By 303 Ambassador Lauren Greenfield
Shailen Bhatt (ED/CEO of CDOT)
CDOT wants Colorado’s roads to be safer, after increased highway fatalities over the past three years. And they’re giving away money to anyone who can help them with that goal.
On Tuesday evening, craft beer flowed alongside cheeses galore as 75 self proclaimed “bikies” and “techy geeks” gathered to listen to Shailen Bhatt and his team discuss the criteria for the recently announced “RoadX” challenge, for which CDOT is offering $500,000 to people who can provide the best ideas to improve the safety for ALL on Colorado roadways – NOW, before the next population influx, hence less money per person to work with.
Questions came from all corners, mostly from the private sector, technology and development folks. The simple criteria: technology must play a role; it must be be feasible to execute, and winners will do so with 50 motorists, 50 bicycles
and 50 peds, and community partnerships are encouraged. CDOT’s vision was to answer questions, but also to get people chatting/networking for increased opportunities, hence providing more time for beer and chit chat than time for Q & As!
Some of the questions were very specific, while the majority of them sought clarification on the somewhat vague rules posted on the website. The general takeaway was that there was tremendous flexibility, even in the execution, and possibly with the monetary awards as well.
So all of you idea people who ride, think and are interested in improved road safety, insert thinking cap under the helmet and get the creative juices flowing. Especially if winning $10,000 just to verbalize/submit that idea might sound appealing to you!
https://www.imagineco.us/en/challenge/roadx-bicycle-pedestrian-challenge
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