Do you like the look of the pretty train? Residents of the north area might want to save this picture as it may be the closest they get to one.

The North Area Transportation Alliance (NATA) released a scathing report of RTD’s FasTracks TaxTracks program, its finances and its plan for completion. The program has long been flailing and by the latest estimates suffers more than a $2 billion shortfall. What was supposed to be a regional rail system most likely now will become a system along I-70 while leaving all other communities who have paid for the project out in the cold.

NATA commissioned a study to analyze the review of FasTracks performed by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) annually. Performed by BBC Research and Consulting, the review and the conclusions and analysis reached by BBC and NATA paint a dismal picture, especially for north metro area residents.

Just some of the quick hitting points in the cover letter that NATA included with the report include:

• “FasTracks is floundering with a financial plan that lacks credibility”
• “…its widening funding gap and chaos of decision-making can be traced back to chronic management and policy failures of the Regional Transportation District (RTD)”
• “FasTracks is shaping up to be a divisive cultural blunder”
• “The FasTracks vision is in freefall”
• “RTD and many local area leaders maintain the fantasy that all will be “OK””

Those aren’t my words – those are the words of the elected leaders representing 11 north metro area cities and communities as well as some of the biggest business leaders in the metro area.

How are you feeling about the FasTracks boondoggle now?

A perusal of the report issued by NATA is nothing short of shocking. Certainly anyone who has been paying attention was well aware of the problems with FasTracks but this report sets fire to the program and RTD’s management and elected board. It truly drives home the point that north metro area taxpayers, and those living in many other areas, are likely to get soaked for the boondoggle and receive nothing in return unless corrective action is taken immediately.

Much of the criticism in the report is directed at DRCOG and its complicity with an annual report that fails to tackle problems with FasTracks and simply glosses them over. DRCOG is of course the puppet of Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper so little else should have been expected. The city of Denver is going to get their rail no matter what (at our expense!) so Hickenlooper couldn’t care less about the rest of the system.

Among some of the other highlights, the report assails RTD’s latest plan of making up for funding shortfalls by asking taxpayers for an increase, hoping for a huge grant from the federal government and a public-private partnership. As the report says, “completion of the system relies on Federal funding from a program that isn’t currently in place; from a public-private partnership that has never been accomplished on this scale anywhere in the United States; from an unlikely increase in sales tax rates to unprecedented levels, and from fare box revenue that is dependent on a fully functioning system.” The analysis drives home the point that with a failure of any one of these items, “the remainder of the financing system may then unravel.”

For residents of the north metro area, we are presented with the worst case scenario of any in the Denver area because our line is slated to be the last constructed. As a result, we bear the risk and financial burden and are the most likely to receive nothing in return. As the report says, “There is very legitimate concern, particularly among the northern tier communities, that FasTracks may again fail to meet its full revenue and system development objectives. The consequences of that prospective failure fall almost entirely upon the citizens and property owners of the northern metropolitan area.”

Even if things change at RTD and with FasTracks, the outcome is far from certain. At a minimum taxpayers are going to get creamed with at least a doubling of the sales tax that was agreed upon to fund the project five years ago. It likely won’t be completed within the timeframe promised and it almost certainly will not look like what was promised. The fact of the matter is that Denver is faced with its own ‘Big Dig’ at this point and no solution is pretty.

There is much in the report and I wholeheartedly encourage all area residents to read it. You are paying billions of dollars for the project and need to know what sort of a state of affairs it is in. The entire report is available for viewing below.

• Complete coverage of FasTracks from Tony’s Rants
• 9News: Concerns FasTracks’ north line may be way off track
• Denver Post: FasTracks plans could fall short in north metro area, study finds

A note about the North Area Transportation Alliance:

NATA came about thanks to the city of Thornton’s leadership both at the management level and that of its elected officials, particularly Mayor Hansen, and that is very noteworthy. The creation of a group like this dedicated to protecting the north metro area’s transportation interests is long overdue. For far too long, we – the 6th largest city in the state of Colorado – have been shortchanged and ignored by RTD and CDOT. Perhaps this will start to correct the issue.

The members of NATA should be commended for their willingness to stand together and protect their citizens from the FasTracks boondoggle as best they can. Certainly this report is damning but the way the report came about is also noteworthy. As the group said in the summary:

As locally elected officials however, constituents expect us to protect their interests. As business executives we have an obligation to our employees and customers to grow and remain viable. Access to the FasTracks system we were promised is an important element in meeting these responsibilities.

Thus, while we cannot resolve these problems ourselves, the responsibilities we have as public officials and private sector leaders demand that we act forcefully and cooperatively to alter the current course of events.

NATA FasTracks Packet 11-30-09

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