LOVELAND -- A gathering of more than 400 government representatives, business leaders and interested residents from Northern Colorado met Wednesday to consider ideas for working together as a region to try to shore up a failing transportation system.

The summit, called "Time Out for a New Tomorrow," was organized by the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization and held at The Ranch, Larimer County's fairgrounds complex in east Loveland. Speakers for the day included both of Colorado's U.S. Senators, Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar, and Gov. Bill Ritter, who delivered the event's keynote address.

Ritter told attendees that expected cutbacks in federal funding starting in 2009 will likely mean Colorado will face an even bigger challenge in funding its transportation infrastructure needs, now estimated to be about $500 million a year just to maintain the existing statewide system.

"We're not going to see increasing (federal) dollars and could see $100 million less for Colorado next year," he said. "That's going to have to cause us to really think about transportation at the local level."

Ritter noted the report delivered recently by a Blue Ribbon Commission that studied the state's transportation needs said Colorado was experiencing "a quiet crisis" with silently eroding infrastructure. Repairs and improvements are constrained by declining state gas tax collections and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights that prevents the state from adopting new taxes without a vote of the people.

Ritter said the Blue Ribbon report recommended finding a source of transportation funding that would raise about $1.5 billion, but that was too much under current economic conditions, he said.

"We're not ready in this state to go to the voters with a $1.5 billion tax package," Ritter said.

Ritter praised those attending the summit for caring enough about the transportation issue in Northern Colorado to try to revive a collaborative effort to find regional solutions until a statewide solution can be moved forward. Ritter noted that improving the region's transportation system was critical to attracting new jobs and economic prosperity.

"You as a region have everything to benefit in finding ways to work collaboratively to improve your transportation infrastructure," he said. "You need to be serious about collaboration and finding funding and partnering with us at the state level."

An attempt to form a regional transportation authority last year was scuttled after disagreements arose between cities, towns and counties over funding and other issues.

During the summit, attendees discussed possible ways to increase funding for transportation, including raising development fees and vehicle registration fees and the state's gas tax.

Individual groups also shared ideas about how last year's transportation impasse might be overcome. "We've got to get over our self-interest in order to do some of these things," said Don Mueller, a Weld County resident. "One thing we need is leadership. It may need to be one person or a group that can think more globally."

Results of the summit discussion groups will be posted on the NFRMPO Web site at www.nfrmpo.org. Kathay Rennels, Larimer County commissioner, encouraged those attending to work even harder in 2008 to move the notion of a regional approach to tackling transportation needs forward.

"The right thing to do is to collaborate," she said. "The last time an RTA was talked about it did not work. People were ready and wanting to fix the problem. The enthusiasm is still there and the citizens are there."

Community meetings aimed at reviving the regional transportation discussion are set for May 8 in Fort Collins, May 14 in Windsor, May 21 in Loveland and May 29 in Greeley.