Judy Montero

A week from tomorrow, the RTD Board will take a final vote on whether to use electric trains (EMUs) or diesel trains (DMUs) on the North Metro and Northwest commuter-rail corridors. This is your last chance to affect the outcome. I’m urging you to contact Mayor Hickenlooper’s office, let him know how you feel, and urge him to the public majority that favors EMUs.

Actually, the mayor was one of EMUs’ first supporters. More than a year ago, in September 2006, he wrote a letter to me and to RTD expressing the city’s preference for EMUs on all four commuter-rail lines. “Denver is committed to sustainability,” he wrote, “and has recently put forth its Greenprint Denver Plan. Based on the information we have seen, we believe that EMU is the superior technology for the Denver corridors for a variety of reasons related to Denver’s goals. . . . EMU vehicles produce absolutely no particulate matter, no oxides of oxygen, and no hydrocarbons and no carbon monoxide along the corridors. DMU emits all of those pollutants.”

The Mayor’s strong, ongoing commitment to environmental values gives him an extremely influential voice in this discussion. In 2005, Mayor Hickenlooper became one of the first signatories to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, a nationwide pledge by America’s urban leaders to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in their cities. The following year he launched the visionary Greenprint Denver program, which the Mayor describes as “an action agenda for sustainable development that demonstrates local government can be an effective force for innovation and leadership to improve the environment.”

Innovation and leadership are exactly what we need from local transit leaders. We need them to find a way to make electric technology work on the Northwest and North Metro lines.

The Mayor can make a big difference by coming forward to reiterate his commitment to a green Denver. Write and urge him to do so (MileHighMayor@ci.denver.co.us). Write the RTD Board members (contact info at http://www.rtd-denver.com/TheBoard/index.html) and let them know how you feel. Write the two daily papers and urge them to support EMUs.

On October 16, the RTD Board will make a final decision. The public’s preference is clear and unequivocal. So are the city’s priorities. The RTD Board — an elected body of members who represent the public — must heed those preferences and priorities. Make sure the board members here it loud and clear.