Friday, December 3, 2010

Thornton Council puts area transportation needs in spotlight

City Councilmembers take the bus to NLC conference

THORNTON, CO… Thornton’s City Council understands the benefits rapid transit offers – both for the people who ride it and for those forced to drive on I-25 through Thornton. In an effort to make a statement about the need for more rapid transit in the Thornton area, including the completion of FasTracks as promised, several City Councilmembers are taking RTD buses to the National League of Cities (NLC) Congress of Cities & Exposition Conference held in Downtown Denver.

Thornton City Council started working on a plan several weeks ago to get as many of the members as possible to ride the bus to the conference. Scheduling for the seminars worked out such that Councilmembers, Lynne Fox (Ward 3), Beth Humenik (Ward 3), Eva Henry (Ward 2), Val Vigil (Ward 2), and Randy Drennen (Ward 4) made the morning bus ride all together from the park-n-Ride at I-25 at 88th Avenue. “Thornton has the most congested sections of highway in the whole state. I-25 is slow and bumper-to-bumper during rush hour and we need for people to have more alternatives than sitting in cars with exhaust streaming into our neighborhoods,” says Councilmember Lynne Fox.

The NLC Congress of Cities & Exposition is held in different cities each year, and since it was in Denver this year Council believed it the perfect opportunity to draw attention to Thornton’s transportation needs. “It’s great to see how many people are here to ride downtown,” says Councilmember Eva Henry. “It’s easy to imagine if FasTracks goes through Thornton as planned how many more cars would be off the road and how much congestion might be relieved. We still need the state to step up and create more space on I-25, but light rail would be a big step in the right direction.”

The National League of Cities is the oldest and largest national organization representing municipal governments throughout the United States. Its mission is to strengthen and promote cities as centers of opportunity, leadership, and governance. It is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.

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