Posts Tagged ‘FasTracks’

The $4.7 billion commuter rail project that Denver area voters approved in 2004 continues to see unprecedented cost increases.  The severely mismanaged project now is forecast to cost taxpayers $7.8 billion, $968.3 million more than the previous estimate. The Annual Program Evaluation (APE) presented to the RTD Board of Directors this week continues to highlight [...]

Much like the ‘Big Dig’ in Boston, the FasTracks rail project in Denver has become synonymous with the word boondoggle.  Despite RTD’s promises that they had corrected their numerous failures, we have learned that they have once again severely underestimated costs. The Denver Business Journal reported on Wednesday that the cost of the Northwest rail [...]

After being missing from the job voters hired him to do for months and potentially facing criminal charges, Ken Riley submitted his resignation to the RTD Board of Directors on Monday night.  In a troubling trend, he becomes the third local Adams County politico in recent months to become embroiled in scandal. Nearly two weeks [...]

With the RTD FasTracks boondoggle set to leave the north Denver area behind, residents are apparently not getting adequate representation on the Regional Transportation District Board of Directors.  Ken Riley, the elected representative for District K, has been MIA in recent months and has many wondering, “Where in the world is Riley?” Update, 10/19/11: RTD Director [...]

It is a tough call the Regional Transportation District’s Board of Directors faces – they have to choose between one of three tax raising options to bailout the FasTracks boondoggle.  As a taxpayer who will foot the bill I am reminded of one of my favorite military acronyms – BOHICA.  No matter which option is [...]

Sometimes you just have to shake your head.  What is being billed as the “World’s Largest Cannabis Lifestyle Convention” is coming to Denver and the publicly funded Regional Transportation District is happy to accept ads coming from an illegal industry. Colorado has in theory legalized medical marijuana, however the drug is illegal under federal law [...]

In a unanimous decision, RTD’s board of directors voted to not ask voters this year to double the tax to pay for the FasTracks boondoggle.  In the process, they have added years onto the time to complete the project and added hundreds of millions of more dollars to the project which is already more than [...]

 RTD has convinced themselves that Denver metro area residents want FasTracks no matter the cost.  The time has come for them to put up or shut up and stop screwing around with Denver area taxpayers.   At tonight’s meeting of the RTD Board of Directors, the decision will be made whether or not to push forward [...]

Obviously not bright enough to figure out that the public is growing increasingly disenchanted with the FasTracks boondoggle, RTD’s board of directors commissioned yet another study to gauge public support.  In the presentation (below), the Kenney Group told the board that, “78% of 2010 survey respondents say approving FasTracks was a “good idea.””  It goes [...]

Certainly it has become painfully obvious that RTD sold the taxpayers a bill of goods in 2004 that they had absolutely no ability to fill.  The project gets deeper and deeper in red and mismanagement of the project is seen at every step. Through it all, the North Metro Corridor has been the bastard child [...]