The Regional Transportation District (RTD) and its transportation partners will mark Stand Up for Transportation Day on April 9 with a united, visible show of support for long-term federal transportation funding. The day’s event will start with a unity parade down the 16th Street Mall from Market Street to Union Station where a rally will take place on the Wynkoop Plaza at Union Station. The rally will feature speakers from a cross-section of the community sharing brief comments about the importance of transportation in their lives. Several local dignitaries will also participate, and Colorado’s Congressional Delegation has been invited to hear from their constituents first-hand.
Hundreds of people from different walks of life are expected to participate in the parade carrying banners and waving transportation rally towels to create awareness for the importance of federal transportation funding. The parade will also feature a specially branded Stand Up 4 Transportation bus covered with signatures of support from people across the region, a Colorado Department of Transportation Bustang bus along with other transportation vehicles like pedicabs, Van2Go, an Uber car, bicycles and taxi cabs.
The national day of advocacy, initiated by the American Public Transportation Association, is intended to send a grassroots message to U.S. Congress to pass a long-term transportation spending bill. The current funding bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP 21), expires May 31. Sustainable funding is crucial for maintaining roads and transit facilities; replacing bridges and buses; and building new roads and rail lines. Locally, projects like Union Station, the 16th Street Mall and five RTD rail lines, including the East Line to Denver International Airport, have occurred due to federal funds.
