Boulder: An Intro & History

What is unique about Boulder that has allowed it to build and maintain an alternative transportation network.

Comparing Great Britain & Colorado

Land Area

Great Britain Colorado

229,848 km² 269,837 km²

Population

60 million 5.2 million (same as Scotland)

Land’s End to John O’Groats Julesburg (NE) to Cortez (SW)

874 miles 559 miles (9 hours driving time)

Boulder’s Founding

First non-native settlement in 1858 as a gateway to gold/silver mining in mountains

Until 1876 most of Boulder’s economy is based on movement of supplies and people to and from mining camps in the mountains to the west

Early decisions begin to move Boulder away from its resource based economy

Citizens lobby the territorial legislature to select Boulder as the site for the State university - it opens in 1876

In 1898 the Chautauqua movement comes to Boulder bringing teachers from Texas to Boulder for educational and recreational purposes

The city of Boulder bought open space land for Chautauqua - setting a precedence that lasts to this day

Tourism Continued

By 1905 citizens realize the city needs to find a more diverse economic base and thus actively seek tourists.

The 1950’s bring rapid changes to Boulder’s economic base & highway links

• In 1952 Boulder is awarded federal labs for the National Bureau of Standards beginning an era of federal labs locating in the city that conduct research in climate and later telecommunications.

• In 1956 University scientists teamed with a family member from a manufacturing firm to create Ball Brothers Research Cooperation which has become one of the world’s leading developers of satellites.

Implications of ‘50’s changes to Boulder

Boulder’s population almost triples from 1950 to 1970 going from 20,000 to about 67,000.

The housing for many of the newcomers is suburban style single-family and car centered.

The Boulder-Denver Turnpike is built giving a direct highway link between the two cities.

Boulder begins to be a part of the Metro Area

The building of the Boulder-Denver turnpike helps foster interaction with Denver and fosters more growth in Boulder

Today Boulder’s interaction with the Denver metro area (3+ million pop) is mainly through in-commuting (60,000 a day!)

Boulder’s Reaction to Rapid Growth

In 1957 Boulder citizens approve the “Blue Law” which restricts water lines to places below 5,750 feet (above sea level) in order to protect the city’s mountain backdrop

To further protect the city from “sprawl” citizens vote to tax themselves to purchase and preserve “open space” land around the city in 1967

Currently the city owns and manages over 45,000 acres of open space land

And Boulder’s economy continues to become more and more based in the sciences

More federal labs such as NCAR (above) and NOAA come to Boulder

By the 1980s public-private partnerships mean Boulder has become a center for research and inovation

Boulder’s Economic Base Today

AerospaceBiosciences Information Technology – Data storage Information Technology – Software developmentAccommodation and food servicesNatural and Organic ProductsOutdoor RecreationRenewable Energy

Boulder’s Economic Base Continued

A high concentration of advanced technology industries has helped fuel venture capital investment in Boulder firms.

Over the past five years more than $687 million was invested in firms in the city of Boulder, representing more than one -quarter of the total VC investment in Colorado companies.

Tourism & the Economy

Estimated visitor nights in 2013 totaled 2,820,827 in Boulder and total visitor expenditures reached $375.8 million. The total economic impact of tourism in Boulder (direct economic impact plus secondary impact) was $419,111,633

Boulder’s citizens have a high level of education

Much higher than the US as a whole and thus in general have traveled a great deal and have strong opinions about the physical appearance of their city.

What does all this mean for Boulder and alternative transportation?

Boulder’s highly educated and affluent citizens have voted multiple times since the 1960s to tax themselves to acquire open space and more recently, to create bike paths, etc.

The city’s planning and transportation departments continues to work on making non-motorized trips within the city easier

In addition to multi-use paths and bike lanes, there is an extensive bus system within the city

Unintended consequences of Boulder’s slow growth policies

Median Household Price $500,000+ up from $222,560

(in today’s prices) from 1990

Losing middle income households ($65,000 –

$150,000) a year in income)

59% of Boulder’s workforce commutes in every day

(60,000) mostly in singly-occupancy vehicles

Intended Consequences of Transportation Policies

Boulder residents bike 20 times more and walk three times more than the national average – Marni Ratzel (city transportation planner)

Boulder County Colorado US

Average travel time to work 20.1 min 22.8 24.5 25.5

Drive alone to work 54% 64% 75.5% 76.4%

Use alternative transportation 34.2% 24.7% 18.2% 19.3%

Work at home 11.8% 11.3% 6.3% 4.3%

Boulder & Deal

Boulder Deal

Population: 103,000 30,000

7 miles N-S 2.8 miles N-S

3.5 miles E-W 1.5 miles E-W