LOVELAND — Northern Colorado residents are willing to wait for the train, but the length of that pit stop is unclear.
Area residents and traffic officials emphasized at a meeting with Transportation Commissioner Kathy Gilliland that Northern Colorado residents are clamoring for a rail line between this region and Denver as an alternative to Interstate 25.
And, they would rather wait for it than turn to bus transit, Loveland City Manager Bill Cahill said during the Monday session at Loveland City Hall.
Gilliland and Colorado Department of Transportation officials fielded questions from area elected officials and Loveland residents. Most inquiries centered on a future train line, planned to be built in the next two decades: When? Where will the money come from?
Transportation officials could not answer those questions — yet.
Johnny Olson, regional transportation director, said the Colorado Department of Transportation is starting conversations with Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, state and federal lawmakers and community leaders to make rail a reality and to find the money to pay for it.
But the billion-dollar project will not come from state or federal dollars alone or even together.
Communities will need to work together and with developers to find partnerships and grants for rail and all other transportation needs, Gilliland continued, citing the I-25 interchange remodel at U.S. 34 as a prime example of development fees paying for transportation needs.
“It is so important with the communities being able to contribute to some of these projects,” Gilliland said. “The money at the state level and federal level is just drying up. You can’t count on anything. The more the communities can pick up and be able to invest in the projects you have. I think it goes back to working with developers to make sure you have the contribution you need to get that done.
“There just isn’t any other way.”
But even if the method of paying for rail is not yet clear, officials said, it is key to have a project planned and ready to start and partnerships in place — shovel ready.
“You never know when the money will come up, and when it does you need to be ready,” Gilliland added.
And planning is important to providing the choices people need for transportation that will support residential travel as well as commerce.
“We need to be ahead of the bubble,” said Gilliland. “Rail systems aren’t going to go in in a day. Bus systems aren’t going to go in in a day. It takes a long time.”
Pamela Dickman can be reached at 669-5050, ext. 526, or pdickman@reporter-herald.com.
