Widening is a non-starter. You would have to wipe out Idaho Springs, Dumont, the existing train from Georgetown to Silverplume, and Silverplume to widen the road.
Stacking one set of lanes over the other aka I70 at Hanging Lakes would work but is mega $. At that point a monorail train in the median is the way to go.
Nothing will ever happen. There are too many NOT WITH MY TAXDOLLARS republicans to ever allow the money to be spent for the real capital that needs to be spent to fix the I70 corridor.
Some form of mass transit (train/bus system) is the way to go. Problem is that you need to convince travelers that it's the way to go. To do that, there must be some form of financial incentive. Even though passes are cheap already, maybe some sort of rebate system (think REI) for using MT, free perks or reduced package deals with the resorts, etc. There is no easy solution, but if the situation gets bad enough, something will happen.
The situation is bad enough. In my mind, weekend skiing was unbearable in 02, and I understand it is worse now. I remember when they first put in light rail. Everyone said no one would use it. From the very first days, you had to go to one of the first stops to even get a spot on the train it was so crowded. If an affordable and viable alternative is found, people will flock to it.
I'm all for public transportation, especially rail. But here are some problems with rail that need to be overcome:
- Cost. I'm not even talking about construction costs, I'm talking about the cost of a ticket once it's rolling. How much would it cost? I'm thinking at least $10 per person round trip, probably much higher. I think it's nearly that to take the bus to Eldora now. At that rate, a party of four pays $40 to go to the hill. Quite a bit more expensive than piling into the car (depending on the car). And if you look around while you're stopped in that ski traffic, there really aren't too many single-person cars.
- Convenience. As mentioned earlier, it is a PITA to take the ski train. You have to park, get ALL your stuff ('cause you can't come back to it at lunch), and board the train (bus). It is much easier to have your own car.
- Parking in Denver. The T-Rex lots fill up with carpoolers. Imagine if all these people wanted to take the train/bus. If FasTracks ever gets finished, we can use those P 'n R lots too, but then you're adding a transfer, adding time, etc. Plus many P 'n Rs are now charging to park (maybe not on weekends and maybe not if you live in the RTD, for now)
- Transportation from I-70 to the ski area. This is probably the easiest obstacle to overcome as a simple bus shuttle would do the truck. But it's another pain in the butt.
Bottom line is we have to think about whether we are willing to give up the convenience of our own cars for the sake of not tearing our eyeballs out while we stare at the tailights of the Audi in front of us. At the end of the day, I don't think it will save too much time, unless you always leave Denver at 7:00 on Saturday morning and return at 4:00 Sunday afternoon. I'm not sure traffic is getting much worse as the hassle of sitting in it is keeping people away, as mentioned.
there's a simple solution here. ditch the resorts along i-70 and go into the backcountry. the skiing is better, the experience is much more enjoyable since you don't have to sit in your car staring at the tail lights for 3 hours coming home, and you get a great workout.
beyond that, the resorts in grand, summit, and vail counties should be major cost contributors to any sort of traffic mitigation to the i-70 corridor, since their customers are responsible for the great majority of winter traffic and an increasing amount of summer traffic. republican or democrat, you must admit that if taxpayers footed the entire bill for those improvements, that would be the ultimate case of corporate welfare.
Yeah, the resorts should be responsible for some of the price tag. And non-skiers should not be responsible for it. Toll road does sound like a good idea. Or a tax on lift tickets/season passes.
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