Let's discuss buses over tea

Thursday, May 2 at 2 pm
Corner Cupboard Tea Room
2099 Wadsworth
Lakewood
Bus: 20, 26, 76

The tea house is near the northeast end of the shopping area, near the strip that connects the shops' sidewalk to the sidewalk along Wadsworth.

I always enjoy discussing buses over tea, so I thought I would try an afternoon at my local tea shop. I am hoping that we can discuss getting better service in between Lakewood and Golden. We may also discuss wage theft in the FasTracks program.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Nuns on the Bus Colorado (mostly by Anna Koop)

Many people know about the Nuns on the Bus movement, but did you know that last November we had our own short tour here in Colorado?

NUNS ON THE BUS

BY ANNA KOOP SL

On June 18, 2012, Sister Simone of NETWORK and a small band of other Sisters boarded a bus in Des Moines, IA and travelled until July 2^nd when they arrived in Washington, D.C. Their message was that Paul Ryan’s budget was not a fair budget. They stopped at various places where nuns are offering important services to disadvantaged people and visited numerous congresspersons offices.

In Denver, CO a small group of people began to plan another Nuns on the Bus event for November, 2012 during which local Sisters and lay people would board two fourteen person buses and do a little tour of Colorado. Our mantra was “reasonable revenue for responsible programs”. Congress had already passed over a billion dollars in cuts to human services programs.

Our first stop was at the Denver airport where we picked up Sr. Simone Campbell. It was wonderful to travel with such a spirited and dedicated person. She divided her ride between the two buses and shared wonderful stories about her adventures.

We were headed for Colorado Springs and the Meadows Park Community Center where a gathering of about 100 people listened to some description of the wonderful services offered there. Everything from child care to senior lunches. The people congregated surely agreed with the notion that the federal government should not be cutting any of these services. Certainly some excesses could be trimmed from some other places in the federal budget and some taxes could be raised for wealthy people who had been enjoying tax shelters for a number of years. But would we really want to have the most vulnerable people in our country suffering more from cuts in the federal budget?

Our next stop was the Boulder Homeless shelter where another 100 people were gathered to say that the work of the elections has not been completed by electing President Obama. There is still much to be done!! We were told that the Boulder Shelter would not exist if it had not been for Sister Donna Ryan who was one of the persons who worked to get it established. One impassioned speaker talked about how we must not forget the children and their needs. This ended our day’s travels.

The next day about 100 people gathered outside of Senator Bennet’s office while a small group of people went in to speak with a staff person about Senator Bennet’s budget positions. It was amazing to experience Sr. Simone’s knowledge and expertise in moving the conversation along.

Since this bus ride we have continued to track what is happening with the federal budget and have had other gatherings to draw attention to what congress is or is not doing to consider those most in need as they make budget decisions.

Nuns on the Bus continue to hold events around the country, and are planning another multi-state tour for this summer.

Texas is looking for public comments on a rail study

Currently, TxDOT is seeking public comments on possible passenger rail connections between southeastern Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth area and between Dallas/Fort Worth and Oklahoma City.  Of particular interest to me is a possible new rail line between San Antonio and McAllen. Other options use already existing rail, and in some cases involve improving the frequency and/or speed of existing passenger rail options.

TxDOT Public Comment Form Texas to Oklahoma Rail

If you are interested in passenger rail in either Texas or Oklahoma, please click on the above form before April 26, 1013.

You can also mail your comments to:

Mark Werner
TxDOT – RRD
125 E. 11^th St.
Austin, TX 78701

Westminster and Highlands Open Houses have been rescheduled

Each open house starts at 5:30 and ends at 7:30. Valente's catered the event in Arvada, but only light refreshments are promised

Wednesday, May 1
Westminster High School
6933 Raleigh Street
Westminster
Bus: 72 (Please note that the 72 has two paths through this area. The 72W will get you closest to the high school.)

Wednesday, May 8
Highlands Masonic Center
3550 Federal Boulevard
Denver
Bus: 31

This is a PR event that is oriented toward privileged white people. One of the presenters made fun of one of the other presenters name. The old white boys liked that. \

At the event in Arvada, even though the presentation was completely construction oriented, it was difficult to figure out where they are in the construction. It was not possible to evaluate how the construction is going from the people who were representing. They were all PR people without construction or business backgrounds.

Decisions are portrayed as final just as they were with the W line, although I found out later that many decisions were still up in the air. I assume that local citizens can influence some things, even though it is not easy to find out what those things are.

Si habla español, puede mandar servicios de traducion a Christina Zazueta, 303-576-3352, Christina.Zazueta@dtpjv.com.

Get two free rides on the W line after it opens.

To get two free rides on the W line, like RTD's Facebook page and then click on this link: https://apps.facebook.com/westlinefreerides/contests/317215/entries/new.

I think these free rides may be good for any bus or light rail in the RTD system, but I don't want to make any promises. I hope so as many people take the bus to the train.

Colorado's cities and towns can now use gas tax dollars for transit projects

Last Thursday, the Colorado House passed Senate Bill 48 which permits cities and counties in Colorado to use gas tax dollars for any transportation project. I believe that this means that the bill heads to the governor's office to be signed.

SB 48 would allow Colorado's cities and counties to use their gas tax dollars for any transportation projects. This is good as it makes it easier for cities and counties to do what works best and what is most efficient rather. Currently, cities and counties get funding for particular kinds of projects, usually roads, before the planning has been done. Once that funding has been given, the city or county cannot decide that they need a bus or a sidewalk more or even as a part of the project. And gas tax dollars cannot be used at all for anything other than roads, even though buses pay the gas tax.

This bill does not completely solve that problem, but it does take steps in that direction.

There are still some problems. Bike lanes and sidewalks are specifically mentioned while buses and trains are not. This is a problem because the infrastructure we need to build is rail. We need to stop thinking about construction and about using what we have more efficiently. Bikes should be able to use the roads that we have now safely. People should be able to walk safely in their own neighborhoods, especially if they live away from the urban core.

It also does not address the ways that planning departments are structured to decide to build a road or run a bus or build a bike lane, etc. before they have gathered any data about what really needs to be done. We need to be comparing different modes to each other. We need to realize that the same person can be a driver, a bike rider, a bus rider, and a pedestrian.

But this is a good first step towards spending our transportation dollars more effectively.