DENVER — Salvatore (Sal) Pace has been named as the new general manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail District, the agency charged with developing a rail passenger operation between Fort Collins and Trinidad, Colo.
Pace is a former minority leader of the Colorado House of Representatives and Pueblo County Commissioner. The district says he brings more than a decade of experience in passenger rail policy, coalition building, and public infrastructure development to his new position. His legislative background includes co-authoring the 2009 amendment that first funded the Transit and Rail Division of the Colorado Department of Transportation and leading negotiations to establish the Front Range district.
He also co-founded the Southwest Chief coalition, leading a grassroots campaign that helped raise $100 million in funding commitments to repair tracks on the Chief route, and helped negotiate with BNSF to absorb $100 million in maintenance costs. That work led to him being awarded with Amtrak’s President’s Service and Safety Award in 2016.
“Few leaders have accomplished more for passenger rail — and no one is better prepared to lead the Front Range Passenger Rail District — than Sal Pace,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a press release. “From helping launch CDOT’s Transit and Rail Division to saving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, Sal has demonstrated time and again to Coloradans that he can turn vision into reality. Colorado is fortunate to have his leadership, experience, and relationships at the table. Sal Pace is exactly the kind of results-driven, collaborative leader we need to make Front Range passenger rail a reality.”
Pace will succeed Chrissy Breit, who has served as interim general manager for several years.
“Front Range Rail will benefit every Front Range resident by reducing traffic, improving air quality, and lowering household transportation costs,” Pace said. “My priority is to build the broad, bipartisan coalition needed to advance this transformative project and refer a successful ballot measure to the voters of the District.”
In his new position, Pace will lead efforts to prepare for a district-wide funding referendum for the project.
More Colorado insanity. There’ll never be enough ridership to support this. Some years ago there was a bus servicec between Colorado Springs and Denver, the two most populous cities, and there wasn’t enough ridership to sustain even that.
Denver has a glorious system of buses, light rail and commuter rail. All it needs is some riders.
Second to last paragraph, first sentence. Any data to support this rhetoric?