CDOT

Colorado aims for more traffic deaths under a new federal program requiring them to set targets. The state shows a disappointing lack of ambition in keeping its own residents alive and healthy, said policy leaders at Transportation for America.

The Trump administration could kill state regulations that limit vehicle emissions and promote the sales of electric vehicles. The new EPA rule, expected this summer, could lead to more pollution in Colorado and push the state further out of compliance with federal air quality standards. If that happens, federal officials could cut off funding for highway and public transportation projects in the state.

Officials from the Colorado Department of Transportation showed off ideas to fix a dangerous, congested stretch of Interstate 25 that passes through Central Denver. Despite the agency’s recent announcement of a statewide “listening tour,” the highway agency has already ruled out the most progressive concept it considered: Tearing down the highway and replacing it with an urban boulevard.

As Colorado studies rail options along the congested I-25 corridor, experts say few would ride options slower than high-speed rail. But a well-funded anti-rail cabal is likely to defeat any push for bullet trains.

Colorado's economy could support and benefit from a $21 billion high-speed rail system, according to a 2010 report by the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority. The maps presented here come from that report. They offer initial sketches, not detailed plans.

As soon as next year, voters could approve a passenger rail line that would extend along the Front Range from Pueblo and Colorado Springs to Boulder and Fort Collins, with other stops along the way.

A new sidewalk on Colorado Blvd., which replaced a sloping dirt path, remains a poorly designed, “violent, loud and unsafe” place for pedestrians.

Transportation officials launched a statewide listening tour that will give Coloradans the chance to sound off on where limited state transportation dollars should be spent. But even in the heavily car-dependent Centennial State, officials at the state’s highway agency say they want to talk about walking, biking and transit.

Today students at the University of Denver attempted driving a tricycle around traffic cones while texting. Distractions were added to other games, like corn hole, putt putt and perfection, as a part of the “Distraction Games,” an event state transportation officials organized in hopes of raising awareness of the dangers of distracted driving.