.png){kind=logo}
DENVER, CO - The House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee today passed legislation that would fund transportation infrastructure projects to improve road safety and save Coloradans money on car insurance premiums and by preventing accidents. HB25-1303, sponsored by Speaker Pro Tempore Andy Boesenecker and Representative Meghan Lukens, passed by a vote of 9-4. “With pedestrian fatalities going up by 73 percent in the last decade, it’s clear that we need to take strong action to make Colorado roads safer for vulnerable road users,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Andy Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins. “Collisions not only threaten the health and safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, but they also drive up car insurance and health care costs. With this bill, we can create safer roads for all road users, saving Coloradans money and reducing costly and deadly accidents on our shared roads.”
“As a Western Slope resident and legislator, I know how common it is to experience accidents with wildlife and other road hazards that delay travel and impact local economies,” said Rep. Meghan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs. “Wildlife crossings and other collision prevention strategies have been proven to improve road safety, which we’ve seen on the Highway 9 wildlife crossing project near Kremmling that has helped reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by 92 percent. Mountain communities would greatly benefit from transportation infrastructure improvements, and this bill will help save lives, protect wildlife, and reduce lost business revenue due to road closures.”
HB25-1303 would create the Crash Prevention Enterprise to fund transportation infrastructure improvements that improve road safety and prevent collisions between vehicles, vulnerable road users and wildlife. Projects that would qualify for funding under this bill include enhancing sidewalks and bike lanes, implementing traffic circles or other speed-reducing strategies, animal detection systems and other safety projects.
To ensure transparency, the enterprise must publish its ten-year plan, maintain a public accountability dashboard to make project progress accessible, and present an annual report to the General Assembly regarding its activities and funding.
A Smart Growth America report stated that every dollar invested in active transportation saves $24 in averted medical costs. According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, every hour the I-70 mountain corridor is closed, surrounding communities lose up to $2 million in economic activity. Additionally, the estimated annual cost of wildlife-vehicle collisions in Colorado is $313 million and the average cost of hitting a deer is over $23,500.