Guest Opinion: Roads are the losers in 2019 Colorado Legislature

Opinion | April 19, 2019

Fixing the crumbling and crowded roads across our state has been a talking point for politicians in Colorado for years, as the project backlog has grown to more than $9 billion.

Democrats who control the purse in the legislature don’t seem to feel any urgency to fix the funding issues creating the backlog. In his first address to the General Assembly, Governor Polis spent mere seconds talking about the underfunded transportation infrastructure, offering no real solution.

Even though many legislators made it part of their campaigns, funding for road improvements has unfortunately been a victim of the dysfunction and liberal agenda of the leaders of the Democratic majority. They seem to be counting on the roads getting so bad that Coloradans will approve a tax increase just to fix them.

How did fixing our roads become such an afterthought — allowing so many unfunded projects to back up over the years? Numbers released by the Colorado Department of Transportation calculate that paving one lane of one mile of roadway costs taxpayers $1.5 million, and one lane of widening a roadway will cost us $2 million.

The most significant difference between my political philosophy and that of many of my Democratic friends is in what the ultimate goal and responsibility of government should be. By the votes of last November, it appears that most Coloradans agree with me that it is a basic role of government to prioritize funding infrastructure and fixing our roads and bridges.

Instead of doing the hard work, Democrats in the legislature are heading towards approving one-time minimal funding for road improvements, while developing ideas for “new revenue” (translation: tax increases).

There’s a plan to attempt to dismantle our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights by asking voters to permanently give back their tax refunds to the state. The proposal would destroy the part of our Constitution that puts spending guardrails on our government, without providing a stable funding mechanism for transportation.

There is also discussion of a gas tax … but they’ll call it a “fee” to avoid asking for taxpayer approval as specified by TABOR.

I live in the Denver area and I’m part of the large number of people who take the opportunity most weekends to get out of the city and head to the mountains, and regularly visit my family on the Western Slope. It’s a lifestyle that usually comes with a choice of waking up long before dawn or sitting in hours of traffic — no matter what season it is.

It’s frustrating to sit in traffic, but the consequences of bad roads can be much more far reaching than getting a late start on a ski day. They get us to work, keep our economy moving, transport medical emergencies and connect Coloradans.

It’s beyond time that the Legislature make it a priority — like many said they would during campaign season — and fix our roads.

Lindsey Singer is communications director for the political action group Colorado Rising Action.

http://www.postindependent.com/opinion/guest-opinion-roads-are-the-losers-in-2019-colorado-legislature/