850KOA "Bumper2Bumper" poll

In August of this year, a local radio station, 850 KOA, conducted the “Bumper2Bumper” survey that asked Colorado taxpayers what they thought about their daily commute. The survey covered all aspects of driving:

time spent in traffic

road conditions

Number of miles driven daily

Using the phone while driving

Substance use while driving

And of course… Public transport

I imagine that no matter where you live, there will always be complaints about how to get around town. Californians certainly fear driving in Los Angeles traffic! I can’t tell you how many times my driving friends talk about people not knowing how to drive in the snow. Both arguments make me sigh with relief, I don’t have to put up with that shit.

There were three aspects of the poll that most people agreed with each other. The first is about driving up the mountains. According to 850 KOA, “84% say they avoid using I-70 in the mountains on weekends due to traffic issues.” 84% is huge! Another huge number said the roads needed some love and care. Winter sure hits the roads, which doesn’t make it any easier to get to a fun place, like the mountains.

When I moved here from California, I expected to do a lot of snowboarding. Every winter until I moved here, my family and I would go to Big Bear, sometimes to Mammoth, for a fun day of skiing. We always went to the mountains as a family, so not being able to drive was never a problem. The beautiful mountains here in Colorado were one of the main motivations for choosing CU Boulder for college. I thought I would meet a lot of people who enjoyed skiing and I could go snowboarding every weekend.

The dormitory I lived in freshman year was full of introverts like me. After a month at school, the women on my floor finally opened their doors and I was able to meet some of them. Nobody skied or was interested in learning how to do it. I decided to venture out and find a group of people who would be interested in going to the mountains for a fun day of skiing. I found a few people, but there were some strong arguments against going to the mountains every weekend.

First of all, it’s the first year! Nobody has a car on campus! To get to where the good snow is, you need one. Second, when I finally met people who liked to go to the mountains, they liked to skip school on Fridays to avoid the traffic there. I was Miss Goodie Two Shoes and I never wanted to miss class so I missed my ride there.

I was pretty bummed out by all of that. Traffic getting to Big Bear was also a pain, so I could see the reason behind the complaints about the i70. It seemed that if you made the trip there, you also cared about making it on a weekend and finding a place to stay. Penniless college kids can’t afford a cabin for the weekend. I realized that getting to the mountains for a day was more difficult than I had anticipated before moving to Colorado.

Speaking of missing a trip to the mountains, the survey also said that “traffic is affecting our quality of life in Colorado – 44% say they missed a major event due to traffic.” Skiing isn’t as important as a business meeting or taking a flight from DIA, but it’s still something I enjoy. Unfortunately, my circle of support who help me with rides wants nothing to do with the i70 on weekends during ski season. Even in the summer, traffic can be bad with weekend campers.

If skiers and snowboarders don’t want to deal with the i70, RTD has a bus that goes to Eldora, a local resort 20 miles from Boulder. But there is literally only one bus that leaves only from downtown Boulder. Eldora is a great mountain, I went there on a ski trip with the Alumni Association. However, it is very similar to Big Bear. There are no local RTD bus routes to get to the big tourist centers; Breckenridge, Aspen, Arapahoe Basin, etc…

There is a private transportation company, Colorado Mountain Express, that can take you to these major tourist centers. The shuttle picks you up at DIA, the downtown convention center, or halfway up the mountain on i70 at the Wooly Mammoth Park-n-Ride. Trips to these resorts can cost between $39 and $49. But take this! According to the survey, “82% said they never used public transportation. Just over 3% said they used public transportation once a week or more. More than 2% used public transportation every day.”

So there you have it, Colorado is full of complainers! It’s a joke. If we’re working together to create less traffic, less pollution, and better roads, public transportation needs a little facelift. Instead of personally fighting i70 traffic from a car, taking a comfortable bus up to the mountains would definitely motivate more people to use the i70, get up early and spend the whole day exhausting skiing! From always being the passenger and never the driver, I have to say that it feels really good to take a little nap on the ride home.

I guess the point I’m trying to make goes back to the old saying, “You can’t always have your cake and eat it too.” Owning a car is much easier than trying to figure out bus routes. But it could be the same reason you may miss an event or choose to miss an event due to traffic and poor road conditions. The bus is available, the survey has just confirmed that no one uses it.