Transportation News

A few updates on transportation news in Boulder County:

Voters approved the extension of the Boulder County transportation sales tax in the November 2022 election. The tax was previously scheduled to expire in 2024. Therefore, many transportation programs will continue to be funded as they have in the past.

There is a long list of proposed projects to receive sales tax funding. The list of projects is available from the Boulder County website. Two projects are notable for Niwot:

Niwot Road Shoulders – 79th Street to US 287

Reconstruct Niwot Road to improve shoulder width and multi-use path from 79th Street out to the US 287 Park-n-Ride.

East County Line Road Shoulders – Pike Road to Niwot Road

Provide buffered shoulders from St. Vrain Creek to Oxford Road and 5-foot wide shoulders from Oxford Road to Niwot Road. Roundabouts at Oxford Road, WCR 16.5 and Niwot Road.

The Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on Jan. 3 regarding Secure Transportation Licensing which is a program established by the Colorado legislature to provide a means to transport people experiencing a behavioral health crisis in an unmarked vehicle so as to avoid the stigma of being transported in a police car.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is directed to create the rules for the operation of these transportation services. The state does not license the service providers. That is the responsibility of each county.

The commissioners approved the recommendation that the current authority for marijuana licensing, Kathy Gissel, be the authority for secure transportation licensing. The commissioners approved resolution 2022-097 outlining county staff's proposed regulations for licensing.

The commissioners further agreed to facilitate the county's application for funding from the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) for another segment of the Diagonal Highway 119 bikeway project. Funding for this project is slowly being obtained through grant applications every year.

The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) recently transformed the MyRide fare payment system from using a cash card to a smart phone application called "RTD Mobile Tickets." The RTD website describes how to transfer a cash balance from your card to your phone. Riders can continue to pay with cash or by printing a ticket at a kiosk found at many bus stations.

RTD now allows ebikes to be loaded onto trains and buses. Ebikes can be placed in the bike racks on the front of buses or in the storage compartment of the larger regional buses. There are constraints on how this works and they are outlined at the RTD website.

RTD now provides bus service from downtown Boulder to the Eldora Mountain Ski Resort. Buses travel at intervals of an hour or two, depending upon the time of day. This is an extension of the Nederland bus line named the "NB." More information can be found under "Schedules" at the RTD website.