DENVER — It appears a ballot measure to fund Colorado’s Front Range Passenger Rail project will not go to voters until 2026.
Colorado Public Radio reports that members of the Front Range Passenger District board said that a 2026 vote would be “the best course of action,” as it would allow the measure to go to voters “with a more complete package,” according to board chair Chris Nevitt.
Gov. Jared Polis has been pushing for a 2024 vote on a sales tax measure to support the Fort Collins-to-Pueblo rail service, but Nevitt said that, while recent polling shows strong public support for the project, some board members still have concern whether that support would withstand a campaign against the measure.
The full 20-member board could still vote to pursue a ballot measure this year at its May 31 meeting, but at least five members of the eight-person executive committee indicated on Tuesday that they prefer to wait. One reason to hold off is that the Colorado Department of Transportation is still working on the service development plan that will better define the cost of the project, along with its operating plans; that won’t be done until next year. Another is that there may be several other tax measure on this year’s ballot.
One revenue stream to help fund the project was put in place earlier this month when Polis signed a bill creating a fee on rental cars that will go toward the Front Range project, as well as the proposed Mountain Rail passenger service between Denver and Craig, Colo., and other transit projects [see “Colorado governor signs bill …,” Trains News Wire, May 17, 2024]. Money from that fee will be used to meet matching-fund requirements for federal grants.
If Colorado voters turn it down, they will get around it anyway. We’ll just get a whole new set of “fees”. That’s the way they do it this state. They really don’t care what the voters say.