OFFICIAL I70 BITCH THREAD....

[hatchgreenchile]

I call BS on a three minute improvement. Traffic used to drag all the way to 6, now it flows reasonably consistently from 40 down. They were talking about a $20 toll and they've been able to keep it at $7 max. It's certainly a band aid approach, but I think it's working better than expected. At least the IS tunnels are done so we can easily pave over CC County.

[Danno]

A Taxpayer funded, ginormous tunnel being built next to Seattle waterfront, has definitely had it's share of delays and budget woes but the cutters are still chewing the muck.
Projected opening in 2019, hopefully before the viaduct it is replacing falls down.

Neither here nor there in this discussion, but I lived in Seattle when the downtown bus tunnel opened. What a major infrastructure boondoggle that was, I hope they've now integrated it into their system. At the time it was "we've built this tunnel, and we even put light rail tracks in it, in case we ever decide we want light rail, but we don't exactly know what we want, but this tunnel, well, it's gonna be a huge part of our system, whenever we figure out what our system will be."

What will this new tunnel do, just replace the existing waterfront viaduct? It's not going to do anything crazy like go under Lake Union, is it?

[WTF is dat]

WOW! It is 3 minutes faster than when it was a fucking construction zone!!! They really think everyone is stupid to blatantly admit they used construction traffic in their data. Or they are stupid. Or both.

As I predicted, the irony is lost on you that the reason the I70 band aid was so half assed is because of TABOR.


Citing the I70 P3 as an example of why TABOR shouldn't be repealed is so fucking stupid... TABOR is exactly the reason why that project was so limited in scope in the first place.


We are the only state in America that has to deal with something like TABOR and you seem to think it is soooo wonderful.

Tell me, if TABOR is so great, why haven't other states followed suit? Even bastions of conservatism like Kansas don't have to deal with something as crippling as TABOR.

[DasBlunt]

pow day commute was awesome yesterday. early up, 2pm down....hour each way. magic.

thanks CDOT for getting it right now.

[simple]

6 TABOR BLAMING nice job WTF

Yeah one hour on a weekday. Really you mean the horrible horrible traffic that needs to be fixed NOW is only on the weekends? So maybe if we repeal TABOR we can stop so many people from working 9-5 M-F? Oh joy!! We are saved!

[mecc69]

A Taxpayer funded, ginormous tunnel being built next to Seattle waterfront, has definitely had it's share of delays and budget woes but the cutters are still chewing the muck.
Projected opening in 2019, hopefully before the viaduct it is replacing falls down.

Don't forget about voters in Seattle deciding to spend ~$54 billion on light rail over the next 25 years.

[goldengatestinx]

Hysterical that anyone thinks the takeaway from that article is that "it can't be done". Only in CO. We should have our own edition of Bob the Builder, just for the Native kids... "Can we fix it? Fuck no!"

From the article:



Spoke at a public meeting recently on rural infrastructure development and listened to citizen after citizen stand up to decry CO's lack of infrastructure... Internet, private transportation, public transportation, schools, you name it. I pointed out to the audience that there were several committees working on proposals to address all those issues. But as none of those proposals could come close to being funded on existing revenue, everyone should expect to see measures turning up on their ballots proposing tax increases to pay for the improvements... And if they really wanted those improvements, it was their responsibility not only to vote for those measures, but to actively work toward building public support for them in their communities. It got awfully quiet after that.

Once again, the beauty of democracy is we will always get the government we deserve.

Typical fucking new people...live with what's here or go back to the hell hole you came from. All they ever do is move here and then want to change everything. Fucking go home. Or stop the whining and live as it is.

Time to say when.

[skiracer88_00]

Weird... my county has no trouble passing large funding initiatives for our schools and our community college... maybe someone should get some more school funding on the ballot?

But you don't want to talk about the potential for abusive tax/spend cycles if we eliminate TABOR. Maybe we can have huge state taxes like CA? Oh wait... you'll tell me to just vote those people out... because the ballot works for that but not for tax initiatives?



Seriously. You are the type of person I was referring to when I asked "Can I pee in your cherios, then add some more milk and tell you I've improved things?"

From the article "Compared to the three previous winters’ average peak travel time, that’s about three minutes shorter."

WOW! It is 3 minutes faster than when it was a fucking construction zone!!! They really think everyone is stupid to blatantly admit they used construction traffic in their data. Or they are stupid. Or both.

Aaron,
i normally agree with you on most things...but you are dead wrong here. All Coloradans want to do is not fund government and then bitch that government doesn't do enough for us. If you want meaningful infrastructure improvement, try raising the gas tax which hasn't been raised since 1995 when average fuel economy was probably half of what it is now. Regarding the I70 express lane, CDOT did what they could with the shitty funding offered to them by stingy Colorado tax payers. Its not a magic bullet fix (and it was never claimed to be), but I have noticed major improvements in travel times myself, especially if you are not too cheap to actually use the thing.

[skiracer88_00]

Weird... my county has no trouble passing large funding initiatives for our schools and our community college... maybe someone should get some more school funding on the ballot?

you are right, kids only deserve good schools if they live in one of the most liberal counties in the state. get your head out of your ass

[stfu&gbtw]

Typical fucking new people...live with what's here or go back to the hell hole you came from. All they ever do is move here and then want to change everything. Fucking go home. Or stop the whining and live as it is.

Time to say when.

Pics of your building your teepee and skinning a buffalo or it didn't happen.

Who the fuck are you to think you have some right to this land? You're descendent of people who stole it, and you don't stand a chance at competing for it in the long run. Don't get me wrong, it's cute how you think there's something special about having been born here... But in reality, there may be no group of people on earth with less inherent claim to the land they occupy as have the new Colorado "Natives". Your ass is about to become native of some far less desirable part of the country. You should just be grateful your blankets were infected with CDO's instead of smallpox.

[Name Redacted]

Yah know what? Maybe this little I70 problem is never going to get fixed. Let's just face it, it could be like this FOREVER!!!

Basically, if you want to go skiing anymore, you'll just have to:
A) deal with the shitty drive, some day self driving cars will make it much more bearable. Mine will have a bar.
B) buy a condo in the mountains, so you can avoid peak times. Don't whine about the cost, isn't that what you guys always say to us mountain dwellers? You moved to the big city so you could have a great job making all that money? Houses up here are about the same price as the ones in Denver anymore. Oh, right, you moved to Denver for "culture".
C) get creative. Ask your boss for a more flexible schedule, enroll your kids in a school with a flex schedule, or better yet, home-school!!!
D) Stop skiing and find a better sport that doesn't involve driving to the mountains, like World of Warcraft, or Quidditch, or just go shopping at Ikea with your Franger bretheren.

[The SnowShow]

E) become your own boss and ski weekdays only.

[hatchgreenchile]

Resorts/towns would be busy if 70 wasn't an issue. This is a classic "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario.

Don't overthink it. Don't try to drive up in the middle of a snowstorm, avoid peak hours by remaining flexible in departure times, throw in a few weekdays here and there and just be stoked to be out in the mountains. Be sure to tell your peeps how you're #blessed and #livingthedream in between.

[summit]

B) buy a condo in the mountains, so you can avoid peak times. Don't whine about the cost, isn't that what you guys always say to us mountain dwellers? You moved to the big city so you could have a great job making all that money? Houses up here are about the same price as the ones in Denver anymore. Oh, right, you moved to Denver for "culture".

I laughed!

It does seem to be "the thing to do" for a bunch of front range folks to get together and rent a condo or a house for a season. Pretty smart. Cue the Summit/Vail/Aspen paper screaming about how this is eliminating workforce housing options...

Did go up Keystone on a Sunday at the end of February for a brunch... dunno the last time I rode Summit County lift during a main season weekend... holy macaroni and cheese how do people have fun with the lines and crowds like that? Well... good for them...

[The SnowShow]

Resorts/towns would be busy if 70 wasn't an issue. This is a classic "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario.

Don't overthink it. Don't try to drive up in the middle of a snowstorm, avoid peak hours by remaining flexible in departure times, throw in a few weekdays here and there and just be stoked to be out in the mountains. Be sure to tell your peeps how you're #blessed and #livingthedream in between.

That's true! I70 probably helps liftlines. [emoji15]

And in other news, I70 closed immediately when the snow hit 45 mins ago, because of multiple spin offs. What a joke.

[summit]

And in other news, I70 closed immediately when the snow hit 45 mins ago, because of multiple spin offs. What a joke.

Just remember, raising taxes will prevent that somehow, but requiring snow tires is an unfair burden on the citizen.

[ColMan]

Did go up Keystone on a Sunday at the end of February for a brunch... dunno the last time I rode Summit County lift during a main season weekend... holy macaroni and cheese how do people have fun with the lines and crowds like that? Well... good for them...

After sitting in the car for 2-3 hours, folks are still driving in circles on Saturday at noon around Keystone and Breck looking for someplace to park so they can wait in 30min lift lines. Fuck that nonsense. Saturdays are great for taking the kids sledding, eating burritos at Chimayo and filling up a growler at the Dam Brewery. And Fridays are now the new Sunday. Monday is the day I allow my kids to occasionally play hooky.

I will say that when we do head back down on Sunday instead of Monday morning, that extra "lane" has really made a difference.

[skiracer88_00]

Just remember, raising taxes will prevent that somehow, but requiring snow tires is an unfair burden on the citizen.

If you want government to run more efficiently, run for office and make meaningful change or elect people who will. TABOR (and Colorado ballet initiatives in general) are not the answer and this system is the poster child for why the founders of our republic wanted a representative democracy. The average person (myself included) is simply not educated regarding the state budget to make informed decisions about raising taxes. In general, liberal strongholds will vote to raise taxes, while conservative and libertarian strongholds will vote against tax increases without doing the cost-benefit analysis required to make an informed decision. Since Coloradans are generally conservative or liberatarian with only a few truly liberal areas, statewide initiatives get shot down every time. I believe the only state-wide tax increase approved since the start of TABOR was regarding marijuana. You are correct that some liberal areas like Denver, Boulder and summit county do approve occasional tax increases for schools, but what about the rest of the state?

[The SnowShow]

After sitting in the car for 2-3 hours, folks are still driving in circles on Saturday at noon around Keystone and Breck looking for someplace to park so they can wait in 30min lift lines. Fuck that nonsense. Saturdays are great for taking the kids sledding, eating burritos at Chimayo and filling up a growler at the Dam Brewery. And Fridays are now the new Sunday. Monday is the day I allow my kids to occasionally play hooky.

I will say that when we do head back down on Sunday instead of Monday morning, that extra "lane" has really made a difference.

Agree, it's madness. Why anyone does that is beyond me. What, do they get 3 runs in and call it a good day?

[summit]

If you want government to run more efficiently, run for office and make meaningful change or elect people who will.

Same to you.
I try (short of running for office) but the people I like are not usually picked.

TABOR (and Colorado ballet initiatives in general) are not the answer and this system is the poster child for why the founders of our republic wanted a representative democracy.

How about that 17th Amendment? Realize without that, the US Senate would be 64R and 36D right now. Founding fathers didn't have such a thing as income taxes either... should we totally revamp our revenue system and many other things, but not tweak portions of our citizen influence on policy at the state or local level?

Since Coloradans are generally conservative or liberatarian with only a few truly liberal areas

Those few liberal areas have the majority of the people.

CO has:

Voted D in the last 3 presidential elections by a minimum of 5%
D Governor (and has had one for 10+ years)
1 D and 1 R US senators
3 D and 4 R US reps (I predict Coffman-R will lose the next election)
CO house is 37 D 28 R
CO Senate is 17 D 18 R

CO is well mixed and trending liberal over time. Notice there are zero Libertarian party in state or national office.

CO decided on TABOR. CO can decide to eliminate TABOR. I bet CO will decide to modify TABOR (as they have in the past).

But back to my original point which was why can't we do low/no cost stuff to maximize our infrastructure before we start screaming about the need to throw billions of dollars at it? If we can't do the former, it is hard for centrists to support the latter, necessary though it may be.

[skiracer88_00]

Agree, it's madness. Why anyone does that is beyond me. What, do they get 3 runs in and call it a good day?

I don't know. I think it is what you make it. I ski in the front range just about every Saturday. Yeah, it takes about 30 mins longer in the AM than if there were no traffic, but I have a blast with the kids every weekend and it sure beats sitting at home watching football (or whatever other sport they play on Saturday). Saturday PM heading eastbound generally has almost no traffic especially if the express lane is open. As an added bonus, since Coloradans are so damn cheap, I can skip any traffic that does exist between empire and IS and cruise in the express lane for $4-5, while helping to fund infrastructure that I believe in.

[The SnowShow]

I don't know. I think it is what you make it. I ski in the front range just about every Saturday. Yeah, it takes about 30 mins longer in the AM than if there were no traffic, but I have a blast with the kids every weekend and it sure beats sitting at home watching football (or whatever other sport they play on Saturday). Saturday PM heading eastbound generally has almost no traffic especially if the express lane is open. As an added bonus, since Coloradans are so damn cheap, I can skip any traffic that does exist between empire and IS and cruise in the express lane for $4-5, while helping to fund infrastructure that I believe in.

Agree, and I do that with my kid. But I still avoid most of the shitshow and have a fairly long day on the mountain with her. I just don't get those who are just getting to the mountain at lunch, doing circles looking for parking, then waiting for a bus, getting on a bus, & waiting in 30 min lift lines at these huge resorts. Much better options out there but then again, I guess it's good they don't do it?

[skiracer88_00]

Maybe the answer is a recreation tax on lift tickets and season passes at resorts along the I70 corridor to help fund highway improvements? People would barely notice a $50 increase in season pass price or a $5 increase on a day ticket. There are currently NO sales taxes on lift tickets or passes. With the amount of skiers that frequent I70, even charging the normal state/city sales taxes (about 8%) on those items could raise a bunch of cash really quickly. As an added bonus, tourists from out of state would also contribute to offset their share of the added congestion.

[summit]

Maybe the answer is a recreation tax on lift tickets and season passes at resorts along the I70 corridor to help fund highway improvements? People would barely notice a $50 increase in season pass price or a $5 increase on a day ticket. There are currently NO sales taxes on lift tickets or passes. With the amount of skiers that frequent I70, even charging the normal state/city sales taxes (about 8%) on those items could raise a bunch of cash really quickly. As an added bonus, tourists from out of state would also contribute to offset their share of the added congestion.

Why are you only going to tax certain downhill skiers?
How does that address the summer problem or all the other winter I70 travelers?
Why not do a toll instead since that gets all travelers and encourages carpooling but per-person ticket taxes do not?
What about skiers who use these resorts but not I70?
And why are we taxing downhill skiers instead of first requiring winter travelers to have snow tires?

Are you aware that Vail, Snowmass and Mt. Crested Butte tax tickets? Did you know there is a 4.5% tax on Breckenridge lift tickets by the town of Breck and the controversy that has created when the town council decided to change its mind on how it was going to spend the multiple millions in taxes per year? Long story short, resort promised not to fight if the taxes first went towards skier parking infrastructure, for which there was a verbal understanding, then the town council decided it wanted to spend the money on sidewalks and roundabouts or something and has indefinitely delayed skier parking infrastructure. Any wonder why I have a healthy distrust for non-earmarked tax increases?

[The SnowShow]

Maybe Vail Resorts could pony up some serious money to help the situation, instead of buying up every fucking resort.