Following up on my recent report of a meeting of north metro area government and business leaders, YourHub and the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel had their own reports on the meeting.  The North Area Transportation Alliance goal is to ensure the north metro area isn’t shortchanged by RTD and the FasTracks boondoggle.  Amid mis-management and cost overruns there is growing concern that Thornton, Brighton, and other areas could see RTD either severely limit our portion of the project or fail to build it at all. 

The YourHub article in part says:

Officials in the north say those plans are unfair because its residents have shared the financial burden of the 0.4-cent sales tax increase that is funding FasTracks. Hansen also worries the proposals, particularly those that would eliminate entire lines, threaten the regional cooperation that was critical in getting the project passed in 2004.

“If all the other lines exist, what incentive would there be for anyone to support the other projects being built?” he [Thornton Mayor Erik Hansen] asked. “I think if there has to be cutbacks, we should all share in that pain.”

The ideal outcome, he said, is to completely build out all of the proposed lines on time by 2017. Despite the revenue shortfalls, which are largely blamed on rising construction costs, the alliance is holding out hope for a potential bailout from the incoming presidential administration.

President-elect Barack Obama has indicated he will consider introducing a massive economic stimulus package that could pump up to $1 trillion into the economy, some of which could be used for “shovel ready” transportation projects such as the FasTracks plan. Should that package be passed, the alliance needs to be prepared to make a case for a portion of those funds, Hansen said.

“There needs to be a concerted regional effort to lobby the government for additional money,” Hansen said.

Certainly a bailout by the federal government would be nice but I don’t know how likely it is.  Further I am not sure that it is prudent to spend taxpayer dollars on a project that by RTD’s own numbers will do nothing to alleviate congestion.  That money could better be spent on real solutions to the traffic issues we have. 

Be sure to check out the City of Thornton’s FasTracks information on their website.  They have some great new information including a very interesting white paper on the project.  Click here to go to the site.