November 16, 2021
Dear CEO and General Manager Johnson, Board Chair Rivera-Malpiede, and RTD Board Members,
On behalf of the Denver Streets Partnership (DSP), I am writing in regards to RTD’s proposed 2022 budget. DSP is a coalition of community groups advocating for people-friendly streets in Denver. The members of our coalition believe in an equitable and vibrant Denver that guarantees our public spaces are designed for people. We believe that human dignity should be the guiding principle for the design of our transportation system so that everyone can thrive and connect to what matters most.
We know this has been a challenging time for RTD and we are glad that federal COVID-19 relief funding will help support the essential service RTD provides over the next few years. We are pleased that RTD is planning to continue to increase service in 2022, but we think it is essential for RTD to restore service to 100% of pre-pandemic levels sooner rather than later. Between the air quality and climate crises we are facing and the socioeconomic disparities that were further reinforced by the impacts of the pandemic, our region needs transit service more than ever. We recognize the labor challenges that RTD has been facing since before the pandemic, but we mustn’t accept that as our reality. We need RTD to pursue all means necessary to recruit and retain operators and mechanics, starting with the recommendations outlined in the December 2020 State Auditor’s report. We urge you to use all resources available to you, and to clearly communicate to your partners the additional resources that may be required to make service restoration, and even expansion, a priority, as we are all depending on it.
Thank you for your dedication to our region’s transit service. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to continue this dialogue.
Sincerely,
Molly McKinley
Policy Director
Denver Streets Partnership
CC:
Bill Van Meter
Doug MacLeod
Carl Green
Jessie Carter
Michael Davies