This month’s RFTA board meeting was hosted in Glenwood Springs, a deviation from the usual Carbondale Town Hall venue. Many members of the public chose to attend this session, and public comment saw more engagement than usual.
Public comments
Robbi O’Meara of Glenwood Springs started out the public comment period. She stated that she was attending the meeting based on a Facebook post she saw that mentioned putting in a bus lane from 8th Street to 23rd Street parallel to the Rio Grande Trail. “We walk that all of the time,” she shared. “The idea of putting a bus lane right next to a beautiful place you have to walk is a very, very bad idea.”
Betsy Stewart of Glenwood Springs also alluded to the ruminations about the Rio Grande Trail being turned into a bus lane, and requested more transparency from RFTA about infrastructure planning.
Ray Tenney of Glenwood Springs spoke next, and criticized what he perceives as a double standard from RFTA, between the proposed changes for the entrance to Aspen and alleged proposed “expressway” through Glenwood. A board member later responded that when it comes to the entrance to Aspen RFTA is a stakeholder, not the decider.
Diane Reynolds, also of Glenwood Springs and a committee member of the Slow Down in Town campaign, spoke next. She made a long entreaty for RFTA to further promote road safety and environmental benefits.
“Please actively stress the importance of driving the 25-mph speed limit within any town they are routed through. Number two, please consider blowing your horn more.” Reynolds added that she thinks there is an opportunity for the organization to do more in promoting environmentally friendly transport and advocating for pedestrian safety.
CEO response
CEO Kurt Ravenschlag responded to public comment.
“I’m sure there are some board members confused on what the public has been speaking to,” he said, before elaborating on a recent funding win for the BRT Extension Planning Project — which would evaluate alternatives for connecting South and West Glenwood.
“Since our last board meeting, RFTA was awarded a grant through the RAISE [Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity] program. That was roughly a million dollar planning grant for us to continue evaluating … how we would extend the BRT from 27th Street to West Glenwood” — a study initiated prior to the pandemic.
Ravenschlag reviewed what was evaluated prior to the pandemic. The viable route options from previous analyses were the Rio Grande corridor and Grand Avenue. RFTA has not yet picked up that earlier work, and does not anticipate doing so for at least a year.
The new RAISE grant has a three-year window for utilization. Even with further evaluation, RFTA does not anticipate putting a proposal before the public anytime soon. When an attendee asked for clarification about what eventual analysis could mean for the bike path, Ravenschlag responded, “Under no scenario would the Rio Grande Trail be removed.”
There were more follow up questions for Ravenschlag, mostly inquiring what the new grant means. Ravenschlag reiterated that the new grant is for finishing research and evaluation of possible alternatives, and added that a full process is expected to take five to 10 years.
“When we stopped this project back in 2020, it was because we weren’t adequately resourced to present that conversation to the public,” he said. The new grant is meant to complete the research so RFTA can present findings to the public.
Consent agenda
The consent agenda passed quickly and without discussion. The items approved were: authorization to submit a grant application for debris flow mitigation; authorization to submit a grant application for the underground fuel tanks replacement project; authorization to amend the 2023 service operating agreement for regional bikeshare services; and authorization for an intergovernmental agreement with Eagle County for improvements to the El Jebel Park and Ride.
Information and updates
Ravenschlag again took the mic and shared an update about federal grants and funding status. RFTA has identified federal funds it has been granted that could be in jeopardy because they are not yet under contract, including the RAISE grant and another for the Glenwood Springs Operations and Maintenance Facility.
RFTA has limited information about what may or may not happen under the current federal administration, but is paying close attention. The organization is mostly worried about the funding for the Glenwood Springs Operations and Maintenance Facility improvements, as a schedule for the summer use of the funds is already set, so a change to the funding status would significantly delay the work. The hope is to transition that grant fully to contract by June.
Following the session, attendees toured the Glenwood Maintenance Facility and Operations Center Campus Site.
The next board meeting will occur March 13 at 8:30am in Carbondale. The public is also able to join via Webex. More details will be available on www.rfta.com a week ahead of the meeting.