Faith Leaders: I-70 Widening ‘Unjust and Immoral’
Editor’s note: The following letter was sent on Sept. 30 to Don Hunt, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation, regarding the proposal to widen Interstate 70 just north of Park Hill.
Dear. Mr. Hunt,
We the undersigned are religious leaders and members of faith communities from around the state of Colorado. We wish to express our serious concerns about the Colorado Department of Transportation’s proposal to widen Interstate 70 in north Denver because of the devastation it will create in the mostly impoverished and Hispanic neighborhoods of Elyria-Swansea and Globeville between Colorado Boulevard and I-25.
First, widening Interstate 70 in this corridor will significantly increase the public health threat that the highway’s presence already poses to residents in these neighborhoods. The City of Denver’s Health Impact Assessment showed that currently, residents living within 500 feet of the present highway experience significant pollution exposure, creating asthma levels over 40 percent, compared to 28 percent citywide.
Two elementary schools (Swansea and Garden Place) are within this 500-foot distance from I-70. Widening the highway will exacerbate these health concerns for children attending these schools. These neighborhoods, like others along the I-70 corridor, are burdened with air contaminants and greenhouse gas emissions, causing high incidence of respiratory illness and other chronic disease that result in early death. Widening I-70 will result in expanding the zone of serious air quality and health impacts further into these neighborhoods.
Second, we believe this proposal will seriously fracture the cohesiveness of these neighborhoods. Elyria-Swansea and Globeville have yet to recover from the damage of when I-70 was first constructed 50 years ago. Numerous homes and local businesses were removed, and this access-limiting highway separated close-knit families and neighborhoods. The communities became detached from the rest of city and had to live with the negative effects of an elevated viaduct, including dirt, air pollution, noise, and shadows. This proposal of widening I-70 to more than 300 feet in width will … displace at least 50 families. Currently, there is no proposal for helping replace the housing stock that this project will remove with comparably priced housing in the same area.
Engineering that does not start with an understanding of neighborhoods and people is bad engineering. Engineering that does not advance community values and which results in displacement is social engineering at its worst.
As people of faith, we oppose this proposal not only because it is unjust but also because it is immoral for what it does to the disenfranchised of our city. These neighborhoods will receive no significant social or environmental benefits with the approval of this proposal. This project does not improve connectivity, improve health and wellness of residents, make the community more livable nor provide benefits for improved mobility, especially given the high proportion of residents who do not own or operate motor vehicles.
We request that the Colorado Department of Transportation develop a solution that listens to the needs and wants of those who live in these neighborhoods. We seek an outcome that does not displace homes, families, or businesses in these neighborhoods.
We seek a solution that demonstrably improves the health and wellness of residents beyond conditions that exist today – that is, a solution that results in measurably better health conditions for residents, school children, workers and visitors to these neighborhoods. We request a solution that improves mobility and accessibility of residents of these neighborhoods, that does not continue to rely on fossil fuel technology, and provides instead new investments in transit, sidewalk completion, separation of railways, and bicycle connections. We request a solution that focuses foremost on improved connectivity within these neighborhoods and repairing the damage caused by locating I-70 here more than 50 years ago.
We strongly affirm that investing in making these communities more complete, more vibrant, and healthier should be the city and state’s priority, not damaging them further through this misguided proposal.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Miguel De La Torre
Dr. George “Tink” Tinker
Iliff School of Theology
12 additional Colorado faith leaders and
organizations are also listed as primary signatories