The lowdown on RTD FasTracks

(Letter to editor, published 12-26-10 in the Longmont Times-Call.)

I agree with former Longmont Mayor Fred Wilson’s astute assessment in his recent letter in the Times-Call that, although we are paying dearly for it, the ultra-expensive RTD FasTracks passenger rail service will never reach Longmont. And, I would add, if through some miracle of miracles it does happen to reach here, the cost to ride it will be so high that few people will use it.

The concept is not new. Although Longmont was not hooked into the original interurban passenger rail service which began operating between Denver and several points in Boulder County and Adams County over a century ago, this service continued for 18 years before it finally went broke. Here are some excerpts from author Carolyn Conarroe’s account of this historical transportation service (a.k.a. The Kite Route) in her book, “The Louisville Story,” published in 1978 (www.conarroe.com).

"In 1908 the ultimate in convenient transportation, the (electric-powered) interurban, began operating. The Denver Interurban Co. used the Colorado and Southern RR tracks to operate 16 trains a day into and out of Denver . . . serving Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Marshall and Eldorado Springs. (Other stops indicated on a map accompanying the text include Globeville, Westminster, Standley Lake, Broomfield, Fairview and Superior.)

"The interurban system was set up because its financial backers expected a population boom that didn’t occur and the line went into receivership in 1918.

"Service continued, but a tragic collision of two interurban trains in 1920 just out of Globeville in Adams County claimed 13 lives and led to legal damages which pushed the ailing interurban into bankruptcy.

"The company reorganized and tried to continue but couldn’t attract enough riders and in 1926 finally had to shut down."

To quote Yogi Berra: “This looks like déjà vu all over again.”