Idaho Springs receives $2.4 million grant toward transportation hub

BY DEBORAH SWEARINGEN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Idaho Springs has received a $2.4 million federal grant that will be used for planning and designing a downtown transportation and mobility hub meant to improve safety and accessibility and address tra c impacts in the city.

“It’s the best news we ever could have hoped for,” Idaho Springs Mayor Chuck Harmon said.

Among other things, the project includes a roundabout at Exit 240 of Interstate 70, a multilevel parkings structure, and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, including a connection to the Clear Creek Greenway.

It will also include Idaho Springs’ Miner Street redevelopment project, formally set forth in late 2021 when the city approved a downtown plan to guide improvements for the next 15 to 20 years. e plan is also heavily in uenced by takeaways from the Miner Street Marketplace, a pedestrian mall enacted during the pandemic to support economic recovery in the city.

While o cials say the project is vital for Idaho Springs, it will impact much of the state, given Idaho Springs’ location along Interstate 70, a major thoroughfare.

“ is will be a really important amenity for the citizens of Colorado,” Harmon said. “ is is actually a good way to lessen the emissions from I-70 since we’re going to promote electric-vehicle charging and public transportation.” e grant funding is available through the Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program, which invests in road, rail, transit and port projects across the country, according to a news release. e November 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law increased funding for these grants.

Earlier this year, Rep. Joe Neguse wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in support of the project and the city’s grant pursuit.

“ is project would also address historic impacts related to the construction of Interstate 70 in the city,” Neguse wrote in the letter. “ e new roundabout will ease driver deceleration as they exit the high-speed interstate and enter the low-speed residential and commercial areas of downtown Idaho Springs as well as improving access to the city’s historic commercial district.”

Harmon said the grant would have been far less likely without support from the Colorado Department of Transportation and backing from o cials such as Neguse, Gov. Jared Polis, and Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper. e support is overwhelming, Harmon said.

“My hat’s o to sta in Idaho Springs. ey really worked hard,” he added.

Idaho Springs City Administrator

Andrew Marsh previously said he expected the project to cost around $40 million with the transportation upgrades and water and sewer work included in that estimate. is RAISE grant will help o set some of that cost, and the city has applied for a separate RAISE grant to assist with the construction costs, Harmon noted. It hopes to begin construction in about two years.

How to take up running, from starting out to marathons

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Roxane Geisler started running in high school as a new challenge — somebody told her she should run cross country.

“I didn’t even know how to run a mile,” said Geisler, who is now president of the Highlands Ranch Running Club.

Getting into running “just gradually happened for me,” said Geisler, who is 54. “Suddenly, I was like, ‘Oh, I really do enjoy it, and I love getting out and seeing the views.’”

For people who are inexperienced at running but want to improve, it’s key not to be intimidated, Geisler said.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, I can’t join the running club because I’m not a real runner.’ And that’s totally silly,” Geisler said. “If you run, you’re a runner.”

Ryan Marker, an assistant professor who teaches exercise physiology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, said it’s important for beginners to start slow. “Setting appropriate expectations, I think, is really important,” Geisler said. “So if someone’s never run before, you’re not going to get o the couch and do a marathon.”

But with the right plan, even beginners can work their way up to a marathon within months. (Here’s a tip: You don’t have to run the whole thing.)

Here’s some advice on how to start running or take your training to the next level.

Part of the group

One thing that can help you get into running: nding a group of runners to keep you moving.

When Geisler moved to Highlands Ranch in 2003, she noted how many people were out running by themselves.

She learned about the Highlands Ranch Race Series, and part of the idea behind starting her running club was to get some runners to train together.

“It makes running so much easier, training so much easier, when you have people to train with,” Geisler said.

And the people she’s met through her club “were a tremendous in uence on me — just people who really push themselves and try to get the best out of themselves,” said Geisler, who has run marathons.

e club provides a communal atmosphere: