Is the Boulder County Environmental Sustainability Plan Any Good?

I am wondering. Bus service was cut between Boulder and Longmont while the county plans to widen that road. And this is while the City of Boulder is wondering how they are going to pay for the ever increasing costs of fixing the roads they already have. Wouldn't it be a better use of money to put in better bus service?

Anyway, there is a public meeting, again at a time when no one can go. Hopefully, it won't be a waste of time for people to stop by during their lunch breaks.

Public Hearing to Adopt the Environmental Sustainability Plan
Thursday, January 3, 11 am
Commissioners Hearing Room
Boulder County Courthouse
1325 Pearl, third floor
Boulder
Bus: SKIP, 204, 205, 206, 208, 225, DASH, JUMP, AB, B, N, BOLT

You can read a PDF of the plan online at http://www.bouldercounty.org/find/library/government/envsustainabilityplan.pdf.

Warning: the plan is pretty much unreadable and is more an ad for Boulder County than an actual plan.

Free New Year's Eve Service

All of RTD's buses and light rail trains will be free from 7 pm on December 31 to 6 am on January 1. And December 31 is a Monday so a decent number of buses will actually be running, unlike last year.

Have fun!

RTD Board may be getting serious about seeking more money

The RTD Board has approved a FasTracks Internal Savings Account that RTD staff estimates will hold $277 million by 2017. Staff plan to use this money to build the North Metro line to 72nd Avenue and complete RTD's funding commitment to the US 36 BRT project.

This money is coming from both savings and new revenue. The biggest savings are coming out of the Eagle P3 (Gold and East commuter rail) accounts. Enough construction milestones have passed and enough contracts signed for RTD to be able to better predict how much the project will end up costing. That means that less money needs to be held in the account that RTD has set up in case of cost overruns. Right now it looks like RTD is going to be able to transfer $72 million toward other projects.

In addition, careful accounting has found $10 here, $20 million there. Some of these savings may not materialize or be as big as RTD hopes, but overall they add up.

The biggest amount of money will come from new revenue. RTD is going to ask the State of Colorado for the ability to audit sales and use tax receipts so that RTD can confirm that buses and trains are getting the money that they are supposed to be getting. RTD will also ask the State for the ability to collect sales tax on all the items that the State of Colorado collects on. This would mean $127 million more money.

The best news is that RTD is going to start asking for money. The press release refers to these entities as "stakeholders" which is rather vague. Here is hoping that RTD points out to cities and counties that do not support transit within their borders that cities and counties that do are subsidizing their bus and train service AND saving them money on road repair.

A Transit Advocate Speaks Her Mind

Linda, a local transit advocate, shared the following with me recently via email:

"We link so much of community development to economic development.  We should also link our community design and resources to health, civic engagement and culture.  Our society pushes people to rush through life, and to have the vehicles to get them places "fast and furious". Fortunately young people have begun to absorb the message that it is better to have resources for health, recreation, entertainment and work close by so that you have more time to enjoy them.  The old adage is true: "Time is Money".  This unfortunately often translates into the gentrification of communities near mass transit. However, buses and trains should be available and usable by all people.  The message of the value of "taking your time to get where you want to go" but having the means (efficient and effective bus and train services) to get there needs to be framed so that it can be easily embraced.  Bus and train services need to be faster, cheaper and easier to access than the now traditional method, the single-individual car, if we want to convince the traditionalists!"

What is Happening with Union Station?

Meeting on Denver Union Station's Public Plaza
Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 5:30 pm
RTD Administrative Offices
1600 Blake Street, basement
Bus: 0, 1, 6, 10, 20, 44, 120X, B, AF (Other buses will get you there, but stop running before the end of the meeting)

I was reminded to put this announcement up by Edie Bryan's report to ColoRail members about the Denver Union Station Project. She working to make sure that ColoRail has a decent showing. We need to make sure that the project is really open to the general public, and is oriented to people who walk, ride the bus, and take the train.

Here is her report in full: 

AMTRAK trains will relocate to their new location Februrary 1, 2014, now a firm date.  This will necessitate a new lease between RTD and AMTRAK.  The historic Denver Union Station has been turned over to RTD to manage with the new hotel management, Team USA,  and is no longer under DUSPA  (Denver Union Station Project Authority).  All tenants have moved their offices out of DUS to 1441 18th street.

The longshoreman strike on the west coast is a snag, slowing the timely delivery of fabric and construction materials.  

The public art project, previously rejected, is going to be handled under the city of Denver public art process.  David Chavez  of the city showed photos of various projects, such as the blue bear, and a spiral at the convention center.  The major criteria  is maintenance and longevity, as well as fitting the site.  Some discussion about getting other entities to participate in the public art funding.  You definitely get a higher level of interest from artists with a larger budget.  The public art will be on RTD property, so RTD will be responsible for the maintenance, upkeep, and repairs,

The whole DUSPA project is on schedule with no environmental risks left, only schedule and budget risks.    $357,109 has been spent so far, with Kiewit getting $267 thousand.  Kiewit has a record number of days without any worker injury and the workers take pride in that. 

A diagram was distributed showing some 10 different building sites in the vicinity, not counting the historic Denver Union Station itself.  These are all under construction at this time.  (I will bring this to the meeting.  These include the North and South Wing buildings, Cadence apatments, Block A apartments, 16th & Wewatta Office building ALTA City House and 2100 Delgany.  

RTD has scheduled a public meeting for input on the Wynkoop plaza design.  5:30 p.m. at the RTD offices on Blake Street. 

No Light Rail within Denver Tomorrow (Almost)

Because of construction on the West Line, there will be no light rail between the Broadway and I-25 and Theater District/Convention Center stops this Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 8 and 9). The D line will run between downtown and 30th and Downing. Shuttles will serve the stops with no train service.

Boulder County Has a New Transportation Master Plan

Transportation Master Plan Public Hearing
Tuesday, Dec. 4 at noon
Boulder County Courthouse, third floor
1325 Pearl Street
Boulder
Bus: One block from the Boulder bus station. 204, 205, 206, 208, 225, DASH, AB, B, BOLT

The plan itself is available at http://www.bouldercounty.org/roads/plans/pages/transportationmasterplan.aspx

I am concerned that there has been very little effort to educate the public about this plan. If the plan is so good, why not have meetings when more people can go?

Denver Union Station is Closing Soon

The Denver Union Station building will be closing to the public on December 1. The Park Service was the last government agency to approve the remodel, so the project is moving forward. Amtrak will return to the building in early 2014 with the rest of the building opening that summer. The model trains will be back that summer too. There more information on the DUSPA website, although none of it is particularly new.

This may be why the downtown Denver Grand Illumination is so early this year. Or is it always the day after Thanksgiving?

I am going to miss the model trains.

November RTD Board Meeting

Monthly Board Meeting
Tuesday, November 20 at 5:30 pm
1600 Blake Street
Denver, CO
Bus: This location is right next to Market Street Station.

I am not sure that going to these meetings is worth the time, but people should know what is going on.

Become a Part of RTD's Customer Panel

RTD has a 15 member panel that meets four times a year to give RTD their input on their policies, procedures, and services. Panel members receive a free Regional monthly pass for each meeting they attend. Everyone who attends all four meetings gets a free Eco Pass for the following year.

RTD is currently accepting applications for the 2013 panel through Survey Monkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013customerpanel

November Board of Directors Meeting

Tuesday, November 20 at 5:30 pm
RTD Board Meeting
1600 Blake Street
Denver
Bus: 0, 1, 6, 10, 20, 44, 120X, B, AF

Let's Oppose Widening Our Highways

Let's support bus and trains instead. FasTracks turned down financing for the North rail line to Thornton, and now that financing is going toward widening I-70. And the North Line has no financing and no start date.

Tuesday, November 13, 5:30 to 8:30 pm
Commerce City Recreation Center
6060 E. Parkway Drive
Commerce City
Bus: 40, 48, 88

Wednesday, November 14, 5:30 to 8:30 pm
Swansea Recreation Center
2650 E. 49th Avenue
Denver
Bus: 48
This location is very close to Focus Points where the East I-70 team has its monthly meetings.

I would love to hear why fixing the highway is not one of the options.

Who is Running for RTD Board

I don't have an recommendations on who to vote for RTD board, but here is a list of who is running for RTD Board with links to their websites. I do recommend looking at whether or not a candidate actually rides the bus or light rail.


District E (parts of Denver, Aurora, Greenwood Village, and Centennial)

Claudia Folska. Ms. Folska is blind, so she gets around by bus and light rail.

Jeff Bjorlin

Vince Chowdhury

Dave Williams

411 Voter Guide for District E


District G (Centennial and Lone Tree)

Gary Lasater

Jack O'Boyle (incumbent)

411 Voter Guide


District H (Cherry Hills Village, Highlands Ranch, parts of Greenwood Village and Centennial)

Tom Grushka As Mr. Grushka is blind, he is dependent on transit.

Ken Mihalik

Kent Bagley (incumbent)

411 Voter Guide


District I

Jeff Ilseman

Seth Patterson

Cheryl Hauger

Judy Lubow

411 Voter Guide


District K

Jan Pawlowski

Richard Himmel

Paul Solano

David Elliott

411 Voter Guide


District M

Natalie Menten

Matt Cohen (incumbent)

411 Voter Guide

Changes to RTD Policies that Implement Title VI of the Civi Rights Act of 1964.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has changed that way that they enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, so RTD is changing its policies in response. It is not clear from the RTD announcement, but I think that the FTA is being more proactive in enforcing the Civil Rights Act. Before I think that someone had to sue if their rights were being violated, but now the FTA will cut off funds in cases where a lawsuit would most certainly succeed. Cause not everyone can sue a government agency.

Whatever the reason for the changes, RTD needs to make sure that the public understands them.

Friday, October 19 at 5 pm
RTD Administrative Offices
1600 Blake Street, Room T & D
Denver, CO
Bus and Light Rail: Everything that goes downtown. Just be aware that some express buses only run in one direction in the evening.

I want to know when this policy is going to take place, and if it will encourage RTD to hire a greater range of people.

The Power of We for Better Bus Service

What of the issues that I come across when working on transit issues is the belief that bus riders should not work together to figure out what system will best serve their needs. We should complain rather than attempting to offer constructive criticism. We should allow the senior staff of the local bus system to evaluate those complaints and not compare notes. We allow those staff to tell us how our problems should be solved and which are most serious.

This is the wrong attitude. Our local bus system needs our input. We, the bus riders, know what works and what doesn't. We, the light rail riders, know what keeps us safe and what doesn't. We know what buses are crowded. We know sources of funding that RTD is not going after.

I am hoping that we can come this Thursday near the Englewood light rail station to listen to each other's idea and to support the best ones.

East Line Open Houses

I got behind on my posts, so I missed posting one of the open houses. There are four left this month. If you want to find out more about the East Line, a commuter rail line connecting Denver Union Station with DIA, these are the meetings to go to. I would guess that the open houses go until at least 7:00.

Wednesday, October 17 at 5:45
Bruce Randolph Middle School
3955 Steele Street
Denver
Bus: 24, 44

Thursday, October 18 at 5:45
Centro San Juan Diego
2830 Lawrence Street
Denver
Bus: 44

Wednesday, October 22 at 5:45
Sable Elementary School
2601 Sable Boulevard
Aurora
Bus: 153


Thursday, October 23 at 5:45
Central Park Recreation Center
9651 Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard
Denver
Bus: The 45 and the 47x will get you here, they may not run late enough to get you home.

Social Action for Transit October Meeting

Thursday, October 18 at 5:30 pm
City Center Community
901 Englewood Parkway, Suite 112
Englewood
Light Rail: C, D
Bus: 0, 12, 27, 35, 51, The ART shuttle also serves this location, but the last bus may leave before we are finished.

We are downstairs from the light rail platform to the left.

We had nine people at our last meeting with ten participating, so I am hopeful that we will get at least that many at this meeting. We are going to go over the results of our efforts so far, and what we need to do to get good bus connections to the new FasTracks rail. What else should we discuss?

Meet the Candidates for RTD Board (some of them anyway)

Bus: Anything that stops downtown including the 0, 1, 6, 10, 15L, 20, 32, 44, 120X, B, L, AF

This event is being organized by the Transit Alliance. If you would like more information, you can contact the organization's director, Kathleen Osher at 303-919-4334 or at kosher@transitalliance.org. You can RSVP at http://rtdmeetandgreet.eventbrite.com/. That site also has a list of all the candidates for RTD board. Not all the candidates will be there, although I am hoping that there is a good showing as there are a few that I want to talk to.

The RSVP asks for job title and work info. I put in something that is not a job title under that entry, and I suggest doing the same for any information that you do not want to share.

I also want to say that the The Pour House has a nice atmosphere.

The RTD Candidates are Coming to My Neighborhood

Saturday, October 13 at 10 am
Clements Community Center, 2nd Floor
1580 Yarrow Street
Lakewood
Bus: 16, 16L
Also within walking distance of the 76 and twenty minutes walk from the 28 and the 100.
There will be snacks.

Both candidates, Matt Cohen and Natalie Menten, will be there. Matt Cohen thinks we should have better buses, but won't do much to actually make things happen. Natalie Menten is upset with how RTD acquired property for the West Rail line. It will be interesting to see if she has any ideas about actually operating the system.

This shows why rail is built on existing right of way whenever possible. Most of the land that RTD acquired for the West Line were slivers of off existing parcels, Most large sections of land that RTD took over were for the station areas rather than for the rail itself. If RTD had had to get all of the property needed to build a whole new line, they would have had to use eminent domain a lot more, and created a lot more ill will.

Part of the reason that the Gold and DIA lines are next is because they are being built on existing right of way. Part of the reason that the I-225 project is being combined with a highway widening project is because RTD perceives the highway people at being better using eminent domain to get the needed land.

It also shows that we need to get more people involved in the process. We need better candidates for RTD board.

Register to Vote and Support Transit

RALLY!
Tuesday, October 2 at noon
Market Street Station Plaza (I assume that this is the area between the main doors and the mall shuttle.)
Denver
Bus: Mall Shuttle

Besides a rally to support bus and train riders, there will be an opportunity to register to vote, and to learn about candidates who support transit. The later is something that I am interested in, as I am only aware of one or two candidates who genuinely support transit, and none of those actually put any effort into it.

We should all thank the Amalgamated Transit Union for organizing this rally.

Winter Service Change Meetings

The public meetings for the January service changes are here, spread out over the next week.

It looks like there are going to be more service improvements than cuts, although it looks like the light rail is going to be cut in Five Points. I am worried that the Five Points light rail line is being undercut to bring in a streetcar, or even worse, pretend to bring in a streetcar. Not that I have anything against streetcars. Streetcars can be wonderful. But if we cannot fully support what we have now, we are not going to fully support a streetcar.

So here are the meeting times and places:

Thursday, September 27 at 6 pm
Adams City High School, Community Room
7200 Quebec Parkway
Commerce City
Bus: The 48 is a five to ten minute walk away. Maybe someone should suggest that it is not safe to make students walk across several lanes of traffic to take the bus.

Thursday, September 27 at 7 pm
Central Park Recreation Center, Room A
9651 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Denver
Bus: None?

Thursday, September 27 at 7 pm
Lafayette Recreation Center
111 W. Baseline Road
Lafayette
Bus: JUMP (The last bus going to Boulder runs at 9:13 and the buses from this stop do not run to or from Erie.)
L (Route between Longmont and Lafayette only. The last bus leaves a little after 9:06.)
The 225 will get you here, but not back. And the DASH does not serve this stop, no matter what Google Maps says.


Monday, October 1 at 4:30 pm
Longmont Senior Center
910 Longs Peak Drive
Longmont
Bus: 326, 327 (Last buses leave between 6:15 and 6:30.)
Within walking distance of the L and the BOLT.


Friday, October 5 at noon and 6 pm
RTD Administrative Offices
1600 Blake Street, Rooms T&D
Denver
Bus: 0, 1, 6, 10, 15L, 20, 44, 120X, B, AF
Noon Meeting only: 9, 28, 32

Friday, October 5 at 6 pm
Glenarm Recreation Center
2800 Glenarm Place
Denver
Bus: 12, 28
Glenarm Recreation Center is within walking distance of the light rail stop that RTD wants to cut. RTD wants to cut this stop because the City of Denver runs the lights to prioritize cars over people walking, biking, taking the bus, and taking the light rail. It is ten times more expensive to subsidize cars in a dense urban area than in a rural area, so the timing of the traffic lights near downtown Denver supports cars over paying teachers or providing basic health care.

ColoRail Fall Meeting

Saturday, September 22 at 10 am
Boulder Public Library
1000 Canyon Boulevard
Boulder
Bus: JUMP
The AB, B, 204, 225, SKIP,  and DASH are about a block away.

Colorail is meeting again this Saturday 10 am at the Boulder Public Library. An official from FasTracks will be speaking about the options for rail vs. BRT in the northwest corridor followed by pizza followed by a presentation on high speed rail.

RTD's Citizen Advisory Committee is Looking for Members

RTD is again looking for members to serve on its FasTracks Citizens Advisory Committee. While this committee is a joke that does not do what the initiative passed by the public intends it to do, it might be an interesting way to learn more about how RTD operates.

The committee meets monthly.

From an RTD press release, here are is how to apply:

Application letters should include a brief statement of interest in serving on the CAC, specific qualifications, highlights of related experience and expertise as well as a resume. All letters must be received electronically at Dale.Honor@rtd-denver.com by close of business Friday, September 21, 2012. 

For more information, contact Dale Honor at 303-299-2334 or Dale.Honor@rtd-denver.com.

Kansas DOT wants to know how to spend citizen money

The Kansas Department of Transportation is hosting eight regional meeting to discuss how to spend T-WORKS money. T-WORKS was passed by the Kansas legislature in May 201 following a series of public meetings hosted by KDOT. The legislation authorizes KDOT to spend $7.8 billion over ten years.

I have some questions about T-WORKS. Can we use any of this money to save the Southwest Chief? What about improving pubic transportation in Wichita, Topeka, and the Kansas part of the Kansas City metro area? What about adding more bus and train service to better connect small towns in Kansas and support their downtowns.

Well, we are at a second round of public meetings starting next week, so maybe some of these questions can be answered, if enough citizens can ask them.

Monday, September 24
1-4 pm
Kansas Highway Patrol Training Facility
2025 E. Iron Avenue
Salina

Tuesday, September 25
9 am - 12 pm
Kansas Highway Patrol Headquarters
1821 W. Frontier Road
Hays

Wednesday, September 26
9 am - 12 pm
Magouirk Conference Center
4100 SW Comanche
Dodge City

Thursday, September 27
9 am - 12 pm
Ramada Conference Center
1400 N. Lorraine
Hutchinson

Monday, October 1
9 am -12 pm
Holiday Inn Olathe
101 W. 151st Street
Olathe
This is the meeting for the Kansas City metro area, but there does not seem to be any bus service to this location. Am I right? The local bus service website can be reached at http://www.thejo.com/.

Tuesday, October 2
1 pm - 4 pm
Eisenhower State Office Building
700 SW Harrison
Topeka

Wednesday, October 3
1 pm - 4 pm
KDOT District 4 Chanute Complex
411 W. 14th
Chanute

Thursday, October 11
1 pm - 4 pm
KDOT Wichita Metro Hillside Office
3200 E. 45th Street, N
Wichita

I mentioned that it does not appear that there is bus service to the meeting for the Kansas City metro area. Does anyone know if there is bus service to any of these meeting? If not, how are car free people in Kansas going to make sure that their voices are heard?

This Month's Board of Director's Meeting

Maybe if more people went to RTD board meetings, the board members would ignore citizens less. It also seems that they are meeting less often, just once a month. So I will start publicizing their meeting times.

Tuesday, September 18 at 5:30 pm
RTD Administrative Offices, basement
1600 Blake Street, Denver
Bus: Everything that goes by Market Street Station.

Illinois Moves toward Rail

Last week Governor Quinn signed HB4078 which allows the Illinois Toll Highway Authority to use all of its existing powers to construct railroad tracks. This legislation has many benefits, but one is to create a means to directly compare the benefits of rail and highways. It creates a transportation authority out of one that advocated for a single mode.

Now we need to find a way to put buses on equal footing.

Taking the Bus to CU Football

You can take what is essentially the northern part of the BroncosRide to see CU play CSU this Saturday at Mile High Stadium.

CU has its first home game the week after on Saturday, September 8 at 2pm. RTD will provide special buses, mostly from the northern metro area, but also from the Federal Center, Southmoor, Wadsworth & Hampden, and Nine Mile. Buses start two and a hours before the game, and leave as soon as the game ends. More information is available on the BuffRide website.

How would you spend $700 million?

This is the question that I asked the participants of the Social Action for Transit meeting last week. Here are there answers:

1. Education/ Green Energy

2. Complete the Rocky Mountain Rail Plan.
     Refit Union Station to allow full access for interstate trains.
     Planned Parenthood

3. Create a public/private partnership with rail companies.
     Build a rail catapult.

4. 25% Education
     25% Health care for the poor
     25% Fast transportation
     25% Bridges and roads

5. Schools/Education
     Alternative energy
     Urban agriculture
     Water conservation in a way that benefits people, not corporations

6. Education
     Urban agriculture
     Building the local economy so that people can be self-sufficient within the Wild West
     Protecting water rights for agriculture

7. Update Amtrak trains - Fix brakes and such

The $700 million is how much that it would cost to widen I-70 for just a few miles within Denver. Is that how you want your money spent? How would you spend $700 million?

Want to Know Where a Particular Amtrak Train is Right Now?

Amtrak Status Maps will tell you. The West and East maps show the long-distance trains while the smaller maps list the shorter, more frequent routes.

Another Way to Get to Jamestown

The Climb, a shuttle that already serves Gold Hill, is extending its service to Jamestown. This service only runs once from Jamestown to Boulder in the morning and then back in the evening, but it is free for residents of Jamestown until the end of the year. Residents of other cities pay $3.00 for one trip or $25 for 10 tickets.

Is Boulder County getting away from depending upon RTD for bus service?

Connecting with Small Town Colorado

Social Action for Transit is having its next meeting in Salida!

Thursday, August 23 at 6 pm
Vino Salida
8100 W. Highway 50
Salida, CO
Bus: The Black Hills bus gets into town at 5:20, and will get you there from Denver, Pine Junction, Grant, Jefferson, Fairplay, and Buena Vista. Unfortunately, you have to wait until 8 the next morning to go back.

Forrest Whitman has invited me to meet his group of mail enthusiasts, most of whom are members of ColoRail. We are also hoping to meet a few new people. Like most of our meetings, this will be an interactive evening. Although I will be giving a brief report on rail planning, or lack of it, in our state, we will mostly be discussing how we want our transportation dollars to be spent. Hopefully, we will also get some brief reports from other people.

Forrest Whitman will buy a bottle from Vino Salida, and those who want to eat will be splitting the cost of pizza.

Want to Know How to Do Business with RTD?

The Colorado Minority and Women's Business Office is hosting an all-day fair to educate businesses on how to do business with government agencies. I am listing this here because both RTD and CDOT will be there, and I personally would like to find out more about how vendors are selected. I am especially concerned that minority and women owned businesses are not being considered when they should be. I have been in too many rooms where all the contractors were white men and where none of the them seemed to know what they were doing.

Buyers and Sellers Procurement Assistance Fair
Tuesday, August 21, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
10:00 am - 3:00 pm Talk directly with government agencies
Tivoli Center on the Auraria Campus, Denver
Bus: 1, 20
Also within walking distance of the Pepsi Center/Elitch's light rail station. To get to this station, take any light rail train that goes to Union Station. All other light rail lines go by the south end of campus where they stop at the Colfax and Auraria Station. Multiple buses stop here as well.

For more information contact LeRoy Romero of the State Minority and Women's Business Office.

Reminder: Schedules Change This Sunday

The fall schedule changes take effect this Sunday, August 19.

Service increases on these routes: 0L, 1, 15, 88, 121, 130, 122X, BOLT, HX, E and F light rail lines

Service is being rerouted on these routes: 59, 66, 88,153, 228, DASH, DM

Service is being cut on these routes: 120X, C and D light rail lines

Multiple lines will have changes that keep the same number of buses, they just run a few minutes earlier or later. Here is the list: 3L, 6, 10, 12, 17, 20, 24, 28, 29/36, 35, 44, 52, 59, 66, 67, 79L, 83L, 92, 120X, 130, 131, 133, 135, 139, 169L, 204,206, 208, 209, 225, 402L, B, BOLT, BOUND, DM, HX, L, S, T, YL, light rail lines C, D, E, and F

BroncosRide Starts Next Week

There are special buses that will take you to every Broncos game including the pre-season game this Saturday, August 18. They usually start running a little more than two hours before kickoff. You can pay per round trip or you can buy a season pass. For more information, including a list of stops and the price of trips from those stops, click here: BroncosRide website.

Please note that season passes will not work for pre-season games.

Is CDOT Widening I-70?

Several people have told me yes, but my state representative, who is on the Transportation Committee at the State House, says no. Social Action for Transit has decided to oppose the widening of I-70 anywhere in Colorado, but we would love to see I-70 be buried within Denver with a park put on top. I have never seen this done successfully, but one of our Social Action for Transit members has. He says to not end  up with an impassible stretch of concrete, to really reunify the Globeville neighborhood, there needs to be a lot of public pressure.

Thankfully, CDOT does hold monthly open houses. The next one is a little earlier in the month than usual.

Wednesday, August 15 from 4:30 to 6:30
Focus Points Family Resource Center
2501 East 48th Avenue
Denver
Bus: 48 (also within walking distance of the 24)

A Member Reports

One of the purposes of Social Action for Transit is to give people a voice who cannot go to a lot of meetings. One of our members will go and then report back. This is our first report.

Chet went to a meeting hosted by the Five Points Business District about the decision of RTD to not build a connection between 30th and Downing and the DIA commuter rail line. We were hoping that the meeting would focus on ways to get this light rail line built, but it was a speech by Phil Washington, the General Director of RTD.

Chet reported the following main points from this speech:

1. RTD had never promised to extend the light rail line north from 30th and Downing

2. RTD has to report each year to DRCOG which oversees what they do. Mr. Washington did not clearly explain what DRCOG is.

3. Current projects will end in 2014/2016.

4. Every year FasTracks can change.

5. The market will dictate what we build next.

Chet commented that we would get a better return on investment if we invested in poorer areas, that we should invest in ten small businesses rather than one big one. He is right.

The Interregional Connectivity Study Finally has a Website

There is very little on it but it is there under projects: http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/ICS. From it you can get to a comment form, downloads of the information presented at the public meetings, and the AGS Study website.

I encourage everyone to comment, and then share their comments widely. The residents of Colorado need to make sure that we have a transportation plan that works for us.

Bert Melcher Shares His Ideas on Highways vs. Transit

Ten years ago, a coalition of citizen's groups came together to fight the widening of I-70 in the mountains. The result of their efforts was the Collaborative Effort which brought together various stakeholders in the mountains to come to an agreement. Bert Melcher represented the Sierra Club for many years as a part of that group. They decided that rail was the best choice to solve transportation problems in the mountains and an agreement was signed that CDOT would not add any capacity to I-70 until a rail study was done.

It does not seem that CDOT is taking that agreement very seriously. Here are some comments that Bert sent to me:

Here are reasons why something must be done. 

For decades there has been no integration of highways and transit/rail with a few recent exceptions including T-Rex I-27 South, US 36 and now I-225 from Nine Mile connecting to RTD East line to DIA,  and our primary concern now, I-70 Mountain rail to DIA.  This latter has been forced on agencies by the Collaborate Efforts Panel’s decision and formal Agreement that is embodied in the Record of Decision of the Final PEIS.

 Other than that, the “Silo” phenomenon has prevailed at all levels of government: each agency is a silo not connected to others.  Some of this is due to the resistance of roadbuilders/oil/auto industrial opposition and influence regarding non-automotive mobility, of course.

The FasTracks DUS-DTA EIS was initially performed in a joint CDOT-RTD planning study, but the two agencies separated after it became evident that both planning and potential construction face different timetables.   Even though the Mountain PEIS was underway, no consideration of mountain rail east of C-470 or DIA-DUS travel.   Silos.  This prevailed even after the Mountain PEIS was revised after the 2004 Draft to include rail but citizen objections about the C-470 eastern terminus of the PEIS.  Hence, a missed opportunity for proper planning.

CDOT really violated good planning practice and compliance with NEPA law in the Final PEIS commenced in 2009-2010.  Citizens advised CDOT not to continue the “segmenting” of the project into two parts, the west [art and the east C-470 to DIA part.  Segmenting is illegal, but CDOT ignored that.   CDOT decided to defer the east part to future studies.

The future studies are now underway and are called the  “AGS” hardware/location study with C-470 as the formal eastern terminus and the InterConnection Study (“ICS”) on the Metro area linkage to the C-470 terminus.  The two studies are concurrent and somewhat tied together (they should logically been one study.)  It appears that the AGS study will pay attention to extension of rail into the metro area and to the DIA. 

The concept of getting rail passengers to the C-470 area terminus via RTD and auto connections prevailed over 15 tears ago and still is around.  I believe that the mountain agencies and people have no concept of the many and severe confronting RTD, and of RTD’s head-in-the-sand attitude about J-70 and rail.    I sent a longer discussion of this about two weeks ago.  The HUD “Sustainable Communities” study on the three RTD routes  (East, Gold and Metro North) could but probably won’t consider any joint or integrated planning.

The bottom line:  One of the possible AGS routes from DIA would be the I-270/I-76 corridor, with possible stations at the RTD Metro North and Gold lines.  Inasmuch as the Swansea route of the elevated highway should be moved to the same corridor, why not integrate highway and rail studies?  To paraphrase President Reagan: “Governor Hickenlooper, tear down those silos.”