Drivers in Colorado's most populated counties would pay more to register larger cars and trucks under a plan advanced by state legislators earlier this month, as policymakers look to blunt a recent surge in pedestrian and cyclist deaths.
The new fees would go toward projects that make roads safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, charging the owners of larger vehicles because their heft increases the risk of injury or death.
The bill, which is being prepared for potential consideration during the state legislative session early next year, would increase vehicle registration fees in Colorado's 12 most populous counties for cars, sport utility vehicles and trucks that weigh at least 3,500 pounds. Nearly all of those counties are located along the Front Range, from Fort Collins in the north through metro Denver and Colorado Springs to Pueblo.
The new fees would raise roughly $20 million annually, state analysts say. The state would dole out grants to local governments in larger counties to help pay for multimodal safety projects.
"It's important to increase alternatives to driving, but this isn't going to work if our streets aren't safe," Sen. Lisa Cutter, a Littleton Democrat and the bill's sponsor, told fellow legislators during a recent meeting of the Transportation Legislation Review Committee.
The bill also is sponsored by Sen. Faith Winter, who spent 13 days in the hospital after she crashed her bike while trying to avoid a truck in September.
"Cars are getting bigger and heavier, and that's just really increasing danger for death and injury," Cutter said.
The average new vehicle sold in the United States is more than 1,000 pounds heavier than it was in the 1980s, according to Bloomberg, a trend attributed in part to Americans' preferences for SUVs and trucks and, more recently, to the weight of batteries in electric vehicles.
"Car bloat" has helped make vehicles safer for people inside of them, but critics and researchers say it has increased the risk for others on the road at the same time. Last year, 111 pedestrians were killed on the roads in Colorado, a record for the state, and research shows larger vehicles are more dangerous for pedestrians.
Pedestrian fatalities have increased 77% nationwide in recent years, far outstripping increases for other traffic deaths, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
The fees detailed in a recent draft of the bill would be based on the type of vehicle — passenger cars versus SUVs or lighter trucks — and the vehicle's weight, with the highest fees applying to SUVs and trucks. Owners wouldn't pay an extra fee for any vehicle that weighs less than 3,500 pounds, which is heavier than a 2023 Toyota Corolla. Above that threshold, the annual fees start at $3, along with other registration costs.
A new sedan that weighs 5,700 pounds would carry with it a maximum fee of $6.40. On the higher end, for light trucks or SUVs that weigh up between 8,500 and 9,499 pounds, the new fees would reach nearly $30.
Commercial vehicles would be exempt from the measure.
The money raised from those fees would go to a state fund, and local governments from the most populated counties could apply to use that money for sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks and other road safety projects. The bill focuses on those counties because they are where most pedestrian fatalities happen, Cutter said. It also ensures that rural vehicles used for agriculture or other work aren't included.
The money raised by the fees would be limited compared to the need for investments in road safety measures for roads. But the bill would add "$20 million that doesn't exist right now," said Rachel Hultin, the policy and government affairs director for Bicycle Colorado, which supports the measure.
Matthew Groves, the president and CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, said Colorado already has too many vehicle registration fees, and he questioned why drivers should pay to improve roadways for bicyclists.
The bill cleared the legislative review committee this month, and now it needs the approval of a final interim committee before it's forwarded to the full legislature in January.
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