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Week of February 9, 2023
ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com
VOLUME 59 | ISSUE 27
A TALE OF TRAILS:
Our in-depth look at the housing crisis
Bike riders, advocates consider options for getting around With push for transportation options, is area ready for more e-bikes? BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Gov. Polis stresses more housing is key to Colorado’s economic health BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
If lawmakers don’t act to make housing more affordable now, “we will soon face a spiraling point of no return.” That’s what Gov. Jared Polis said in January, during his annual State of the State Address. He noted myriad problems linked to rising housing costs. People, he said, “are being forced out of their neighborhoods with no hope of ever living close to where they work.” “That means more traffic, lost
time and money spent on long commutes, more air pollution, and greater economic and workforce challenges,” Polis said. Polis added that rising housing prices are “putting the dream of homeownership out of range for more and more Coloradans.” The governor’s assessment squares with the findings of Colorado Community Media in our four-week series exploring what many experts say is a housing crisis — one that affects practically everyone in the Denver area. Lower-income workers are seeing larger chunks of their paychecks
go to landlords. Young families can’t find starter homes they can afford. Retirees don’t see any attractive options for moving and downsizing, meaning their homes stay off the market, helping keep prices high. “Just look west,” Polis said in his address. “In California, decades of poor planning has led to interruptions of drinking water and electricity for entire towns and cities, average home prices over $1 million in major cities and 16lane freeways” with “bumper-toSEE STRESSES, P14
Governor Jared Polis’ push to get legislators to approve $500 rebates for electric bikes is pushing bicyclists and transportation advocates to wonder if the infrastructure exists in the northern Front Range to support them. For Carl Christensen, a 61-year-old resident of Northglenn, there is. But it hasn’t always been that way. “I used to fear for my life to get from my house down to where I can pick up the South Platte trail at 104th and Riverdale,” Christensen said. Back in 2009, he started to incorporate biking into his daily commute. He used to ride his bike to the bus station, rack his bike on the bus, take it down to Union Station and ride the last mile to his office Since 2010, he has made the 18mile ride from his home in Northglenn to the TIAA building downtown and champions the added bike lanes and trails that make it possible to do so. He doesn’t ride for environmental reasons or to save on gas. In fact, he owns four vehicles. He rides because the trips make him feel good. He says it’s healthy, too. Both mentally and physically. SEE BIKES, P4
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | VOICES: PAGE 12 | OBITUARIES: PAGE 13 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
GRAPPLER ON TOP
Ibarra ready to make some noise at state P24