DALLAS -- Colorado could unclog its congested roads and reduce carbon emissions with an additional $1 billion per year for 25 years for new transit operations, bike lanes, and pedestrian paths, according to recommendations from Southwest Energy Efficiency Project and CoPIRG Foundation.
The new annual expenditures outlined in the report issued late last week would include $573 million for new transit infrastructure and routes, $243 million to build and repair sidewalks, and $230 million for new bicycle trails and bike-sharing programs.
"Without significant investments in transit, biking and pedestrian services and infrastructure, Colorado will not be able to meet the demands and challenges of our shifting demographics and growing population," the report said.
The additional $1 billion per year would come from a variety of sources, including state and local governments as well as federal funding, said Will Toor, transportation director of Southwest Energy Efficiency Project and one of the co-authors of the report.
"A billion dollars is a big amount, but you have to put it in the context of the many billions we spend on transportation every year," Toor said.
Well over $100 billion of local, state and federal funds will be spent on transportation infrastructure and services in Colorado over the next 25 years, he said.
The Colorado General Assembly must pass a transportation bill with dedicated funding for transit, bike lanes, and other options or the money will go mostly to highway projects, Toor said.
"In any transportation funding package that moves forward, it needs to be a balanced package that provides funding for pedestrian, bike and transit infrastructure and not just highways," Toor said.
"I don't think any of us believe that tomorrow we're going to wave a magic wand and be spending those dollars," he said. "It's a matter of both looking at how do we reallocate some of the funding that we already have."
Colorado will receive $2.8 billion of federal funding through fiscal 2020 from the five-year Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act adopted in late 2015, an average of $566.4 million per year.
Federal funding should provide about $14 billion over the next 25 years to Colorado, Toor said, with the state gasoline tax and other fees generating another $13 billion.
The Colorado Department of Transportation said projected state revenues are expected to cover less than half of the state's transportation needs over the next 25 years, with a $9 billion revenue shortfall over the next 10 years.
Colorado has only enough funding to maintain its highway system at its current condition for 10 years, said CDOT executive director Shailen Bhatt.
"Almost all of our budget right now is going to maintaining our system," Bhatt said.
The $229.5 million per year of proposed cycling projects would include development of regional routes across the state, with trail systems in every city. Bike tourism and manufacturing contributes $1 billion per year to the state's economy, according to the Bicycle Colorado advocacy group.
Denver would add 14 new bus rapid transit lines with part of the $573 million per year that would be dedicated to public transportation. Other transit proposals include expansion of a statewide bus service and early deployment of plans for winter weekend bus service along the congested Interstate 70 corridor to shuttle skiers to and from the slopes.
The proposed $240 million per year for pedestrian projects would allow the construction of 6,000 miles of new sidewalks and repairs to 8,600 miles of existing pavement.
