Nothing says “world class” event like taking a public transportation bus to a concert at Red Rocks.
How about catching a public bus to Red Rocks? Believe it or not, public transportation isn’t even an option to the world class concert venue, but it could be coming soon.@RussellHaythorn reports. https://t.co/EKmagGEEZC
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) March 21, 2023
Private buses already provide transportation to the amphitheater, and there are at least three drop-off lots for Uber and Lyft.
Why transportation to special events should become the taxpayers’ problem, or a another added burden for ticket holders to spend even more money in addition to tickets and their own transportation for a special night at Red Rocks is beyond us.
But Ean Thomas Tafoya, one of 17 candidates running for mayor of Denver, sees dollar signs and insists there is a demand for near round-the-clock access.
It’s all about outdoor equity, Tafoya told Denver7 news.
“This place generates millions of dollars,” Tafoya said. “There’s definitely enough money here to subsidize public transit.”
And:
“We know people want to be here at sunrise,” Tafoya said. “We know people want to be here at sunset. We know people are leaving here at midnight and workers are leaving later at night than that, even. Public transit creates equity for them.”
Maybe this is just our privilege showing because our outdoor equity includes … the great outdoors.
And when we’re not too busy to glance up at the sky in our outdoors, we too enjoy sunsets, and a sunrise on rare occasions.
But hitting up concert goers or taxpayers in general to fund near round-the-clock public bus service to Red Rocks when public transportation is already available seems excessive, not to mention an unnecessary burden on our climate.
Now that’s privilege.
For someone like Tafoya who prides himself as a progressive and an environmental activist, that should be obvious.