Boulder is about 25 miles northwest of Denver, via I-25 and U.S. Highway 36, better known locally as “The Turnpike” because it was once a toll road. Most visitors arrive here by car or by plane into Denver International Airport, about an hour’s drive south and east.
In the city, the car is the favorite mode of transportation. But more than most cities, Boulder offers and encourages use of alternative modes of transportation to the car and has a city agency, the Transportation Planning Group (TPG, also known as GO Boulder), to promote, set, and achieve such goals. The 2000 census survey found that Boulder residents carpool and walk to work at a much higher rate than their Denver neighbors. Among 14 comparable cities, Boulder ranks No. 1 in people who walk to work, work at home, and drive with more than one person in the car. It ranks second among those who bike. (The TPG of Boulder says Davis, California, probably ranks first, with Boulder right on its heels.) Alternative modes of transportation can become one of your favorite things about Boulder.