Let's ignore the fact that because of our oil addiction, we are at War in Iraq to gain access to Iraq's oil reserves.

Let's ignore the immense cost of funding our military presence in the Middle East to insure the flow of oil to the US.

Let's ignore the cost of our foreign oil purchases which indirectly fund the enemies that we are fighting not only in the Middle East, but throughout the world.

Let's ignore the fact that we are determining a transportation solution for the I-70 mountain corridor that will take between 10 and 20 years to implement (if not longer if the funds cannot be made available). 

Let's ignore the fact that the I-70 mountain corridor solution will be implemented in the 2020 to 2025 timeframe, not tomorrow.

Let's design our future to accommodate more cars and trucks instead of designing our future to accommodate more people.

Let's focus our transportation efforts on moving cars and trucks instead of moving people.

Let's make cars and trucks more important than people in our land use and transportation planning processes.

Let's prioritize car and truck facilities over over bicycle, public transportation and pedestrian facilities that comprise "Complete Street" programs. 

Let's ignore mountain corridor resort overcrowding and congestion that occurs today during peak periods and invite even more vehicles through I-70 highway expansion.

Let's ignore the residents of mountain communities that do not want any more vehicles in their towns during peak periods.

Let's ignore the overuse of Colorado's public lands and the environmental degradation that comes with it.

Let's design a highway widening solution that envisions automobile travel behavior in the year 2025 to be identicial or greater than today without regard for climate change, peak oil, rising fuels cost, tolling, VMT fees, geopolitical instability in the Middle East, our changing demographics and lack of highway maintenance funds.

Let’s ignore the fact that we cannot afford to even maintain the highway infrastructure that we already have, let alone maintain any new highway infrastructure that we might create.

Let's dump the enormous maintenance debt of taking care of our existing roads and bridges on our children and grandchildren while at the same time prioritizing spending for highway expansion projects that will create even more maintenance debt.

Let's allow the same 1950's/1960's interstate highway era transportation philosophy and those who support this philosophy (CDOT Region 1, highway contractors, highway engineers, oil companies, automobile manufacturers, automobile dependent development interests and all politicians with a vested interest in keeping the status quo of highway expansion as our primary transportation solution) to dominate the transportation planning and funding discussion for the 21st Century.

Let's expect that the same 1950's/1960's interstate highway era transportation philosophy that created the congestion and transportation infrastructure mess that we have today, to provide our transportation solutions for the 21st Century.

Let's ignore the sustainable transportation and land use vision of the Environmental and Smart Growth organizations because they don't support the empowered financial interests vested in continued highway expansion, continued auto-dependent development, continued US reliance on foreign oil and continued US military presence in the Middle East.

Let's ignore the fact that our transportation planning and funding process is not about making the best decisions and selecting the best transportation and land use alternatives, but rewarding a select and very powerful group of special interest groups regardless of the national and international political and environmental consequences of these decisions. 

Let’s ignore the fact that all the easy and inexpensive highways have already been built.

Let's ignore the fact that very little economic benefit occurs by expanding existing highways.

Let’s ignore the costly and intrusive private property acquisition necessary to expand highways in developed areas.

Let’s ignore the incredible expense of highway construction today, but at the same time continue to stigmatize energy efficient public transportation solutions as too costly.

Let’s ignore the increased accidents, injuries and fatalities associated with highway expansion and increased motor vehicle travel.

Let’s ignore the air quality degradation as a direct result of vehicle emissions and fugitive dust associated with highway expansion and increased motor vehicle travel.

Let’s ignore the water quality degradation associated with highway expansion and increased motor vehicle travel.

Let's ignore the increased use of traction sand and Mag Chloride that occurs with highway expansion and increased motor vehicle travel along with the air and water pollution that results.

Let’s ignore the ridiculous noise level associated with the current I-70 highway and its impact to the mountain corridor communities.

Let's ignore the noise associated with highway expansion and increased motor vehicle travel.

Let’s ignore the health and community impacts associated with highway expansion and increased motor vehicle travel.

Let’s ignore the obesity problems associated with auto-dependent and auto-priority development fueled by highway expansion and at the same time discourage pedestrian, bicycle and public transportation facilities.

Let’s ignore the increased demand for State Patrol Resources, Incident Management, Emergency Communications, Law Enforcement, Fire Protection and Ambulance, Emergency Medical and Trauma Care services associated with highway expansion and increased motor vehicle travel.

Let’s ignore the increased greenhouse gas emissions associated with highway expansion and increased motor vehicle travel.

Let’s ignore the US transportation’s automobile and truck dependency and its contribution to global climate change. 

Let’s ignore the induced travel impacts of highway expansion that encourage vehicle miles traveled and even more congestion.

Let’s ignore the fact that highway expansion breeds auto-dependent sprawl, increased vehicle miles traveled and more congestion.

Let’s ignore the cost of government service delivery to the dispersed auto-dependent development and sprawl that highway expansion fuels.

Let’s ignore the needs of our increasing senior population for pedestrian friendly and livable communities.

Let’s ignore the fact that as Baby-boomers retire in massive numbers, they will be driving less.

Let’s exaggerate the economic benefits of highway expansion by not taking into account the harmful economic impacts of highway construction, increased foreign fuel consumption and US agricultural land consumption for auto-dependent development and sprawl.

Let’s ignore big business and economic development association’s GREED for more customers and more profits regardless of the environmental and community impacts and consequences to future generations.

Let's ignore the fact that increasing fuel prices, fuel taxes, Vehicle Miles Traveled taxes and tolls will literally drive the middle class away from discretionary travel.

Let’s ignore the legacy of highway maintenance funding deficits we are passing on to our children and grandchildren.

Let's ignore the legacy of environmental, energy and political problems we are passing on to our future generations by our selfish demand for highway expansion and our selfish demand for the right to drive when and where we want to, regardless of cost or impacts.

Let's ignore the fact that highways and independent private motor vehicles as the United State's primary means of transportation are NOT sustainable. 

The Driver Factor 

Simply stated, mobility in the mountain corridor for all travelers is dependent on the behavior of each individual vehicle driver in the corridor.  One bad driver decision resulting in a wreck can cause hours of delays for all of us.

Regardless of vehicle technology improvements, allowing the freedom of every individual to drive and control their own personal vehicle on a high speed freeway, results in the worst car or truck driver setting the pace for everyone else.   

Wind driven ground blizzards creating zero visibility (day or night) mandate I-70 closures, regardless of the number of lanes.  Driving in deep snow or under zero visibility conditions is extremely dangerous.  How many drivers do you want passing you on either side (as six lanes would allow) in white out or deep snow conditions?

DRIVING IS NOT A RIGHT, IT IS A PRIVILEGE. 

A privilege that many motorists take for granted.  This is especially true in the mountain corridor where there is not only no other feasible alternate highway route, but no other transportation mode available to mountain corridor travelers.  

I-70 is it, and all our mobility is subject to the driving behavior of every corridor driver, cars and trucks.

In my research into the I-70 problem, the number 1 outstanding issue which time and time again is missing from the tens of millions of dollars spent on the I-70 analysis, is simply the behavior of corridor drivers.   

Colorado State Patrol officials in Clear Creek and Summit Counties report that virtually every I-70 accident year round is a result of drivers operating vehicles at greater speeds than the conditions demand.  Every law enforcement official (both local and state) as well as every emergency service provider that I have spoken to, tells me that the corridor drivers are the most aggressive, careless, reckless and irresponsible in the state of Colorado.  Emergency Service providers risk their lives every day responding to I-70 incidents. 

The appalling corridor driver behavior is witnessed by locals, truckers and public safety agency staff every day.  Corridor drivers are always in a hurry. They don’t obey speed limits or law enforcement direction.  They fight with State Patrol or local agency staff that is directing traffic.  Road closures are a nightmare for the emergency service and law enforcement personnel.  Every single driver considers themselves to be the single exception to the rule.   They are arrogant, stubborn and difficult.  I have witnessed this first hand and believe that the emergency service folks are saints for putting up with the abuse they receive from corridor drivers. 

Making highway expansion the priority improvement for the corridor just encourages more of the same aggressive driver behavior.  It will simply increase accidents, injuries and road closures, which will only increase driver delays, not decrease them.  Even if new technologies are developed that make personal vehicle driving more energy efficient, cleaner and quieter, we will still be faced with more aggressive and careless driving producing more accidents and more delays.

The single most cost effective throughput improvement in the mountain corridor is a permanent police presence to keep motorists speeds under control and reduce the number of accidents, road closures, hazardous material spills, injuries and fatalities. 

Police winter inspection of Front Range vehicles heading up to the High Country could make a huge improvement to I-70 throughput by reducing the number of bad weather incidents.  All vehicles would be subject to a random inspection to make sure that they have snow tires with good tread depth, autosocks and/or chains in the vehicle before leaving the Denver Metro area.  

Many corridor motorists complain about truck drivers who are unprepared for winter driving conditions, but how many automobile drivers are also unprepared for winter driving in the High Country?  All it takes is for one unprepared motorist to crash and the rest of us wait for hours in traffic jams. 

An increased Police presence in the mountain corridor ought to be the highest priority action for the I-70 PEIS process because it will not only increase throughput and decrease delays, but it will also save lives.

Mountain highway lanes are rarely at full capacity due to rain, hail, fog, snow, wind, ice, flooding, sun glare, avalanche control, breakdowns, construction, accidents, police activity, wildlife on the roadway, rockfalls, snow slides, slow moving vehicles, unfamiliar, bad or slow drivers and any adjacent activity to the highway that provides an opportunity for motorists to slow down and look.  Any of these activities can impact motor vehicle travel, regardless of the number of lanes in a specific direction. 

As Baby Boomers retire in growing numbers, they will be moving to areas where their children live or to areas that allow them to pursue a desirable retirement lifestyle.  In almost all cases, since they will no longer be commuting to work, they will be driving less. 

What percentage of mountain corridor travelers today are Baby Boomers? 

As Baby Boomers retire to warmer climate locations or even to mountain corridor communities, they will be traveling less and less in the corridor. 

Will their corridor travel numbers be replaced by younger generation corridor travelers?  

From The Future Isn't What It Used To Be