Gov. Jared Polis is asking the Regional Transportation District to “move quickly” on construction of a commuter rail line to Boulder, and not backpedal on the project.

“I was extremely concerned when, at a recent event, it was reported that you questioned whether an extension of the B Line from Westminster to Longmont is the best option for the region,” Polis wrote to Debra A. Johnson, the agency’s general manager, on Friday. “RTD was trusted in 2004 with additional taxpayer funds for the explicit purpose of building out FasTracks which included NW Rail.”

CPR reported that Johnson told a transportation group in Boulder that RTD had to “keep in mind what might be more viable” than a rail line. The rail segment from Denver to Boulder was a component of the voter-approved 2004 FasTracks plan that built out much of the current rail system around mero Denver. 

Polis, a resident of Boulder County who represented the area as a congressman, has been an advocate for constructing the Northwest Rail Line, and told Johnson in his recent letter that he would like to see completion by 2025.

“Please keep this priority in mind, particularly, as the District evaluates how to spend significant additional dollars that have been unexpectedly provided directly to RTD via federal stimulus payments,” he continued. RTD has announced it will likely use money from a year-end federal relief bill to rescind some of its planned layoffs.

One member of RTD’s board of directors publicly criticized the governor for trying to influence the agency’s priorities.

“What he is saying here is bankrupt the agency so that Boulder can have a train,” wrote Director Shontel Lewis, District B, on Facebook. She acknowledged the dissatisfaction of those who felt RTD had broken a promise, but said her concern lay not with those who “simply want what others have.”

“To send this letter, during a global pandemic, as we [make] hard decisions to prioritize the wellbeing of staff and provide transit to our communities is so out of touch,” Lewis added.