. Resorts are doing carpool parking now and it seems to be working.

Anyone want to comment on if the tunnel metering is working or not ?

Tunnel metering isn't for regulating traffic volume. It is to keep traffic from backing up into the tunnel and causing a potential safety issue. Similar but very different reason. It was used for traffic flow reductions in the past.

[WTF is dat]

Vibes+++ for my Colorado breatheren having to drive that on weekends

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vibes for my homies who live in SLC and deal with the shitty air pollution, backwards people, the complete lack of culture/freedom, and stupid mormons

[bamboocoreONLY]

Summers are busier than winter. Traffic is bad in winter because of the weather. Summer, it's sheer volume.

that's not true at all, all the resorts and towns in summit pull in almost double the revenue during the winter than summer (just read the summit daily once in a while). It just seems busier because everyone is out and about in more places than just the ski area. Summer traffic is only bad on i70 during the summer as it's a major pathway from east to west and vice versa.

[Name Redacted]

that's not true at all, all the resorts and towns in summit pull in almost double the revenue during the winter than summer (just read the summit daily once in a while). It just seems busier because everyone is out and about in more places than just the ski area. Summer traffic is only bad on i70 during the summer as it's a major pathway from east to west and vice versa.

I'm talking about the highway, not town(thread is about I-70 remember?), although many businesses (restaurants and hotels)will also tell you that their biggest numbers come in July and August, not December and March. Maybe not at the resorts, but in Breck, Dillon, and Frisco, summers are bigger than winter.


Check out the numbers at: http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/e...ic-counts.html

Eisenhower tunnels sees thousands more cars per day during June, July, and August compared to January, February, and March. Hundreds of thousands more cars per month!

And counting on the Summit Daily for your facts is about as good as reading Weekly World News.

[fantastic_damage]

vibes for my homies who live in SLC and deal with the shitty air pollution, backwards people, the complete lack of culture/freedom, and stupid mormons

Chill out homie, I think all that traffic is getting to you.

You're taking offense to my comments that I feel for you all having to deal with that road?

I lived in Edwards a few years back, had friends that came up from the city on the weekends and genuinely felt bad for all the hassle they had to deal with that commute.

In the end easy accessibility is key for me so I moved to I guess what is your vision of hell on earth.

Damn you all are some sensitive mofo's.

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[wolfelot]

What if the mountains opened earlier and closed later such as 8:00-4:30 instead of 8:30-4:00. That extra hour (13% longer ski day) would broaden the window of skiing and disburse the crowds across a wider window resulting in less people on the road at any given time. Everyone is going to the same place, but at least the impact of them all going at the same time would be lessened.

[Danno]

Chill out homie, I think all that traffic is getting to you.

You're taking offense to my comments that I feel for you all having to deal with that road?

I lived in Edwards a few years back, had friends that came up from the city on the weekends and genuinely felt bad for all the hassle they had to deal with that commute.

In the end easy accessibility is key for me so I moved to I guess what is your vision of hell on earth.

Damn you all are some sensitive mofo's.

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Really? You don't see how your post seemed sarcastic, poking fun at front rangers, and not "sincere heartfelt vibes"? He read it the same way I did and probably the way most people read it, then responded in kind, no more sensitive than you seem with this post?

[Danno]

I'm talking about the highway, not town(thread is about I-70 remember?), although many businesses (restaurants and hotels)will also tell you that their biggest numbers come in July and August, not December and March. Maybe not at the resorts, but in Breck, Dillon, and Frisco, summers are bigger than winter.

Check out the numbers at: http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/e...ic-counts.html

Eisenhower tunnels sees thousands more cars per day during June, July, and August compared to January, February, and March. Hundreds of thousands more cars per month!

And counting on the Summit Daily for your facts is about as good as reading Weekly World News.

I agree that the highway is busier in Summer, but I'd be curious to see day by day stats and hour by hour too. I still believe summer is higher, but I suspect that peak winter traffic times are not that far off from summer, just winter is more concentrated into 4 general time slots (Saturday am/pm, Sunday am/pm).