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fHJNE: (3031 356-40C0 EXT. 7CL:
P.O. BOX 75t
® GI;EELEY, COLORADO 80031
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COLORADO
July 19, 1978
R.S.P.O.
Attention: Ex Parte 351
1900 L Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
RE: USDOT Preliminary Report, Amtrak Route Structure
The Board of Weld County Commissioners strongly disagrees with the
United States Department of Transportation Preliminary Report entitled,
A Reexamination of the Amtrak Route Structure, in its proposal to
eliminate the San Francisco Zephyr between Chicago and Oakland. In
lieu of that proposal , we would concur with the "Western States Recom-
mendation" that the San Francisco Zephyr and the Southwest Limited
criss-cross routes along Colorado's Front Range, a recommendation
which includes the USDOT proposal to add a Denver to La Junta route
to the Southwest Limited.
The USDOT proposal for elimination of the San Francisco Zephyr would end
Amtrak service to the states of Nebraska and Wyoming, as well as north-
eastern Colorado, areas which should see increased, not decreased,
passenger rail service. The area of Wyoming presently served by that
route includes the cities of Cheyenne, Laramie, Rock Springs, and Green
River, areas heavily impacted by increased energy-related activites and
resultant population growth.
The Colorado Statewide Transportation Planning Project, Final Report,
prepared for the Colorado Department of Highways by Alan M. Voorhees
and Associates, Inc. and released in September of 1977, indicates that
the San Francisco Zephyr served a monthly average of 232 intrastate
passengers in 1976 between the Colorado cities of Akron, Fort Morgan,
Denver, and Greeley. That report also states that intercity travel is
expected to increase dramatically along the Front Range of Colorado:
"The larger alternative future-related intercity forecasts
show a tripling of person trips between the Denver metropolitan
area and those of Greeley-Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs by
the year 2000. Given the limitations of the existing highway
supply, rail service merits investigation for its cost effect-
iveness and feasibility. "
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Weld County supports the added service from La Junta to Denver via
Colorado Springs and Pueblo, as proposed by the USDOT, as a step toward
full Front Range passenger service. However, we would hope that increased
service to the southern part of the state would not be achieved at the
expense of existing and potential service in the northern region of
Colorado and its neighboring states.
Effective comprehensive transportation planning would seem to require
the USDOT to assess rail needs in conjunction with other available
transportation systems, including highway and air service in areas
currently or proposed to be served by Amtrak. Increased demand for
passenger rail service may result when that service becomes cost
beneficial in comparison with increasing costs of highway construction
and repair, as well as gasoline costs and availability.
Of additional concern to transportation, government, and health officials
in the Front Range of Colorado is the level of air pollution resulting
from increasing reliance on the automobile. It is of critical importance
to all Front Range residents that alternative means of transportation
remain available, and that use of alternatives be actively promoted
through rate, schedule, and route structures which make such alternatives
more readily accessible to all potential users.
Weld County urges the Interstate Commerce Commission and Rail Services
Planning Office to consider both the USDOT proposal and the "Western
States Recommendation" in terms of the long-range comprehensive needs
of the entire western region of the nation. We realize that subsidies
required for operation of existing and proposed Amtrak routes are very
large at this time; however, closure of existing facilities which are
presently being utilized and will see greater demand in the future may
be even more costly in the long run, given the total transportation
needs of this region.
We thank you for your consideration and attention to Weld County's
concerns in this matter.
Sincerely,
Ed Dunbar, Chairman
Board of Weld County Commissioners
clb
cc Governor Richard D. Lamm
Larimer-Weld Regional COG
USDOT
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