Spring Break
Lawmakers seek spendy solution to I-70 traffic
Nick Hemenway
Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Opinion
There's a great idea -- have the ski resorts fine their own customers for coming to their businesses after spending an arm and a leg on lift tickets.
The other concern regarding a fee and reward system is making sure it is financially viable.
Romer flaunted his program's incentives, saying "What teenager or college student wouldn't take $25 for gas money to move their departure time up 45 minutes? Throw in a Chipotle burrito, and you've probably got all of them."
Time for some math. Let's say each week, one-eighth of our student body were to drive up to the resorts, packed four people to a vehicle, during the off-peak periods both Saturday and Sunday. Each vehicle would receive $25 per trip. Over the length of a single four-month ski season, those CSU students alone would receive about $625,000.
Even with funds gained from the rush hour fees, that is a mountain of money to offset for such a small number of people.
Everyone wants to make the drive to the resorts less stressful, but imposing a fee on drivers (also known as taxpayers) for using the highways that they already own is not the right answer.
Maybe the senate could use some of that $15 million in Referendum C money that magically found its way into the CDOT budget last year alone.
Nick Hemenway is a senior mechanical engineering major. His column appears Wednesdays in the Collegian. Letters and feedback can be sent to letters@collegian.com.
The other concern regarding a fee and reward system is making sure it is financially viable.
Romer flaunted his program's incentives, saying "What teenager or college student wouldn't take $25 for gas money to move their departure time up 45 minutes? Throw in a Chipotle burrito, and you've probably got all of them."
Time for some math. Let's say each week, one-eighth of our student body were to drive up to the resorts, packed four people to a vehicle, during the off-peak periods both Saturday and Sunday. Each vehicle would receive $25 per trip. Over the length of a single four-month ski season, those CSU students alone would receive about $625,000.
Even with funds gained from the rush hour fees, that is a mountain of money to offset for such a small number of people.
Everyone wants to make the drive to the resorts less stressful, but imposing a fee on drivers (also known as taxpayers) for using the highways that they already own is not the right answer.
Maybe the senate could use some of that $15 million in Referendum C money that magically found its way into the CDOT budget last year alone.
Nick Hemenway is a senior mechanical engineering major. His column appears Wednesdays in the Collegian. Letters and feedback can be sent to letters@collegian.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 7
Bdygard
Craig Hawley
posted 1/30/08 @ 3:57 AM MST
I don't know , if he is throwing in a Chipotle burrito , that is pretty irresistible. LOL!
Alan Riley
posted 1/30/08 @ 8:18 PM MST
I hate to nitpick on one part of this article, but there's something that really gets annoying here. It comes with this line:
"vans full of out-of-state tourists who don't know how to drive on snow"
This is something I hear a lot from many people I have met from Colorado. (Continued…)
Bdygard
Craig Hawley
posted 1/30/08 @ 8:38 PM MST
You wanna talk tough. We used to take our well worn Chuck Taylor Converse high top sneakers, and bumper ski. That's where you tie a rope to someones bumper and ski the ice on country roads , LOL!
I don't have to tell you what happened when you hit a patch of blacktop with no ice. (Continued…)
skiier19
posted 1/31/08 @ 8:45 AM MST
Alan-
I understand your concern, but in all honesty it cannot be denied that a lot of out of staters come here to ski and have no knowledge of winter driving in Colorado. (Continued…)
Bdygard
Craig Hawley
posted 1/31/08 @ 1:03 PM MST
Yea I agree some of the snowboarders are real jerks. I have only skied twice. Not my finest hours. LOL!
I have always been pretty athletic. I played football and basketball. (Continued…)
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