HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Study Session Packet 01/19/2010CITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO
NOTICE OF SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of a Special Study Session of the Wheat
Ridge City Council at the following date, time, and place:
TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2010
Commencing at 4 :00 p.m.
Wheat Ridge Municipal Building
7500 West 29th Avenue
Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
The meeting has been requested by Council Members Wanda Sang and Davis
Reinhart pursuant to Charter Section 5.7 (a) for the purpose of discussing the
Council's support or opposition to proposed Northwest Corridor (W-470)
development.
GIVEN AND POSTED in the Office of the City Clerk this 15th day of January,
2010.
~\r, '\ R)'Y'b C,,, &-!t-., ",~.~
City Clerk \ \ " -j
Published online on the Wheat Ridge City Website, www.ci.wheatridge.co .us
Delivered to Council Members dn January 15th, 2010
CITY OF GOLDEN INFORMATION
, ,
G,~ Cityof
~ Golden
January 18, 20 I 0
Mayor Jerry DiTullio and Members of the Wheat Ridge City Council
Wheat Ridge City Hall
7500 W. 29th Ave.
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Dear Mayor DiTullio and Members of the Wheat Ridge City Council:
, ,
911101• ST. GOLDEN, CO 80401
TEL: 303-384-8000
FAX: 303-384-8001
WWW.cJTYOFGOLDEN.NET
I understand that you are holding a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the Jefferson Parkway
proposal scheduled for DRCOG action on Wednesday night. The proponents of the Jefferson
Parkway have made a range of claims about Golden's position during the course of these ongoing
discussions, and I want to take this opportunity to respond to them as best as I understand them.
I want to start by making Golden's position regarding the beltway and other regional roads clear.
-and I believe every member of Golden's City Council -support appropriate highway
improvements through Golden, and I b'flieve our Council would support a regional highway project
if designed in a manner that ensures the protection of our neighborhoods and our community.
I have heard repeatedly about the claim that Golden will oppose any regional solution that involves
the beltway. This is simply false. I've served as mayor for two years, and I now have a City
Council every one of whom speaks in favor of working out a solution, and not one of whom draws
a line in the sand on the construction of a new toll road. On my watch, we have made progress in
designing and seeking funding for improvements that wiU improve traffic flow on the 6/93
Corridor, regardless of whether the beltway is constructed. All the members of our City Council
still speak out against the JPPHA proposal, but no one is drawing the line in the sand that has been
claimed.
I understand that the relationship between Jefferson County and the City of Golden is a concern as
well. We would welcome an opportunity to collaborate with Jefferson County on Highway 93 and
U.S. 6 projects, but to date the County has been unwilling to do so. Instead, the COWlty'S approach
has been to craft a proposal for a project within our city limits without our knowledge, send us a
"take it or leave it" communication, and then express indignation when we make recommendations
for improving the projects or suggest adjustments to better tackle the highest priority projects. We
would welcome honest collaborations and negotiations that produce a solution meeting all of our
needs, but these can't be "gotcba" project invitations designed to compel Golden to support projects
that don't meet community needs. Wheat Ridge would never agree to "take it or leave it" proposals
for projects within your boundaries that don't meet your own community needs; we cannot either.
The most recent exchange between Golden and the County is instructive. The County is refusing to
support our own well-su~ported TIGER proposal to rebuild our highest priority intersection in
Golden at U.S. 6 and 19 Street. This project would rebuild our most dangerous and most
congested intersection, with Golden's highest number of pedestrian and cyclist crossings, and it
would dramatically improve regional traffic flow through Golden by addressing the greatest
bottleneck on the 6/93 corridor. The County didn't offer any suggestions or altematives but instead
simply rejected our request.
Among the many problems with the current JPPHA proposal: despite JPPHA's claims to the
contrary, its proposal assumes that COOT and/or local governments will cover the costs ofa very
expensive list of additional projects. In fact, their financial viability analysis overtly depends on this
assumption. Their own proposal to DRCOG spells this out: for the purposes of showing adequate
traffic and revenues they assume the improvements will be constructed, yet "these improvements
are assumed to be the responsibility of COOT and/or area governments, and no funding or project
commitment is available at this time."
,
The projects on this list: six lanes and multiple new interchanges on Highway 93 and U.S. 6 from
the toll road to C-470, four tolled freeway lanes from 128 to the Northwest Parkway, including new
interchanges along the stretch through Interiocken, and more. This is not cheap. Our initial
estimate was $700 million to $1 billion dollars worth of projects. The CDOT TEPS report
projected $454 million just for six-Ianing Highway 93. But even if the total cost of those projects is
only $500 million or $250 million, this still means that the JPPHA proposal -by definitiol1 -is not
fiscally constrained and thus does not meet DRCOG's basic federal legal requirements. It is also
fundamentally irresponsible to base a project's viability on the assumption that others will come up
with hundreds of millions of additional dollars when the proponents themselves so energetically
emphasize the lack of available transportation dollars.
Why should Wheat Ridge care? In addition to the very real legal vulnerability DRCOG incurs if it
approves a transportation plan that fails to meet the fiscal constraint requirement, it also means that
these hundreds of millions of dollars of unfunded projects will be competing for the very same
limited transportation dollars (and limited ozone budget) that Wheat Ridge will want in order to
fund the transportation projects that serve your own community needs.
Also, in addition to all of the new traffic we already expect on Highway 93 over the next decade or
two, the JPPHA's own analysis projects an additional 38% increase in traffic by 20 15 resulting
directly from their project. That traffic will dump onto Highway 93, already congested and
dangerous, without any funding for improvements and mitigation. Yes, we will need to make
improvements to Highway 93 and U.S. 6 regardless, but their current proposal dramatically
exacerbates these needs. And the JPPHA analysis shows-as a result of its own project-
significant congestion increases across the entire Northwest Quadrant. I've attached the maps,
using JPPHA data, showing precisely how much and where the JPPHA 's projections show traffic
increases in 2015 and 2035.
Incidentally, the JPPHA's current approach of aggressively pushing for DRCOG approval will
make it even more difficult to finance. Investors are less enthusiastic about projects, especially in
the current financial environment, that carry large legal and business risks and do not have unified
political support. The region succeeds with carefully thought-out and balanced approaches, like T-
Rex, U.S. 36, and the West Corridor. One-sided, highly controversial approaches work against our
ability to finance and build regional transportation solutions .
• Page 2
Golden can support a reasonable solution that ensures the protection of our neighborhoods and our
community. The current JPPHA proposal doesn't do that. Instead, it provides a great deal of
benefit to a few entities while asking Golden to bear virtually all of the impact. The JPPHA's
answer to that: "trust us, we'll figure out later how to mitigate and pay for the impacts." If you, as
your community's elected representatives, were in our circumstances you would be equally
skeptical of that promise.
We all share in some very real regional transportation needs, and we should all be collaborating to
solve them, but a proposal that sacrifices one community is not a good answer. Wheat Ridge and
Golden are neighbors, and just as Golden -enthusiastically and without hesitation -provided help
to Wheat Ridge after your very destructive storm last summer, we would hope you would respOlu
to our request now not to support a proposal that would have such an enormous detrimental impact
to our community.
I and my colleagues on the Golden City Council sincerely appreciate yOl,lr consideration.
Respectfully,
~'*'
Jacob Smith
Mayor
• Page 3
Partial
Interchi1nges
• '" 36
Traffic Changes From
Jefferson Parkway in 2015
Due to Traffic Crippling
I
Dal::l from JPPIIA Application to DRCOC for
amendmenl 10 Regional Transporlalion Plan. See
hit p: I/www.drcog.orglpubliccollllllenlidoculllcnis/
J crrerson Parkway-All.pdf
lit Appcndix C. pages 3·15to )·18
-26%
-6%
~ ______ -1%
~ • ~
t Not to Scate
N
_ INCREASES
DECREASES
_ NO CHANGE
-3%
-• Jefferson Parkway Toll Road
JPPHA Proposed Traffic Crippling
October 27, 2009
Partial
Interchanges
Traffic Changes From
Jefferson Parkway in 2035
Due to Traffic Crippling
II1II ... -411'
t Nol to Scale
N
_ INCREASES
DECREASES
_ NO CHANGE
Dala from JPI'I-IA Applicalion to ORCOG for
amendment 10 Regional Transportation Plan. Sec
h II p: IIw\\ w .d rcog. orglp u bl iccolll me n tJdocu III en lsI
Jeffl.'rson Pa rkway _All. pdf
al Appendh: C, pages 3-1910 3-22
-• Jefferson Parkway Toll Road
JPPHA Proposed Traffic Crippling
October 22, 2009
JEFFERSON COUNTY INFORMATION
Jefferson Parkway: General Information
DRCOG Regional Transportatio n Plan Amendment Vote -Jan uary 20, 2010.
T he Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority (JPPHA) is comprised of Jefferson
County, the City o f Arvada, and the City & County of Broomfield.
The Jefferson Parkway (JP) is a privately funded, multi-modal facility that improves
mobility, lessens congestion and improves air quality.
CDOT Transportation Commission approved our 1601 System Feasibility Analysis by
unanimo us vote in August 2009.
DRCOG staff has concluded the IP meets air quality standards in '2035. IPPHA has
submitted information th at shows the Parkway has reasonable prospects for financial
feasibility. These are the onl y two criteri a necessary for inclusion into the fiscall y
constrained pl an.
In November 2008, the DRC OG Boa rd m ad e a specific d ete rmina tion tha t the
Je ffe rson Pa rkway would be considered by the Board in the same fa shion, u sing
the same crite ria, as it has used in processing a ll othe r ame ndme nts to the fi scall y
cons trained plan.
In November 2008 -DRCOG Board of Directors voted to treat thi s amendment the
same as any other amendment to the fi scall y constrai ned pl an.
The missing link has been on the adopted DRCOG Regional Metrov ision Plan sin ce 1987.
Local governments ha ve made numerou s decisions over those last 23 years on Ulilities, open
space and land use: all based on this Metrov ision Plan.
The Jcfl'erson Parkway is the last unbuilt portion of the metro beltway system. At the so uth
end, the Parkway will connect to existing State Hi ghway 93, a regional facility, leading to
ex isting US Highway 6, a regional facility . Th ese are roads intended and designed to
accommodate regional traffi c. At th e north end , the Parkway will connect to ex istin g State
Highway 128, and lntcrlocken Boul evard -a principal arterial - leading to th e Northwest
Parkway, an ex isting regional facility.
An EA will be undertaken at each location where th e JP conn ects to a State Highway.
No Tollway through Golden. Utili ze and improve the EXISTING State Highway 93 and US
Hi ghway 6. Jefferson County supports, and has ad vocated for a "parkway" through Golden : a 4
lane di vid ed highway, 4S miles per hour speed limit. No hi gh speed duplicate thorou ghfare.
Jefl'erson County has ofl'ercd, on two separate occasions, to assist Golden in securing
funding necessary to improve State Highway 93: Golden has refused those offers and still
refuses today.
Present and future demand creates the need for new transportation facilities. The
intersection at State Highways 93 & 58. and US Highway 6, will be at Level of Service F by 2015
without the Parkway being built. Opponents have been trying to paint the beltway as the sale
source for new demand on the existing regional road system, particul arly through Golden.
Attached please find a map showing traffic forecasts (Section 1601 Feasibility Study, May 2009)
for the years 2015 and 2035 assuming Ihe Jefferson Parkway is nol bllill. You can see that there
wil l be signifi cant increases in traffic due solely to higher regi onal traffic. Note especiall y the
20% ri se on US 6 through Golden and the remarkable 38% increase on Hi ghway 58. The 2008
COOT traffic count at th e US 611 9th Street intersection was 39,200 vehicles a day. The 2015
projection is 44,700 or a 14% increase in the nex t five years. Traffic is projected to dramatically
increase in the next fi ve years. None of th at growth is attributable to the Jefferson Parkway.
JPPHA estimates the cost of the Parkway to be $215 million. CDOT conducted a $15
million 5 year study that included 22 miles of high-speed roadway from the N.W.
Parkway all the way south to lnterstate 70: totally different scope and vision for the
project than what is under consideration now.
JP precludes unplanned growth. The Northwest quadrant of Jefferson County has over
33,000 acres of government properly (Federal, State, County and City). And Jefferson
County is working today to add more acreage in open space in thi s area.
+ Not to Seal.
N
2015/2035
No-Build
xx.xxx 2035 Daily Volumes"
xx xxx 2015 Oaily Volumes
'Ito/. change in ( )
\
• Jefferson Parkway and other
Future Regional Improvements 0
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o •
Proposed Jefferson Parkway Open Space and Public Lands
Proposed Other Major Regional Arterial Cities
Connections to Existing Beltway Counties
Interchange
The Honorable Jacob Smith, Mayor
City of Golden
911 10th Street
Golden, CO 80401
Dear Mayor Smith:
November 13,2009
Board 01 County Commissioners
Faye Griffin
District No.1
J. Kevin McCasky
o;strict No.2
Kathy Hat1man
District No.3
Thank you for your October 30, 2009 letter requesting that Jefferson County
support the City of Golden's Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery
(TIGER) grant.
Jefferson County is supportive of a safe p'edestrian crossing at U.S. 6 and 19'h
Street and demonstrated this support by submitting the attached letter in April 2009 to
Congressman Ed Perlmutter, as requested by the School of Mines. However, we cannot
write a letter of support for Golden, as we have applied for our own TIGER grant for a
critical improvement in another area of the county.
The County is perplexed by Golden's declaration that a grade separated
intersection at U.S. 6 and 19th Street is the city's highest priority. The City's spending
habits show otherwise as the City has spent nearly $4 million on its marketing campaign
to halt progress on the beltway and 'initiate studies for portions of Highway 93 outside of
Golden's City limit. Equally perplexing is a new initiative that you, Mayor Appelbaum
of the City of Boulder and Boulder County Commissioner Will ToOT presented to the
Transportation Legislation Review Committee (Interim 2009). Your new initiative
promotes improving Highway 93 from Golden north to Boulder -not the intersection at
U.S. 6 and 19th Street. These actions seem to indicate that Highway 93 is your highest
priority and not the intersection at U.S. 6 and 19'h Street.
Highway 93 has long been neglected by every level of govemment responsible for
its maintenance and improvement. We offered to partner with Golden in 2006 and were
ready to invest $2,000,000 for engineering/design to connect the neighborhoods of
Mountain Ridge and Canyon Point:. in the essence of adhering to the Muller Plan the
City commissioned and in the spirit of compromise. Subsequently in 2009, we offered to
partner with Golden on a TIGER Grant application for improvements at Highways 93
and 58, and north of Golden along Highway 93 . Although the application window is
closed and Golden has refused our offers, Jefferson County still stands ready to work
with you on portions of Highway 93 .
100 J.n ... son County Parkway. Golden. CoIe<ado 8041 9
(303) 279-6511
http://)6ffco.us o
Honorable Jacob Smith
November 13, 2009
Page Two
Furthermore, Jefferson County has applied for a TIGER grant for much needed
improvements to the intersection of Wadsworth Blvd. and Waterton Canyon in South
Jeffco. To support your grant application would be to compete with our own.
Therefore, we invite Golden to work with us on improvements to Highway 93
north of Golden, which are necessary and will have substantial and tangible benefits for
Golden and Jefferson County. This project is beltway-neutral, connects neighborhoods
currently divided by Highway 93, relieves congestion, improves safety, improves
property values and will improve the quality of life in Golden by getting traffic off of
neighborhood streets and onto this major arterial.
Also, this project will have positive environmental impacts on air quality and
noise attenuation as traffic will move through Golden more quickly reducing starting and
stopping that causes more noise and more carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles.
Please let us know When you would like to work on a joint project for
improvements at Highways 58 and 93 north of Golden. We look forward to the day when
Golden is able to sidestep its objection to the Jefferson Parkway and collaborate on
critical transportation projects that make needed improvements to existing arterials that
will benefit its residents, as well as residents of Jefferson County, the Denver Region and
the State of Colorado.
Sincerely,
JKMJkn
Attachment: Letter of support for Colorado School of Mines proposal for US Highway 6
pedestrian project
Board at County Cammluionon
The Honorable Ed Perlmutter
United States House of Representatives
415 Cannon House Office Building
Washington. DC 20515
April 23, 2009
SUBJECT: LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
PROPOSAl. FOR U.S. HIGHWAY. PEDESTRIAN PROJECT .
Dear Congressman Perlmutter:
-!'eye Grttftn
Oistriet No. 1
J. Kevin McCMIIy
0iII1I1ct No. 2
Katlly IWtmin
DlOIr1cI No. 3
Jefferson County has been home to the Colorado Schoo of Mines since Its founding in 1874. As
the City and the School hallo grown together. they halle often cooperated on projects to benefit the
community. The Schools now proposing a pedestrian crossing project near the Intersection of U.S.
Highway 6 and Golden's 19" Street Today hundreds of students cross this Intersection at grade. This
ped8Stri~hlcte connie! presents serious and ongoing safety hazards. Jetterlon County IUPPOrt.
the Color.do School of MinH' reque.t for. Pedestrl.n Cro .. tng project .t U.S. Hlghw.y lI.nd 1'" Str •• t .
The community has long sought solutloos to the comPOUndflg problem of a grOWing student
population and increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic through the Intersection. The proposed project
will separate pedestrians and bicyclists from lIehlcles that are tralleling over 50 miles per hour throug,
this location. The safety benems of this projec1 sre clesr and large. Th. COloredo School 0; IIlnes Is
reque.tlng 0 ... 8r 80% of the total .. tlmlted co.t of thl' project.
J
Th, School hal committed to .n open Ind public process for Input during this project.
During proj.ct d,.lgn. notice of th. projecfwlll b. published, comments .ollclted, and. If the
community requ'ltl, I public m .. tlng will be h.ld.
Plesse prollide Ollery consideration to adding this pedestrian crossing project to the tist d HIg,
Priority Projects for your Congressional District. For many years into the future. the CiUzens 01 Jefferson
County will be In appreciation of tho li'les you salle by furthering this project.
JKMirTIm
c: Faye Griff'",. CommiSsioner
Kathy Hartman. Commissioner
Sincerely.
fii?l?1
ERS
ha an
100 J,"erson CotI>ty _Yo Golden. CoIoI1Ido 80419
(303) 279-8511
http://)tII<:o.uI o