Stuck In Traffic?
Author: Anonymous
The February 18 Luncheon at the Boulder Broker served as the official start of our investigation into the transportation challenges facing our community. The meeting featured guest speaker Phil Weisbach, the City's Assistant Director of Public Works, with an overview of the Transportation Master Plan.
The Transportation Master Plan, or TMP, is a voluminous document that was published in 1996 after a lengthy public process and thousands of hours of input from a range of stakeholders and City staff. The TMP was designed to serve as a roadmap to ensuring that our traffic congestion in Boulder doesn't get worse. It is seen by some as a mantra for ineffectively getting people out of their cars and into alternative modes, many which do not yet exist.
According to Weisbach, part of the problem with making an impact on Boulder's growing traffic problem has been getting the transportation issue to the top of an incredibly busy City agenda. "The data is there," said Weisbach. "Surveys done both by the transportation division and the City point to growing concerns that traffic congestion is bad and is getting worse," he said.
According to the TMP, in 1996 approximately 20% of our major streets experienced congestion during peak hours. An estimated 30% increase in the number of local jobs (26,000 new jobs by 2020), coupled with a lesser increase in the number of local housing units (up to 5,300 new units by 2020), creates an imbalance that may ensure increases in traffic congestion from in-commuting alone. That is, Weisbach says, unless drastic changes are made to our current system and behavior patterns.
"Many of our major roadways are already built out. There are some expansions that could happen, but there are significant concerns about those," Weisbach said, citing public opposition and the expenses associated with road expansions.
"The essential element and goal of the TMP is to ensure that, in spite of new growth, and in spite of system constraints, levels of traffic congestion in Boulder do not deteriorate," said Weisbach.
Strategies that focus on road expansion, traffic flow, and alternative transportation systems have been investigated, with the TMP advocating a route that would focus first on maximizing alternative transportation systems and inciting behavior changes.
"The reality remains that the vast majority of people in Boulder choose to travel by automobile. But at the same time Boulder doesn't want to accept the impacts caused by widening streets like 28th and Broadway, with costs that also may be unacceptable," Weisbach noted. "Neighbors will almost always oppose roadway expansions, despite the goal of the greater good for the entire City," he said.
Despite our deep ties to the auto, Weisbach says the TMP calls for turning to roadway strategies only after we have found that the campaign to get residents into alternative modes is not working.
"Protecting our existing transportation infrastructure while maintaining safety is another key element in any transportation strategy we pursue. We don't want to put new buses on the street at the expense of plowing snow after snowstorms or fixing potholes," Weisbach said.
Citing recent improvements to traffic flow in areas like the 55th and Arapahoe intersection, Weisbach said the City is doing what it can to make the traffic move efficiently. "We agree we can't ask people to get out of their cars unless there's a reasonable alternative for them to get into, like better bus service or bike lanes that are safe and efficient for us to use," he said. "The new City Council is on top of this. We're committed to finding a way."
The subject of transportation - or more appropriately, traffic - is always an emotional one. Many members raised issues and concerns about the City's approach. Ideas were raised ranging from moving the major traffic generators in the downtown area to a new "town center," to stretching Foothills Parkway on both the south and north ends, and focusing on transportation while redeveloping our major retail centers.
Boulder Tomorrow will continue its investigation of this issue at the March 18 Luncheon, 12 noon at the Boulder Broker. The topic will be The Transportation Quagmire: The Rest of the Story, and will feature Boulder County Commissioner Ron Stewart and Transportation Advisory Board member Bryan Alu as guest speakers.
