Golden's Mayor prepared to sell out to pro-Beltway forces

Here's what I'm planning to include in my Denver Post column this Thursday, Dec. 15th.  That's the same day as an important City Council meeting in Golden.  I submitted this post to Mayor Smith's blog, but he moderates his blog and I'll be curious to see whether he allows it to appear. (I also invited him to correct any factual errors prior to my noon upload of the column):

     Golden’s mayor made a strategic mistake last winter when he proposed that Golden accept a compromise with the County Commissioners regarding the ill-conceived toll road north of town.

     The compromise was that if Golden dropped its opposition to the toll road, it would receive planning money for a grade separated intersection at 19th Street & Hwy 6. The strategic mistake was giving Goldenites a couple months to realize what a bad deal it was. 

     So now, after “negotiating” for a better deal following the City Council’s unanimous rejection of that compromise, Mayor Jacob Smith is giving the Council just one week to approve a revised deal which ignores virtually all the demands of that Council resolution in February.

I’ve said it before — to the annoyance of fellow Realtors — and I’ll say it again. Building the toll road serves no valid transportation purpose, as numerous CDOT-paid studies have proven. It is solely a means of promoting the kind of over-development that enriches developers and creates the kind of congestion which has spoiled other sectors of the metro area.

Join me at the Council meeting at 7 pm this Thursday and speak out against this corrupt proposal.