A laptop computer perched on his knees, environmental attorney John Voorhees wastes no time as he commutes to work on a bus crammed with other white-collar workers.
Like Front Range residents from Fort Collins to Pueblo, Voorhees is contending with the sociological and psychological impact of Colorado's population growth over the past five years.To avoid clogged highways, scarce parking and rising gas prices, Voorhees goes to work on a Regional Transportation District bus. Commuting from his Boulder home to his downtown Denver practice allows him to perform billable work for clients and saves time for his family.
"You're in sort of a virtual office," Voorhees said. "When you are out on (U.S.) 36 and you're in a snowstorm and you're on an oceangoing bus, you don't have to worry about skidding off the road."
Voorhees, co-chairman of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce's environmental committee, believes mass transportation will be key to solving gridlock and assuaging nerves along the burgeoning Front Range.
"Environmental issues are interlinked with transportation issues," said Voorhees, who's been busing to work for the past four years.
"What we're trying to do here is reduce the impacts on road use. That increases the quality of life from the standpoint of air quality and work quality. You get to work and you feel much better, you're more organized. You're more productive," he said.
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For those who choose to live along Colorado's Front Range, time has become a precious commodity. Traffic and crowding are increasing everywhere.
Boulder-based ETC w/CareerTrack Inc. conducts stress-reduction and time-management seminars for executives, working moms and others whose busy lives are being complicated by Colorado's growth indirectly. Seminars tutor students on how to use nonproductive time more effectively, Hildebrandt said.
"For example, when you are stuck in traffic, or stuck in a grocery line or waiting in a doctor's office, (you can use) down time to catch up on reading," said Jeff Hildebrandt of ETC.
While health experts agree population growth is fraying nerves, they stop short of calling the phenomenon a bona fide health issue.
"When people start shooting each other on the Boulder Turnpike, that's when it becomes a health issue," said Dr. Michael Weissberg, director of student medical education at the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.
Still, to avoid developing ulcers and other stress-related illnesses, some Colorado residents tired of the growing rat race are searching for alternative lifestyles while they can.
"I hate what's happening to Colorado," said Tama J. Kieves, a Harvard law school graduate who left a lucrative career to teach and write.
A native New Yorker, Kieves worked for a Denver law firm, quit, then waitressed for awhile. Now she helps organize weekend mountain retreats for professionals who want more out of life.
"Most of the people I work with want to leave crazy careers - leave a high-paced life and find alternative ways to live," she said.
The retreats help participants get in touch with their "natural strength" and the belief they can make a difference.
"While you are in the thick of things, it's hard to sort out things. It's hard to think about who you really are when you are reacting, reacting, reacting (to pressure)," she said.
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Like most of the half-million people who moved to Colorado between 1992 and 1996, Voor-hees and Kieves came to the state in search of a slower-paced life, better weather and natural wonders.
But making room for a deluge of newcomers has not been easy for some longtime Coloradans.
"There are more people on highways. It takes longer to get places," said Colorado Senate President Tom Norton.
Colorado's quality of life is diminishing because of population growth and urban development, critics say, pointing to crowded ski slopes, campsites, trails and municipal golf courses.
At some Denver golf courses, weekend tee times can be snatched up a week in advance by anxious linksmen.
"It's not a pretty picture," city golf director Tom Woodard said of crowding on greens. "Especially on Friday, Saturday and Sunday."
Colorado's reputation as a place for professional athletes and weekend warriors has even increased demand for health clubs in the Denver area. The Chicago-based Bally Total Fitness plans to add 15 more clubs to its 10 Colorado gyms over the next four years, said President and Chief Executive Officer Lee Hillman.
Colorado's ski slopes are feeling growth's effects, too.
A record 8.9 million vehicles passed through the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 in 1996, largely due to ski industry growth, according to Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Hopkins.
While Hopkins agrees I-70 traffic in winter can be nerve-wracking, he said summertime traffic is far worse. Last August, he notes, just less than 1 million vehicles passed through the Eisenhower Tunnel.
Park officials say summertime visitors are heading to national parks and other mountain sites in increasing numbers.
Tim Devine, a wilderness coordinator for Rocky Mountain National Park, said the state's traditional camping season is getting longer.
Each year, more than 3 million visitors flock to Rocky Mountain National Park, and increased day visits at the park are putting stress on park resources, flora and fauna, Devine said.
"More people are going into places that weren't used before," Devine said.