SECONDS COUNT! Supports Neighborhood Reimbursement

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Warren Hultquist (303) 541-0151

David Wagner (303) 440-1005

SECONDS COUNT! SUPPORTS NEIGHBORHOOD REIMBURSEMENT

Boulder, CO––September 24, 2000––Opponents of Question 2A, the SECONDS COUNT! initiative on Boulder’s November 7, 2000 municipal ballot, argue that passage of the measure would require the city to reimburse private contributions for construction of traffic devices banned by the ordinance. They have claimed, on various occasions, that this raises the cost of the measure either “...millions of dollars...” or “...as much as a million dollars.” They are wrong for several reasons.

First, the SECONDS COUNT! ordinance does not mention, let alone require, reimbursement of any party who might have contributed to construction of prohibited traffic devices.

Second, neither municipal nor state law dictates reimbursement when one public works project changes or replaces an earlier one at the same location.

Third, the potential reimbursement is far smaller than opponents would have voters believe, less than $89,000 for the 36 devices paid for partially or wholly by private funds.

Nevertheless, the SECONDS COUNT! committee supports reimbursement of individuals or organizations who made contributions or paid assessments for these projects and still occupy or own the affected property. Although passage of Question 2A will not guarantee reimbursement, the committee believes the city should never have allowed neighborhoods to buy perceived local benefits at the expense of citizens elsewhere who suffer degraded emergency service and increased traffic. Nor should property owners have been assessed involuntarily for demonstrably hazardous street obstacles.

Figures cited by Safety First, a committee opposing Question 2A, bear scant relationship to historical fact. According to public records, the city has accepted contributions and levied tax assessments for delay-producing traffic devices since 1983. To date, $998,976 has been collected for projects that include devices covered by the SECONDS COUNT! ordinance. But, only a small fraction was actually for the devices, so the amount which might be reimbursed under any circumstances is considerably less.

Of the total, $16,500 was received from twelve neighborhoods for installation of twenty-one speed bumps. Generally, the neighborhood share was 50 percent of project cost. $50,000 was donated in 1995 to purchase a west Arapahoe Avenue project with two small traffic circles and an entry median, though the street had already been closed to through traffic years before. West Pearl Street properties were assessed $325,476 to cover 50 percent of a multifaceted project with one traffic circle. And owners near Norwood Avenue were assessed $600,000 for 40 percent of a project incorporating several raised intersections and crosswalks.

While the speed bump contributions were entirely for devices prohibited by the initiative, most of the rest went for other things not restricted by the ordinance. On west Arapahoe, the entry median built in 1995 will remain, as will the entire bridge, median, and traffic rerouting project from 1989. On Pearl, a single traffic circle will be removed, but medians, gas main upgrades, and parking improvements will stay. The traffic circle costs for these two projects were approximately $60,000, of which residents and owners paid about $50,000.

On Norwood, most assessed funds went for rebuilding the corridor, with new landscaping, curved roadways, concrete intersections, sidewalks, storm drainage improvements, school bus facilities, decorative pavement, and other features of a master design. The city’s removal estimates include restoration of all these design elements. The extra costs paid by property owners for the four raised intersections and eight raised crosswalks are calculated to have been $22,400.

Large traffic circles on Kings Ridge Boulevard and St. John’s Avenue and the gazebo feature at Iris Hollow are not affected by the ordinance. Thus, the total potential reimbursement is less than $88,900 for 36 devices, not the alleged million dollars or more. The other 37 devices falling under the ordinance were funded entirely by the city.

Combined with removal and restoration costs of $626,600 and overrun contingencies of $62,700, the total impact of the initiative would be $778,200. That sum can be covered by funds already appropriated for traffic mitigation but not spent plus the planned traffic mitigation budget for 2001. Furthermore, device removal lessens the need for new fire stations, which cost about $1.5 million to build and equip and over $800,000 per year to operate. By either measure, public safety or financial cost, the SECONDS COUNT! initiative is a bargain compared to the alternatives.

SECONDS COUNT! is a November 2000 ballot initiative by Boulder, Colorado citizens to prohibit traffic devices that delay emergency response. SECONDS COUNT! is online at http://www.secondscount.org.

# # #