April 2019
March 2019
March 15, 2019
May 2019
May 15, 2019
Hi everyone – here’s my mid-month update of things going on in Superior for April 2019.
Jefferson Parkway:
In 2003, Arvada, Broomfield and Jefferson county initiated a local effort to complete the remaining 20 miles of the Denver metropolitan area’s highway beltway. CDOT started a Northwest corridor study, however, due to lack of funds to construct the project and CDOT’s inability to satisfy the many objections of the City of Golden, CDOT officially dropped the project in 2008. Arvada, Broomfield, and Jeffco have remained committed to completing the Jefferson Parkway. For those not familiar with the project, I’ve include a map of the Parkway’s Right of Way.
Of principal concern, the Parkway will travel along Indiana Street to the East of Rocky Flats. This is an area where there is known historical plutonium contamination, and in my opinion, the soils in this area should not be disturbed to construct a highway. The dangers to public health are real and are not worth the risk.
In addition, the Parkway is poorly designed. It will not actually complete the beltway around Denver. It does not connect to the Northwest Parkway/E-470 and it does not connect to I-70. Instead, the Northwest Parkway will still terminate east of US-36 near Louisville/Broomfield, and will require drivers to then drive through Interlocken — with traffic lights and stops — before picking back up near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. The Parkway also will not connect to I-70, but instead, will terminate at Highway 93 North of Golden, forcing traffic through Golden. In the abstract, I would love a quicker way to get the mountains, but this is not it. This would be an example wasteful government spending on a poor design and the project should be abandoned.
Nevertheless, Broomfield City Council will be considering spending an additional $2.5 million on final plans for the Parkway at its April 23, 2019 council meeting. If you are interested in voicing your opinion on the matter, please consider emailing Broomfield city council (council@broomfieldcitycouncil.org) and urge them to vote “NO” on spending additional resources on the Parkway project.
Verizon:
Verizon Wireless is working with the Town to identify locations to deploy “small cell” technology — which is governed by Federal law and regulated by the FCC — to help address cell phone coverage issues in Superior. In response to the Town’s requests, Verizon is first seeking to utilize existing street lights and traffic signals to house the small cells — to avoid unnecessarily installing additional poles in Town.
One of the challenges we’re facing here in Superior, however, is that many of our street lamps are shorter than typical street lamps: 18 ft vs. 30 ft. In addition, many of our street lamps are not typical “cobrahead” style street lamps and instead of being installed on the sides of the streets, are located in medians (along McCaslin Blvd., Rock Creek Parkway, and Coalton Road). Nevertheless, Verizon is committed to working with the Town and addressing their coverage issues. I certainly appreciate Verizon’s efforts to solve this problem at no cost to the Town.
Rocky Flats:
As an update to some previous posts, I’ve introduced a Motion at the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council (RFSC) opposing oil and gas development and fracking on and under Rocky Flats. The Motion has been revised since it was originally introduced, but the ultimate conclusion — opposing oil and gas activity at Rocky Flats — remains the same. This Motion was recently supported officially by the Town of Superior when we adopted a Resolution of Support at our April 8, 2019 Town Board meeting. I hope other municipalities and counties will do the same. The next RFSC meeting is scheduled for June 3, 2019, where we will officially introduce and vote on the Motion.
SB-181:
Senate Bill 181 passed the Colorado House of Representatives and Senate and is headed to Governor Polis’s desk for his signature. Once approved, SB-181 will change the missions of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from “fostering” oil and gas development, to “regulating” oil and gas development, with a overarching priority of protecting public health, safety, and welfare. Importantly, the bill will give municipalities additional “local control” in areas including zoning and land use, and other areas. This is a big deal for Superior and I want to thank the our State Representatives and Senators–and Governor Polis–for getting behind this important piece of legislation.
Bike Trails:
I turned 40 this year and got a mountain bike for my birthday. As a result, I’ve been exploring the vast network of trails we have here in Town and in the Boulder County Open Space west of McCaslin Blvd.
Fortunately, the Town of Superior has some great resources on the town website. Check out https://www.superiorcolorado.gov/…/area-trail-information-m… for access to loads of information for all of the trails throughout Superior. My favorites include the Town’s trail map, which shows all of the trails throughout Superior: https://www.superiorcolorado.gov/home/showdocument?id=2112
In addition to a map of the trails in Superior, the network of trails that connect through the Boulder County Open Space is really incredible. The Coalton Trail, Meadowlark Trail, Mayhoffer Singletree Trail, Coal Creek Trail, and Rock Creek Trail are all a lot of fun for hiking and mountain biking. You’ll also see horseback riders as well.
The Coalton Trail Area map shows all of the trails west on Town through the Boulder County Open Space: https://www.superiorcolorado.gov/home/showdocument?id=1230.
