Challenging times demand bold decisions. And vision. Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) has accommodated increased costs and reduced revenues as a result of the current recession through a number of strategies in order to continue to provide more than 300,000 transit trips a day, 100 million trips a year and continue to forge ahead with FasTracks — the largest voter-approved transit expansion program in the country.
Despite the tough economic times, our charge is to continue to provide safe, quality transit service and expand that service to the whole Denver metro region.
It took regional cooperation to bring FasTracks to life and it will take continued collaboration to finish the job. Back in 2004, when RTD asked voters for the initial 0.4 percent sales tax increase, all 33 of the region’s mayors stood together and unanimously supported FasTracks. In addition, the business, real estate and environmental communities also strongly supported the initiative.
RTD’s goal is to keep the strong coalition of the Denver region focused on our united purpose to improve infrastructure, mobility options and quality of life. Besides creating jobs and providing multimodal alternatives, FasTracks also offers opportunities for cities and counties to create livable, sustainable communities and affordable housing.
We’ve made tremendous progress on FasTracks, with 48 miles of the 122 miles of new rail to be under construction by the end of 2011. Our challenge: bridging a $2 billion budget gap to complete the rest of FasTracks as intended.
Since the plan was developed in 2003, RTD, like other entities, has experienced unprecedented increases in the cost of construction materials such as steel, copper, concrete and fuel from our initial estimates, which were based off of standard industry projections at that time. In addition, sales tax revenues to help pay for FasTracks have come in much lower than the historical averages that drove our forecasts.
As a result, RTD’s board is considering asking voters for another sales tax increase of 0.4 percent to complete the whole program sooner rather than later. Otherwise, we will continue to build out the whole FasTracks program as revenues are available, with the last elements of FasTracks estimated to be complete by 2042.
We have moved far beyond the “Imagine a Great City” mantra of former Denver Mayor Federico Pena in 1983 to become a great region. FasTracks will continue the Denver metro area’s history and foresight of being a visionary community that invests in projects like Denver International Airport, Coors Field and, now, FasTracks. Even during tough economic times we must continue to turn our collective regional vision into reality for us, our children and our grandchildren for the next 100 years.
Phillip A. Washington is general manager of Denver’s Regional Transportation District.
