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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2005 Traffic and Revenue Shortfalls on Northwest Parkway Illustrate That The Fitch Ratings announced earlier this week that it was placing the Northwest Parkway 's senior revenue bonds on "ratings watch negative" because neither traffic nor revenues on the toll road are meeting projections. If the Parkway cannot successfully restructure its debt, Fitch says it will likely downgrade its rating (see attached release from Fitch.) The bonds are currently rated BBB-, Fitch's lowest investment-grade status. Any downgrade would place them in the "non-investment" or "junk bond" status. "If the forecasts for the Northwest Parkway are this deeply flawed, what does that say about the prospects for extending this toll road through Arvada and Golden?" asked Tom Atkins, board chair of Citizens Involved in the Northwest Quadrant (CINQ), a grassroots group concerned about the proposed superhighway. "Steve Hogan, executive director of the Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority, hasn't been straight with the public about the Parkway's performance," Atkins points out. "In a recent letter to the Rocky Mountain News , Hogan said the Parkway's finances were in good shape. He told the Boulder Daily Camera last month that the toll road's traffic was 'right on schedule.' Hogan's assessments mislead the public and just can't be trusted." The problems with the Northwest Parkway 's performance go beyond that roadway, for two reasons. First, these traffic projections are being used to evaluate a proposed extension of the superhighway through Arvada and Golden. Second, given the fiscal realities of state and federal budgets, that extension will almost certainly be a toll road. "This calls into question not only the needs analysis in the Northwest Corridor EIS, but the ability of the Colorado Tolling Enterprise to forecast traffic needs for ANY toll road in this state." Atkins said. "This demonstrated failure to assess traffic demand can be explained in one of two ways. One, their technical ability to forecast traffic is extraordinarily poor, or two, they fudged the numbers. CDOT's own Director, Tom Norton, created an incentive for fudging the numbers years ago when he announced his intention to complete the beltway regardless of what the studies showed." "Whether due to fudging or technical incompetence," Atkins went on, "the failure of the Northwest Parkway to generate traffic anywhere near forecasts casts serious doubt on the need for extending the superhighway through the Northwest Corridor to C-470. Either way, the Northwest Corridor EIS is flawed and should be stopped." Atkins concluded. In placing the Parkway's bonds on "ratings watch negative", Fitch cites the fact that toll revenues for 2005 are on track to come in at only about 50-55 percent of forecast. A separate analysis by CINQ finds that traffic on the toll road is approximately 50 percent of forecast - a forecast that was already reduced from initial projections to account for a slow "ramp-up" period for traffic to build. "The problems with the Northwest Parkway demonstrate that a superhighway through Golden and Arvada is the wrong solution to the traffic needs of the northwest quadrant," Atkins stated. "It makes more sense to improve our existing roadways than to build an expensive new toll road that is almost certain to fail." |
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The following organizations endorse CINQ’s position: Colorado Environmental Coalition, Plan Jeffco, Friends of the Foothills, former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm, Canyon Area Residents for the Environment (CARE), Blue Mountain Land & Homeowners Association, Apple Meadows Homeowners Association, Village at Mountain Ridge Homeowners Association, Meadow Run Homeowners Association, and Harmony Village Community Association. |