Colorado’s New Transportation Vision Raises the Bar for State Leadership

Colorado governor Jared Polis has released a new vision for reducing emissions from transportation, with a focus on expanding transportation options for all Coloradans. Transportation Vision 2035 sets a goal to nearly double the number of trips taken by walking, public transportation, or biking by 2035-or 19 percent of trips, up from less than 10 percent today. The vision additionally establishes a goal for the increase in non-vehicle travel to result in a 1.2 million metric ton (MMT) greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2035, helping close the remaining gap in climate progress for the transportation sector.

Colorado joins an exclusive list of jurisdictions that have set specific statewide targets to grow the share of trips made by foot, bicycle, bus, or train, a list that also includes Louisiana and the District of Columbia. (Several other states have set complementary targets to reduce vehicle travel, as detailed in NRDC's Getting Transportation Right scorecard.) These targets help ensure state transportation departments have a clear framework against which to measure and track progress-a simple, commonsense management best practice that is inconsistently practiced among state transportation agencies.

Transportation is widely recognized to be behind in meeting emissions targets, and getting back on track requires shifting transportation spending to support clean mobility choices. Transportation is the leading source of climate pollution in Colorado and nationally. While the power and buildings sectors, for example, have made notable progress reducing climate pollution, transportation emissions have remained largely stagnant. Improved efficiency, vehicle electrification, and marginal improvements to transit or biking and walking infrastructure have not been sufficient to offset population growth and sprawl.

Transportation Vision 2035 builds on the governor's updated greenhouse gas roadmap, "Roadmap 2.0" (released in February 2024), which outlined a set of near-term actions to reduce emissions in the state across sectors, including transportation. This new vision is responsive to feedback on the roadmap from advocates who encouraged the state to better understand the existing gaps for reducing emissions from transportation, to set goals for what could be achieved, and to outline steps for achieving those goals.

In this vision, Colorado estimates that its current clean vehicle policies, including Colorado Clean Cars and Advanced Clean Trucks, will reduce transportation emissions by about one-third over the next decade. It recognizes that many other transportation emission sources, including aviation and rail, are federally regulated, and identifies investments in public transit, walking, and biking infrastructure as a priority area for state policy and investment given Colorado's strong influence and leverage.

Realizing the vision's ambition will require major investments in infrastructure to support walking, biking, and transit. Specifically, Governor Polis's plan calls for an 83 percent increase in transit service (145 million transit revenue miles, up from 79 million today) by 2035; an 81 percent increase in bicycle infrastructure (or 3,540 new miles of bike lanes and greenways); a 3.4 percent increase in sidewalks (or 1,345 new miles); and for more than half of all new housing units to be located near transit.

Achieving these goals would deliver significant, tangible benefits for Colorado residents in their everyday lives, both in the near- and long-term. Investments in clean mobility choices will reduce harmful air pollution, save households money by reducing transportation costs (often the second-highest household expense, after housing), save lives by reducing car crashes and associated traffic deaths, and reduce commute times. Investments in more walkable and transit-accessible places means more vibrancy and autonomy with communities where people can meet more of their daily needs in their own neighborhoods, which also boosts local economic opportunities.

Transportation Vision 2035 is only the most recent evidence of Colorado's national leadership on sustainable transportation policy and investment. In September, the Colorado Department of Transportation adopted new goals to improve transportation safety for vulnerable road users (like pedestrians or cyclists), to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, and to increase transit service while reducing driving-per-capita.

During the 2024 legislative session, legislators passed a historic suite of transportation policies, including land use reform to encourage more sustainable housing development and a new fee on oil and gas to fund transit service. At the same time, Denver is moving forward with bus rapid transit projects, Denver regional voters approved continued funding for transit service in the November election, and the state has made national headlines for redirecting funding from highway widening to transit.

Colorado's leadership demonstrates the critical importance of a holistic approach to reducing pollution from one of the most challenging sectors of the economy. Because transportation emissions result from the sum total of daily decisions of every single resident and business entity in any given state, it is critical that state leaders focus on designing transportation systems that foster clean mobility choices, whether that means travel by foot, bike, bus, or zero-emission car or truck.

No single solution will address the complexities of our transportation system and its impact on individual travel behaviors-and no institutional actors have more direct power and authority to invest in clean transportation systems that support healthy, vibrant communities than state governments. Colorado's Vision 2035 affirms the state's commitment to wielding that power to save households money, reduce pollution, and increase economic opportunity for all-with lessons for any other state committed to tackling these issues head-on. To realize this plan will require Colorado's leaders to ensure that all of the state's transportation policies, programs, and, critically, budgets, align with this vision.

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