Former state Rep. Barbara McLachlan has been sworn in as a Colorado Department of Transportation regional commissioner for Southwest Colorado and the San Luis Valley.
McLachlan will help advocate for the transportation needs in CDOT’s District 8, which includes Alamosa, Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezuma, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan and San Miguel counties.
The four-year term is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. CDOT has 10 other regional commissioners that represent different parts of the state.
McLachlan, who served eight years as state House District 59 representative, said her past experience as vice chair on the state transportation committee has prepared her well for the role of CDOT regional commissioner.
“I’m pretty familiar with the people involved and the issues involved around the state,” she said. “I represented most of the counties in the Southwest during my eight years, and I visited most of the counties in the San Luis Valley.”
McLachlan said she’s been in contact with Sens. Cleve Simpson and Matt Martinez to facilitate the best teamwork possible on issues of transportation in the district.
“I want to spend time with a lot of people, and hear what their issues are,” she said. “I think rural Colorado has very different issues than urban Colorado, but they’re just as important. We need to make sure we listen, and that I advocate.”
McLachlan said facilitating projects related to alternative transportation modes, rather than only focusing on road work for vehicles, will be a priority during her term.
“We have a new statewide bus service – Bustang. And then there’s Outrider and Pegasus that go around. And if you look at the map, if anybody wants to go to Denver, they have to go to Grand Junction first, and then Denver,” she said. “It’s a two-day trip to get to Denver on a bus from Durango. That’s something I’d really like to look at. I think it’s a rural issue right now.”
McLachlan also cited CDOT’s “10 year plan,” which involves investigating resilience of transportation methods, addressing safety concerns, and using the Multimodal Transportation and Mitigation Options Fund and Fix It First. The MMOF works to make multiple forms of transportation readily accessible to communities, and Fix It First involves using and repurposing existing resources, rather than seeking new ones.
“We don’t need to be putting our money into more lanes,” she said. “We can put them into the buses and things, and help alleviate some of the pollution and the traffic and the clogging.”
McLachlan also wants to focus on road improvement projects. Upgrades to traffic patterns along U.S. Highway 160 between Durango and Bayfield is on CDOT’s radar, she said, and conversations have been in progress with Simpson in relation to work on Pagosa Springs roads.
“The traffic there is a mess, so I’m listening to him,” McLachlan said.
The biggest roadblock that CDOT faces, is a lack of funding on the state and federal levels, she said.
“We’ve had to readjust our budget, and next year is going to be hard as well,” she said.
Sidny Zink, who held the role from 2013 to 2021, advised McLachlan to notice of the rest of the state, outside of one’s elected district.
“Appreciate that you speak for your district, but it’s important that you appreciate what’s going on around the state (too),” she said. “That was something really important for me.”
McLachlan has met with Zink and former transportation commissioner Steve Parker, and she plans to meet with outgoing commissioner Mark Garcia.
“This is one of those opportunities to do what’s best for both urban and rural Colorado, and see what we can do to get around easier, to make it safe, to make it economic, environmental and preserve what we have here,” McLachlan said. “That’s kind of where we’re aiming with all of this.
“I’m really excited to have this job,” she added. “I’m really honored that they asked me, and I’m looking forward to the hard work ahead.”
epond@durangoherald.com
