Letter with election endorsements

Letter published in the Boulder Daily Camera 10/95

Editor,

I agree that our problem’s traffic more than growth per se. This City Council’s proved it can’t stop subsidizing the car problem -by not charging the full costs of parking, for example- let alone find practical solutions. They merely “address concerns” with hot air and expensive outside concern-addressers.

So why exacerbate the problem -about 50%- with predominantly ugly strip-mall growth while a new council tries to solve the car problem? Give Boulder’s boom a brake for the 5 years Slow Growth! Initiative 2A lasts. Let some of the jobs go to Boulder’s bedroom communities to the East, so there’s less total commuting.

The Slow Growth candidates have already started “gathering the best sentiments” of the citizens (as did the US Constitution’s framers) to solve traffic and other problems. They successfully opposed last year’s slickly-promoted but ill-conceived Transit Tax -which was backed by the same developers now fighting Slow Growth! Developers loved it because citizens, not developers would have paid for most of the costs of growth Council can’t say no to.

Kevin Rooney in particular walks (and bikes) his talk and has worked with Bolder Bicycle Commuters and tried to work with the City to promote better transportation. He understands what the majority of his fellow drivers do: any transportation system must be fast and easy to use. That means straight bus routes on a simple grid. The current bus system is designed to weave bus routes within 1/4 mile of every house. Radio-dispatched -perhaps privatized- cabs and vans would take people to the main routes, or their destinations, as could bikes, which could be parked at bus stops or taken aboard. This is balanced, integrated transportation, which puts enough riders on each vehicle to dramatically reduce pollution, congestion and RTD’s tax subsidy, one of the highest in the world.

Don’t let your Council be ruthless! Vote for Ruth Blackmore, Ben Lipman, Lisa Morzel, Steve Pomerance and Kevin Rooney!

Evan Ravitz

University Hill

440-6838