TransportationFriday, November 6
Front Range voters look set to approve a sales tax to fund the CoCo train
The Good Day Lafayette team
Voters in the Front Range Passenger Rail District look set to fund the Colorado Connector, or "CoCo," train. Unofficial returns showed "yes" leading 55%-45%, and Denver7 put "yes" at roughly 55% as of Thursday afternoon.
The 0.333% sales tax is 33 cents per $100 spent. The Colorado Sun reported it's projected to raise about $295 million a year, plus $580 million in bonds. The starter phase will cost $332 million to build, down from more than $650 million.
- Starter route: eight stations, 69 track miles, about 1 hour 45 minutes
- Full corridor: 190 miles, up to 10 daily round trips
- Exempt from the tax: food, gas, utilities, prescription drugs, medical supplies
- Tax length: permanent, no sunset
Starter service is planned for 2029, with Pueblo by 2032
- Spring '27Design for starter service is planned to be done.
- 2028Construction on starter service is to start by then.
- 2029Starter service of three daily round trips, Denver to Fort Collins, is planned.
- 2032The Fort Collins-to-Pueblo corridor is planned to be established.
Source: Denver7
About 800,000 voters in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Weld counties got ballots with the question but weren't eligible. Louisville, Boulder, Longmont and Broomfield are among the district's communities. If you live near them, we suggest checking your address.
Sources: Colorado Politics, Denver7, The Colorado Sun, KDVR, Denver Gazette