4 ms·

Most people don't realize that Boulder is as small as it is. It has a population of 100k that is growing at 1% per year. 60k people commute into Boulder everyd

Most people don't realize that Boulder is as small as it is. It has a population of 100k that is growing at 1% per year. 60k people commute into Boulder everyday (many from other cities in the county) and this number is growing much more rapidly.

dantillberg 9y ago
This was my first thought, too. The article starts out with, "Three cities in Colorado...," but goes on to discuss Metro Areas, which I think means "Boulder County." Boulder County includes almost all of Longmont (a city of ~90k in which I reside) as well as another 100k+ in smaller towns and unincorporated areas; that's all Boulder County, but the majority of that is not considered part of Boulder the city.
bproven 9y ago
Yeah - They really need to get that rail built along 36. I hate to say it but I hope CO isn't making the same short sighted mistake that CA made. The traffic hell and housing hell is on the horizon :(
- oh_sigh 9y ago
  They'll need to strongarm BNSF, which is trying to charge egregious fees for passage rights on their railways. It really gets my goat that the government is the one that gave the railways to BNSF for basically free in the first place.
  - AnimalMuppet 9y ago
    Gave the railways to BNSF for basically free? I presume you're talking about the land grants back in the 19th Century; nothing else I can think of counts as "giving for free". Even then, though, the (Federal) government gave the railroads land for the track, plus blocks of land on the side. They didn't give them rail, much less an already-built railroad. True, the railroads were able to sell the land off to the side for money. But the government also required the railroads to carry the US Mail for less than cost. That continued until World War II, when the Federal government, desperate for additional money to fight the war, allowed the railroads to buy their way out of the obligation. That's hardly "for basically free" - it's an expense for the next 70 years, with a balloon payment at the end.
oh_sigh 9y ago
Yes...Boulder is tiny. I find it very strange that it is relatively well known across America.
- jkmcf 9y ago
  It was the hometown of Mork and Mindy. That's how I discovered it, at least...

dantillberg 9y ago

This was my first thought, too. The article starts out with, "Three cities in Colorado...," but goes on to discuss Metro Areas, which I think means "Boulder County." Boulder County includes almost all of Longmont (a city of ~90k in which I reside) as well as another 100k+ in smaller towns and unincorporated areas; that's all Boulder County, but the majority of that is not considered part of Boulder the city.

bproven 9y ago

Yeah - They really need to get that rail built along 36. I hate to say it but I hope CO isn't making the same short sighted mistake that CA made. The traffic hell and housing hell is on the horizon :(

oh_sigh 9y ago
They'll need to strongarm BNSF, which is trying to charge egregious fees for passage rights on their railways. It really gets my goat that the government is the one that gave the railways to BNSF for basically free in the first place.
- AnimalMuppet 9y ago
  Gave the railways to BNSF for basically free? I presume you're talking about the land grants back in the 19th Century; nothing else I can think of counts as "giving for free". Even then, though, the (Federal) government gave the railroads land for the track, plus blocks of land on the side. They didn't give them rail, much less an already-built railroad. True, the railroads were able to sell the land off to the side for money. But the government also required the railroads to carry the US Mail for less than cost. That continued until World War II, when the Federal government, desperate for additional money to fight the war, allowed the railroads to buy their way out of the obligation. That's hardly "for basically free" - it's an expense for the next 70 years, with a balloon payment at the end.

oh_sigh 9y ago

Yes...Boulder is tiny. I find it very strange that it is relatively well known across America.

jkmcf 9y ago
It was the hometown of Mork and Mindy. That's how I discovered it, at least...