Colorado’s transportation commission recently voted 10-1 to approve a new rule that requires their state Department of Transportation and local planning organizations in Colorado’s five major planning districts to make climate a key priority in any new transportation project, moving focus — and funds — away from highway and road expansions and to improving non-car transit options.
This kind of strict oversight and transparency is something that Oregon climate activists have called for.
As someone who was born and raised in the Denver area, this increased focus on climate-oriented infrastructure in Colorado is particularly interesting to me. I was lucky to grow up in a part of town that’s pretty walkable and bikable, but that wasn’t the case for a lot of people I knew, and I knew very few people who didn’t rely on a car. I’m in Colorado now to spend Christmas with my family, and learning about this new plan to change the very car-centric infrastructure here has made me view my home state with different — and more optimistic — eyes.
“The rule could shift some $6.7 billion by 2050 toward public transit, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, construction emission reduction, and other environmentally friendly strategies,” reported Colorado Public Radio.
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