![]() “One of the things my team does is we try to forecast where growth is going to happen,” says Andy Taylor, DRCOG’s regional planning and development manager. (Of note, the same report saw a five-year trend in people working from home-an increase of more than 20 percent-which could grow bigger even after stay-at-home orders are eased.) DRCOG spends time thinking about managing that congestion and regional planning. In 2040, DRCOG estimates these delays could increase to 97 hours and $2.9 billion in impact. The economic impact of delays (for both commercial and passenger vehicles) was more than $1.5 billion. The report estimates that households experienced 60 hours of vehicle travel delay each year. Those additional miles add up in wear-and-tear on the roads, but also congestion. In its 2018 report on congestion in the area, the group found that the daily average of vehicle-miles-traveled has grown steadily in recent years. More broadly, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) looks at trends in an area that includes multiple counties. And, after much debate and voter approval, the city created the Department of Traffic and Infrastructure (read a Q&A with its executive director). ![]() To make streets safer, the city has also adopted a Vision Zero Action Plan, which focuses on eliminating traffic-related deaths. ![]() In Denver, the Mayor’s Mobility Action Plan was released in 2017 to coordinate efforts. Boston University’s 2019 Menino Survey of Mayors, which polled leadership in 119 cities about top priorities, shows that infrastructure is a top consideration (66 percent say roads would be a focus for new funding). Add the additional pressures of growth-and now a pandemic-and urban planning in 2020 will be a unique challenge.ĭenver, of course, isn’t the only metro dealing with the conundrum. I do know that every bit of that coverage is needed. But timing when and where a population will move is tricky business. I’ve simply lost track of the stories I’ve read about timing light signals, changing traffic patterns, installing bike lanes, or adjusting bus schedules. “That, in and of itself, is a recipe for greater congestion.” “Ever since 1876, the size of the state hasn’t changed, but every successive decade we have added more ,” says Chris Akers, an economist with Colorado’s State Demography Office. It follows that as we’ve added more people to the region, it has put strain on our roads. Photo by Natasha GardnerĬolorado has seen an incredible amount of economic growth in the past decade and with it, population increases. I’m guessing you might feel that way, too. I appreciated the ease of using rideshares. My trek to work was longer than it had been a decade ago. That's only $1 per issue! Subscribe Today »īefore, though, it felt like the routes I traveled were stretching farther. Instead of bounding across the metro and to the high country, many of our paths-like the white and orange streaks in that photo-have shrunk into smaller and smaller circles. ![]() Today, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our movements have changed. It’s a static image of movement, and every time I walk past it, I feel like I’m part of the mix of Coloradans moving around our city and our state at any given moment. On the left, the beams blend into ghostly white lines. On the right side, traffic flows across the mountain landscape and the lights of the vehicles blur into burnt orange streaks. I have a photograph hanging in my house that shows traffic on Colorado’s I-70 at night.
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