Reading the New York Times this week I was not surprised to see mention of our horrible traffic issue on I-70 between here and the mountains. What amazes me is that the train solution isn’t being pushed harder. Short term fixes work, well, short term. A long term solution is needed.

That’s on my wish list anyway.

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So I finally got a chance to do the famous Winter Park Ski Train. With my ties to Vail it took me a little longer to give this a shot, but I am glad I did.

I’ll do a quick summary for those of you who are thinking about it. First of all, groups are the best. We had a group of 107 folks so we pretty much ruled a car and a half. At first I think everyone worried about seats and being right next to each other but the reality is that with train travel everyone is walking, talking, leaning, moving pretty much all the time. It’s a social scene on wheels.

The views are amazing, although again this became second place quickly to everyone being social. Yet far more scenic than a flood of taillights on I-70.

If you live downtown the Ski Train has a special appeal. We walked over the bridge in Riverfront Park right at 7:00 for our 7:15 departure. I personally set my alarm for 5:30 to take the pup for a long walk and to give me quite a bit of time cushion just in case, so it is not a good night to plan a big Friday out on the town.

Then on the train everyone greets each other, has fun, and kicks back and RELAXES all the way up. No white knuckle driving, no fighting traffic, and there is always a place to buy coffee or breakfast only a short walk away. Some slept, some read the paper, most chatted. Nice.

On the way back this gets magnified into a huge social gathering. Beverages flow throughout the car, there is laughter everywhere and no one is driving. What a great solution for downtown residents… instead of trying to balance doing apres with the drive home and fighting crowds on that sometimes painful return the ski train becomes the apres location. No risk, no worries. One person said it was just like staying in the mountains with no worries about the commute. Considering I carried my skis there and back in less than ten minutes I’d have to agree.

Some bits of advice for you…

Avoid car 2. It’s behind the engine so the front is sealed. Don’t worry, you don’t get any fumes but the lack of ventilation gets TOASTY. We had folks stripping down to the minimum so maybe chair two will be the naked car. Your choice.

There isn’t much you can do about this worry, but if you get behind a slower train your trip could take a bit longer. This happened on our way up but not on our way back. Not too bad, some folks slept longer and the train is comfy. But keep this in mind if you are making strict plans involving timing and make sure you have a puppy sitter on reserve in case your return is late.

Get your food or drink quick if you want it. They sold out of burritos pretty fast on the way up and while they had beer all the way through the trip back, the Stella was the first to go. Don’t forget they close the catering car when they think they are 30 minutes away from the station. This might be longer so if you want stock up before they close.

There is a great lounge car with scrabble and other games. Consider grabbing a spot there for awhile if you have a small group but be quick if you want a seat.

We will be doing the Ski Train again. Give it a shot for yourself. I forgot to mention that the train stopped on a cross track exactly where another train was heading at us. The folks in our car started getting a little bit nervous as it got closer.. and closer… and closer. Then we quickly moved, picture is one of others below.

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This past weekend and today I took a small step forward in reducing my carbon footprint. As of this morning I am an officially licensed motorcycle licensed scooter driver.

How does this reduce my carbon footprint? Well so far whenever I had to get somewhere quick or without the time or the convenience of jumping on my bike I would pull out my keys and jump into that gigantic SUV I bought back in 2000 to travel across town. I keep the beast because (1) it is paid for and (2) I have a 125 lb pup along with tons of gear that I need to carry between Denver and Vail whenever I get a chance to enjoy the mountains. [Read more →]

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Why is this person so happy. Because while it is dumping rain outside and other poor souls are driving with white knuckles fighting traffic, the elements, and sleep she is cozy in her train cabin sipping a drink, reading a book, and watching the beautiful outdoors go by.

This is what we need from Denver to Vail (With a stop in Summit of course). I just drove down from another mountain excursion this morning and while I was blown away as always by the view, I couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to have been sitting and reading my paper while making the journey.

And this was a beautiful uncrowded day. But when I went up on Sunday I-70 was PACKED with cars heading down. Nothing compared to the ski season but certainly another reason to get on a train.

Just picture this. You head over to Union Station and grab a nice warm cup of coffee, a newspaper or book, and some of your best buds. You load all of your stuff onto your train car and grab a wonderful cabin with benches and curl up. The snow outside is dumping and the weather is freezing. The roads are going to be icy, if open at all. But you will make the trip to Vail in bliss surrounded by laughter, warmth and friends.

When you are hungry or thirsty you eat and drink. When you have to use the bathroom you do (but leave your cabin for this). When you are tired you sleep. You are safe.

The train might even have a dining or bar car where you can grab a bite or a drink. The folks going to and from the mountains might be the perfect audience to make this work. Or who knows what other luxury is possible. Perhaps a massage after hours of pow pow skiing or rock hopping biking.

Or maybe the train simply has seats that look out the mountains and allow all of these comforts with gorgeous views. Either way, it is a better experience than driving in a car.

And would you like to know what makes it even better? If it is planned out right we can

1: Promote alternative transportation

2: Reduce many many carbon footprints (my biggest violation is that drive to and from the mountains)

3: Make it a fun, fun journey for many people.

So why am I bringing this up again? Because I want to get started with planning, designing, and more before we go and add another lane of traffic to I-70. Or at the bare minimum we can try and send a message that we support this direction and promote the idea that it might happen (hopefully sooner rather than later).

And yes, I know there are challenges. But those challenges become greater every day that we continue doing short term solutions such as expanding lanes. Let’s support a long term solution with environmental responsibility.

Plus it will be more fun. And just to see if there is an interest out there please show your support at this ipetition here. Maybe it will even show enough support to encourage a private investment firm to get involved as discussed in the Denver Post. It doesn’t matter who does the train, what matters is folks get out of their cars.
Pass it on!!

Here is the scoop from when it was voted down from High Speed Monorail

Colorado I-70: state says highway, not monorail (1/13/05)
Denver, Colorado. Colorado transportation officials are sticking to their belief that a high-speed monorail is not the way to solve highway congestion from Denver to Vail. Their vision is for more pavement, by widening Interstate 70 through the busy mountain corridor. Last month the state released a draft environmental review that favors widening I-70, while rejecting both a high-speed monorail or a conventional rail line as too costly. In the first of ten public hearings on the I-70 mountain corridor study, almost 200 people showed up Wednesday to voice their opinion. Most of them favored monorail and said CDOT’s idea to widen the highway will be outdated when completed by 2025 as proposed. A plan for a Colorado High-Speed Monorail using inverted-T rail technology lost steam when Colorado voters turned down money for a test track in 2002. That proposal was described derogatorily as a “Disneyland ride” by Governor Bill Owens, which helped sway voters against the ballot measure.

The vote below is for the blog…. the real vote is available

clicking here!.

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Okay, here is my newest favorite to share. Especially since I keep heading to the mountains to get some break from the heat.

So you are heading to the mountains and don’t have time to grab grub in Denver and arriving at your destination too late for dinner… here is my favorite pit stop. And even if I am getting to the mountains in time for dinner this is still a must do.

Kermits

Yep, that little motorcycle hangout off of I-70 has a secret treat that you have to get. Kermits offers awesome Green Chili. Try it alone loaded with cheese, onions, and sour cream or get it in poured over their beef enchilada and you are in heaven. Dip your flour tortillas, order some ice cold beers, and kick back on the outdoor patio. Or hang out inside and take in the hundreds of signed dollars pinned to the walls and ceiling for with some classic comments left by others.  And I can’t forget to mention the old school juke box that is always throwing out some off the wall classics.  During my last pit stop Jack Black was bellowing out some of his famous tunes from The Pick of Destiny.  Where else are you gonna get this authentic kind of spot.
Either way… this little spot is worth the trip and you can get pints to go to share with others.

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Staring at I-70 with tunnel vision
Leader of Vail HOA goes underground in effort to cut noise
Ken Papaleo © News

Jim Lamont, executive director of the Vail Village Homeowners Association, dreams big - $6 billion big. To eliminate traffic noise from Interstate 70 in the resort community, he envisions a privately financed tunnel under Vail Mountain and burying the interstate where it passes through town.By Deborah Frazier, Rocky Mountain News
December 2, 2006
VAIL - Jim Lamont has a $6 billion dream to eliminate the noise created by Interstate 70’s path through this internationally renowned resort town.
Lamont, a former Vail town planner and now head of the Vail Village Homeowners Association, is promoting a privately financed $3 billion tunnel under Vail Mountain that would bypass the town.

And, he’s proposing a $3 billion second phase that would bury I-70 through town and then develop the newly created 550 acres.

“It would benefit everyone in Vail because the tunnel bypasses Vail and eliminates the noise and pollution,” Lamont said. “It’s either-or, or both.”

Investors would pay for the $3 billion tunnel, where tolls would be collected to repay them, he said.

Burying I-70, which would require its own mountain of state and federal approvals, would create new residential, retail and commercial opportunities that would also help pay investors, he said.

The multibillion-dollar, privately financed construction would be a joke elsewhere in Colorado, but not in Vail, Lamont said.

“People in Vail speak in billions,” he said. “Property ownership in Vail goes to the heart of the capitalistic system in America.”

Lamont wouldn’t reveal the names of investors that he said are interested in the project.

Old idea, seasoned critics

Similar proposals to bury the heavily traveled interstate that bisects Vail or to tunnel around the town date back to the early 1970s and Colorado’s potential bid for the Winter Olympics.

The idea of covering I-70 arose again in the 1980s, as noise levels rose. In 1993, private developers approached the town of Vail, but officials declined to fund the studies.

“There’s nothing this community would enjoy more than having I-70 disappear from our sight and our ears. And ears are the big thing,” said Kaye Ferry, executive director of the Vail Chamber & Business Association.

“You can’t sit on your deck in the summer because of the noise,” she said. “I play golf, which should be peaceful, but the noise is outrageous.”

Ferry said trucks downshifting interrupt audiences at the town’s summer music festivals.

“It’s really a summer problem because no one has air conditioning and everyone wants to open their windows,” she said.

Lamont’s proposals would be privately funded because the noise that annoys Vail residents isn’t a priority for federal and state highway funds, she said.

“It would be nice to wave a magic wand and get rid of it without any cost, but I don’t see it,” Ferry said. “The kids who work up here say it’s just rich people whining.”

Lamont said he’s also gotten a chilly reception from town officials, which would have to endorse the project before it could win state and federal approval.

“It’s important to have people like Jim Lamont, who is a futurist of sorts, who think outside the box,” said Stan Zemler, Vail’s town manager.

“There is a lot of concern about noise. It always comes up on resident surveys,” he said. “But we’re not going to make it go away. It’s a reality of I-70.”

Zemler said potential investors have privately calculated the costs of burying part of I-70 to see if development on the top would pay the costs, but there’s been nothing proposed.

“Jim’s trying to get momentum going, but it would take a lot to get the town of Vail on board,” Zemler said. “It’s already been studied.

“There could be some possibilities there, but with private money.”

Lamont agreed.

“Vail people are savvy enough to seek a solution without using tax dollars because using tax dollars would send the wrong message,” he said.

European models

Two years ago, Lamont and Vail’s Public Works Director Greg Hall toured Europe to look at the multitude of highway tunnels.

For instance, the longest tunnel in the world is the 10.2-mile St. Gotthard Tunnel between Switzerland and Italy, which opened in 1980 and was publicly financed.

“In Europe, they finance most tunnels with a higher gas tax,” Hall said. “Here, the question is, how much development does it take to pay for something?”

Hall said he saw examples of covered highways throughout Europe, including several built in avalanche and rock-fall zones.

In the United States, the “air rights” over a federal highway would have to be acquired and a series of environmental permits issued before it could be buried, Hall said.

The proposed tunnel would burrow under U.S. Forest Service land and require other permits, he said.

“There would be a lot of hoops,” Hall said. “The question is, would the opportunity be worth the cost and who would pay for it?”

Neil Gray, director of governmental affairs for the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, said privately funded tunnels and bridges are rare in the States.

Federal and state money built Boston’s controversial “Big Dig,” a $14.6 billion project that included bridges, tunnels and covering highways to let traffic bypass the city, he said. A few sections have tolls.

“It was way overbudget and heavily politicized, but it’s a good transportation system,” Gray said.

The Big Dig, planned in the late 1980s as a $4 billion project, was the last of the great interstate projects, Gray said.

Last year, a section of ceiling in a Big Dig tunnel fell and killed a passenger in a car, resulting in an investigation of the contractor, he said.

He said Florida, Texas, Arkansas and other states had smaller and far-less-expensive projects that involved tolls, but federal funds paid most of the costs.

Gray said he couldn’t estimate what how large a toll would be required for a privately financed tunnel under Vail Mountain.

“It’s like asking me how many peanuts and jelly beans would fit in my refrigerator, and you don’t know the size of the refrigerator,” he said.

In Colorado, toll roads have had mixed success.

While the E-470 toll road around the eastern metro area has met expenses and has expanded, revenue from the 11-mile Northwest Parkway that extends E-470 has fallen short of projections.

“The Vail project would involve major amounts of money, but the financing could be for 50 years or longer,” Lamont said.

CDOT’s dreams differ

Lamont said he’d welcome local, state and federal partners on the project, but says it’s unlikely.

He’s right.

“I-70 through Vail isn’t a high-priority area for us,” said Ed Fink of the Colorado Department of Transportation.

“We would not put any money into covering I-70 through Vail. As for the tunnel, we would not work directly with a private developer. The proposal would have to come from the town.”

The town commissioned a geological feasibility study in 2005, but it has never reviewed the findings, Lamont and Zemler said.

The report wasn’t released until last month, in part, because Vail is part of the I-70 Mountain Corridor Coalition, a group of local governments looking at alternatives to improve traffic along the route from Golden to Grand Junction.

CDOT may spend up to $4 billion in federal funds on several projects along the corridor, Fink said.

The route through Vail isn’t on the list of potential projects, he said. And, Fink said, a privately funded project was a long shot.

“I doubt they could get the tunnel done for $3 billion. It’s the length of five Eisenhower tunnels,” he said. The electric bill for the 1.7-mile Eisenhower Tunnel is $1 million a year, he said.

“It’s not impossible, but it’s akin to climbing Mount Everest,” Fink said.

Traffic to double

Fink said he noticed a renewed local interest in the tunnel through Vail Mountain and burying I-70 after a sinkhole closed the interstate for about a week in 2003.

“They found out just how quiet it was when the road was closed, and that’s when we started getting calls about the noise,” Fink said.

Traffic on I-70 through Vail averages 23,400 vehicles per day. Fink said the average daily traffic could more than double by 2025.

Vail City Councilman Greg Moffet said he’d like to see the council look seriously at Lamont’s proposal because financial and political circumstances could change.

“All sorts of things get funding in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “At the bottom of it all, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.”

Lamont is well aware of the opposition and the barriers to his proposals, but he said Vail’s property values are based on its environment.

“In development and real-estate circles here, people know that Vail has nothing else to sell but its environment, and they’ll take steps to protect that environment,” Lamont said.

frazierd@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5308

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