Highway 36

Commuter Sunrise, Highway 36. Near Boulder, Colorado, 2014

= constant construction…and a constant vomiting of morning traffic into Boulder from Denver and its suburbs, with everyone trooping back out in the afternoon. (Why? For many, there simply is no affordable housing in the bubble of the Boulder market. It’s cheaper to live in Denver, Broomfield, Superior, Louisville, et al, and commute in to Boulder.)

I call these long lines of traffic “American trains” as we don’t have many of the real ones for commuters.

Currently, they are adding a lane to Highway 36 so they can use the bus system more efficiently along this route. No train for the foreseeable future, unfortunately.

This highway, also known as the Boulder-Denver Turnpike will, at some point soon, be handed over to a private company for maintenance, expansion, and (of course) the collection of tolls. With tolls and privatization come controversy. This actually might be just what the doctor ordered, though. With tolls, perhaps you’ll see fewer cars on that road, more folks on the buses, and thus less environmental impact.