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Routt County commissioners received an update this week on the status of a report examining the possibility of establishing a regional transportation authority in the Yampa Valley. The effort could include mountain rail service and be partially funded by lift ticket taxes.
The county, the city of Steamboat Springs and the town of Craig provided $148,500 to fund the study, which was conducted by the consulting firm Fehr & Peers.
Fehr & Pierce Principal Jason Miller said he expects the final version of the report to be completed in March and provide a preliminary plan to hold the polls to voters in 2025.
The study will present the terms proposed to the authority, along with project priorities and entity funding mechanisms, covering a range of potential transport services, including local bus routes.
Miller said a mountain rail component could be included in the regional transportation plan in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Transportation. This is an initiative for the deaf.” interested in. “
In September, state Sen. Dylan Roberts and state Rep. Megan Lukens sent a letter to the Colorado Department of Transportation asking it to “accelerate” the development of a service development plan for the line.
In December, the federal government selected Colorado’s Front Range passenger rail line for grant funding. The line would modify existing rail service between Denver and Winter Park and extend to Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Craig.
Steamboat Ski & Resort Co., along with local and state politicians, supports the idea of a regional transportation authority and has said it would consider a lift ticket tax to fund it.
Sarah Jones, the resort’s director of sustainability and community engagement, said in a statement that the resort is funding the transportation study and its employees are joining the project’s management team.
“Regarding the lift ticket tax, we have said that we support the idea of a lift ticket tax if the funds raised help support transportation in our region,” Jones said, adding that funding to the authority It will be donated through lift ticket taxes from all municipalities and stakeholders in the district, as well as the resorts, which added that the offering “will require a financial commitment.”
“We believe lift ticket taxes can be used to support projects identified by the RTA, such as additional buses and trains from Craig to Steamboat, or other innovative ideas.”
Miller explained that after the final version of the transportation study is completed, participating municipalities will need to adopt or approve the plan before entering into an intergovernmental agreement to move forward with the plan.
“If we adopt Mr. Craig, the county and Steamboat’s plan, we would have an ideal situation,” Miller said, adding that local governments would need to design funding mechanisms to support transportation authorities. Ta.
County Commissioner Sonya Macys said the authority’s service area does not have to be the same as the authority’s “funding area,” and other areas such as Oak Creek, Phippsburg and Yampa could benefit from additional transportation options. He said there is.
“We’re actually going to have to make some pretty big decisions,” Macy’s said of the process.
Commissioner Tim Corrigan, who represents South Routt County, said that while his district’s communities did not fund the RTA investigation, “that does not exclude anyone else in any way, shape or form.” said.
“We hope that when the regional transportation authority is established, it will choose to include Yampa, Oak Creek and Phillipsburg as an extension of the county,” he said.
Trevor Ballantyne is a city government and housing reporter. To contact him, call 970-871-4254 or email tballantyne@SteamboatPilot.com.
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