The Room Was Nearly Empty. I Felt Like I’d Won the Super Bowl.

Only a handful of people showed up, and we almost cancelled.

We talked about trying again on a night with a better marketing plan and a stronger news peg.

But instead, we decided to press on. I think it helped that I had invited the local newspaper reporter over lunch Friday, and a former city transportation planner offered to record.

For the leaders in the room, it may have been their third or fourth public meeting or webinar of the week.

To me, it felt like I was being handed the Lombardi Trophy in a stream of confetti.

Monday’s forum at Front Range Community College brought together two of my life’s greatest passions: trains and journalism.

At ages 6, 16, 26 or 34, I would’ve been floored if you told me the transportation leaders in my community would one day ask me to lead a public forum.

Councilman Alex Kalkhofer called me Friday and asked if I would moderate.

I had texted him a few questions about the Colorado Connector because I was listening to the Front Range Passenger Rail District’s board meeting.

That’s when he made the call.

At first, I wanted to think about it. I felt honored, but I questioned whether I really had the expertise to lead the discussion.

But Alex wasn’t asking me to have a planning degree or explain every detail of the 75-page delivery agreement approved Friday.

His ask was simple: bring the questions you’ve heard from the community.

So I went to work writing an opening statement and building a list of questions. Later that day, I texted Alex back and told him I wanted the challenge.

The conversation featured former Longmont Mayor Joan Peck, Longmont-area RTD Director Karen Benker and Ward 3 Councilman Alex Kalkhofer.

Kalkhofer formerly chaired the city’s Transportation Advisory Board. Benker brings years of rail advocacy and transit-agency experience. Peck serves on the Front Range Passenger Rail District board, working to bring the Colorado Connector to communities across the state.

It’s a shame we couldn’t get more Longmonsters to show up, because the forum was a rare opportunity to hear directly from people who have spent decades trying to bring passenger rail to Longmont.

My first question was practical:

What happens if you take the train to a late Rockies game or concert?

We agreed that while routes like the 287, LD and LX work well for daytime trips home from Denver, the options become much thinner after 9 or 10 p.m.

Someone leaving a late game or concert could find themselves riding the Flatiron Flyer to Boulder before transferring to the BOLT back to Longmont—a trip that can take roughly two hours.

I also thought Peck gave an interesting answer when I asked whether Longmont residents would effectively be taxed twice for the project.

If voters in Loveland and Fort Collins are only asked in November to approve the proposed passenger-rail sales tax for extended service, is it unfair that Longmont residents could pay both RTD taxes and the new rail tax?

Peck didn’t dispute that Longmont residents could end up paying both.

Instead, she asked people to look at how transit is funded across the entire corridor. Fort Collins residents already support Transfort. Loveland residents support COLT. Colorado Springs residents support their own transit system.

Her argument was that communities across the corridor are already paying for local bus service. The proposed sales tax would pay for the train.

We also talked about the biggest threat to the project: cost.

Peck re-emphasized that the starter service does not rely on federal funding that could disappear.

I certainly prepared for it like the Super Bowl.

I got a fresh haircut that afternoon, shaved my beard, put on my best Colorado business casual—sandals included—and arrived 30 minutes early.

When I looked in the mirror before heading out, it was another one of those moments when I realized how much my body and appearance have changed for the better since moving to Colorado.

That became part of my opening remarks.

I said something like:

“Multimodal transportation has changed my life. It’s saved me money, improved my health and helped me lose 50 to 60 pounds over the last year and a half because I walk and bike almost everywhere.”

I may have been speaking to a mostly empty room of transit geeks, but I appreciated the opportunity to explain why these issues—and this night—meant so much to me.

I also appreciated the opportunity to build and strengthen working relationships with Benker, Peck and Kalkhofer. They’ll all play important roles in the months ahead as Longmont launches the airport bus, RTD continues wrestling with its budget and the CO 119 project moves closer to completion.

Thank you, everyone, for coming to my train talk.