Train between Denver and Westminster opens on July 25

And two parties are planned at Westminster Station to celebrate.

Monday, July 25
B Line is free all day
10 am - Ribbon Cutting ceremony
11 am to 4 pm - Family event

Saturday, July 30
All trains are free today.
6 to 10 pm - More family fun with food, carnival games, a free concert ending with fireworks

For more information, visit the City of Westminster website: http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/CityGovernment/CommunityDevelopment/PlanningDivision/CommuterRail/WestminsterStation

Unfortunately, Westminster does not seem to realize that people who currently take trains and buses will be taking this train. Hopefully, that fact does not wreck B Line operations. The new train will run between Westminster Station (71st and Hooker) and Union Station. It is a commuter rail train like the train to the airport, not a light rail. The area may be served by the 31 bus but I don't think that the City of Westminster has thought about walkability or bikeability in the area.

Update: Apparently, the 31 and the 72 buses will serve this station.

The B Line also has its own page on the RTD website: http://www.rtd-denver.com/b-line.shtml

Ride the Rails with Rep. Perlmutter

Monday, September 14, 7-9 am
W Line (on the train)
Federal Center Station to ???

I would assume that Rep. Perlmutter and his staff would ride until Lamar or Sheridan Stations as that is the border of his district.

I assume that this will be organized like his Government in the Grocery events where you have the opportunity to sign up to speak to the Rep. one on one. But I could be wrong.

Want to see where commuter rail trains are taken care of?

RTD's Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility
Saturday, July 25, 10- 2 pm
613 W. 48th Avenue
Denver
Bus: none?

This looks interesting, but it seems that people who work here are not going to be able to take the bus or the train and current train and bus riders cannot attend this event. ???

Gold Line Open House with Pancakes

Saturday, June 6, 9 am to 11 am
Olde Town Arvada Square
5751 Olde Wadsworth Blvd.
Arvada, CO

This is a CONSTRUCTION update. I hope that people come and make sure that the people doing the building understand what they are building.

Spanish translation is only available by contacting Christina Zazueta at 303-576-3352 or Christina.Zazueta@dtpjv.com.

Fare Study Continues

 There are public meetings from December 3 to 11, an online video (en español), and the opportunity to comment online until December 14.

Fare Study Meetings

Wednesday, December 3 at 6 pm
Clements Community Center
1580 Yarrow
Lakewood
Bus: 16, 16L
Within walking distance of the 20, 26, 28, and 76. The path to the Wadsworth Light Rail Station may be blocked by construction.

Thursday, December 4 at noon
Boulder City Council Chambers
1777 Broadway Street
Boulder
Bus: This location is a block and a half from the Boulder Transit Center.

Thursday, December 4 at 6 pm
Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center
11151 Colorado Boulevard
Thornton
Bus: 92

Wednesday, December 10 at 6 pm
Aurora Central Library
14949 E. Alameda Parkway
Aurora
Bus: 130, 133,  153

Wednesday, December 10 at noon
RTD Administrative Offices
1600 Blake Street, Rooms T & D
Denver
Bus: 0, 6, 20, 28, 32, 44 eastbound. Westbound buses leave from a block and a half away.
Free Mall Shuttle

Thursday, December 11 at 6 pm
Bemis Library
6014 S. Datura Street
Littleton
Bus: A block and a half from the 66

After the first meeting, I am reassured that the fare study is not a sneaky way to make raising fares inevitable, but I remain concerned that RTD is not even recognizing their communication failures. They seem to think that people misunderstand the current fare system solely because it is too complicated not because RTD has done a terrible job of communicating how much things cost. For example, the maps of the light rail system are made to look pretty rather than be informative. If RTD cannot communicate, any fare change will go badly.

The Lakewood meeting was mostly white, mostly occaisional bus and light rail riders. The was meeting structured such that people were expected to come at the start and stay through the whole thing, which I did not do. Should we be encouraging a more diverse group of people to be going to these meetings or should we be organizing our own meetings to help people tell RTD what they think?

Lack of transit promotes inequality

It costs more than $10,000 a year to own a car in the Denver Metro Area. That means that it costs more to maintain a car than it takes for most people to live. It also means that if you do need a car to get to work you need to spend money before you have earned it. If you need a car to get to the grocery store, and can't afford one, you may be malnourished. If you need more education to get a job, but need a car to get there, you may end up unemployed or in dead end jobs.

It also means that cities, counties, and states spend more money than we should on a transportation system that does not serve everyone. It takes more tax dollars to move people by personal car than by bus. It takes a greater subsidy to move people by personal car than by train. This means less money to spend on health care, less money to spend on education. This means that wealthy people who do not have to depend on public services, will do better than people who do.

Promoting car ownership promotes inequality by promoting poor health. Highways make walking dangerous which makes it difficult for many people to get enough exercise as a part of their daily lives. This means that staying healthy means having enough extra time to include exercise as an extra activity. It may mean having to pay for a gym membership just to have a place to exercise. People who have to work two jobs just to survive are not going to have the time or the extra resources.

Of course, some of those people would not have to work two jobs if they did not have to spend thousands of dollars just to get to work.

Your Chance to See if Changes in Broomfield are Improvements

Transportation Progress: Broomfield and Beyond
Thursday, May 23, 6:00 - 7:30
Broomfield Auditorium (south of Mamie Doud Library)
3 Community Park Road
Broomfield
Bus: 112
The 120 and the 128 are also close.

The official meeting announcement reads, "Join experts from CDOT, RTD, 36 Commuting Solutions and Smart Commute Metro North to learn about progress to implement transit and corridor improvements in the North and Northwest regions, including I-25 and US 36 Express Lanes Project, US 36 Bus Rapid Transit, Northwest Rail, North Metro Rail."

I am concerned that a lot of people would not consider all of these things to be improvements. In fact, I dislike using the word improvement to describe transportation projects. Very few things are 100% good and pretending that something is shuts down public input, leading to tax dollars being used for projects that taxpayers don't want. It also means that we don't mitigate the negative aspects of the projects that we do want. For example, the FasTracks project is taking a lot more space than it needs to, making blocking pedestrians and transit oriented development.

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!"

California Zephyr Diversion Dates 2012

Every year UP diverts Amtrak's California Zephyr from its normal route between Denver and Salt Lake City to do track work. From Denver, the train runs to Laramie, Wyoming and Ogden, Utah before rejoining its normal route at Salt Lake City. It looks like the diversion is going to be earlier and shorter than it has in past years with trains running a different schedule from Wednesday, May 16 through Tuesday, May 22 and Friday June 1 through Thursday, June 7.

Update: Trains will depart Denver one hour earlier than usual on the above dates. So make sure to be at the station on time. Buses will only be provided for people going to Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction.

Those are the dates when the trains actually go through Wyoming. The trains leave Emeryville, CA or Chicago at least one day earlier. Trains going both directions are being diverted.

So if you want to take the train to the mountains on these dates, you are out of luck. However, if you want to see a different route, these may be the dates to book. If you are on board for a longer trip, don't worry about delays; this route takes less time than the usual one.

In fact, you should be worried about delays before hand. Trains will run at least three hours late going west through Colorado from Monday, April 16 through Monday, April 23 and from Tuesday, May 1 through Friday, May 4. Trains running east will be delayed Sunday, May 6 through Tuesday, May 8. People taking the train to Illinois on these days will not be able to make connections either in Galesburg or Chicago.

Here is a slideshow of what you can see along the route:

Two Meetings on One Night

If you are interested in the future of transit options in Boulder County, there are two meetings that might interest you. Unfortunately, they are both on the same night, this coming Monday.

Plan Boulder County is hosting a forum to discuss whether the area should get rail, BRT, or a combination of the two. Other forms of bus service are not going to be discussed. Karen Benker, both a former RTD board member and a former member of Longmont's city council; Audrey De Barros, executive director of 36 Commuting Solutions; John Tayer, RTD board member, and Will Toor, Boulder County commissioner, will be panelists. The meeting is being held in a restaurant, so eating and drinking are encouraged.

Monday, March 19, 7pm
Shine
2027 13th Street, Boulder
Bus: SKIP
The restaurant is three blocks from the Boulder Transit Center.

There is also going to be a public meeting on the station plan for downtown Longmont. I am concerned that the plan has too much parking and I can't tell where the transit is going to go. I also don't see any walkability improvements. There are summaries of comments on the Longmont City website. Business owners seem to want a circular, and residents are concerned that there will be a "sea of parking".

Monday, March 19 at 6 pm, presentation at 7 pm
Longmont Library, Rooms A & B
409 4th Avenue, Longmont:
Buses: BOLT (Please note that all local buses will have stopped running by this time.)

I wonder if there are any plans to add evening bus service within Longmont so that transit dependent people can actually go to these meetings.

What is Happening with Federal Transportation Legislation

The Midwest High Speed Rail Association is one of the best places to get information about H.R. 7, the US House bill was originally intended to gut federal funding for buses and trains, as well as the US Senate Transportation bill, MAP-21, a much better alternative.

Here is a summary of their most recent update with a few comments on what this means for Colorado:

The current surface transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, expires on March 31. That means that if Congress does not pass something by the end of the month, the gas tax will expire, and the federal government will cease to send money to the states for transportation purposes. That not only means no money for highways,  it could also mean that federal funding for FasTracks and other public transportation projects could abruptly dry up, causing serious problems for local agencies that are already struggling to keep buses on the road.

We are this close to disaster because the House introduced a few terrible bills that attacked funding for buses and trains. For example, a bill was introduced that would make it almost impossible to use any part of the gas tax for public transportation. This would cause some places to lose all their bus service. Advocates of all kinds created such an outcry that many Republicans stood up to their party's leadership over this issue. I think that many people who serve areas with very little bus or train service thought that there was no support for public transportation, when in fact people who live places with one rail line and crappy bus service are desperate not to lose what they have.

Bus and train service may be cut in the City of New York or in Chicago if federal funds are cut, but it will still run more frequently and longer hours than most places in the country. The same in not true for the exurbs of Minneapolis, and many small towns throughout our nation.

So what are the options. Madeline Grennan of Midwest HSR says, "There are rumors that the House will produce a viable bill before the March 31st deadline, while other say the House will have to take up the Senate bill or extend SAFETEA-LU for the 9th time."

Here is what she says about transportation legislation in the Senate: "Meanwhile, the Senate is closer to passing MAP-21, a bipartisan two-year transportation reauthorization that preserves dedicated funding for transit, presents a consolidation of restructured programs and formulas, and reforms and simplifies grants offered by the Department of Transportation so that criteria are based more strongly on merit. Several positive amendments have also been adopted into the bill in the last few weeks. This week the Senate will debate the remaining proposed amendments and hopefully take a final vote on the bill."

Transportation for America has a list of the amendments in the Senate with their current status on their website.

US House Ways and Means Committee cuts money to public transit

Since the Reagan administration, some of our fuel tax dollars have gone toward buses and trains, mostly buses. While federal fuel tax money is a small part of some transit agency's budgets, others get as much as 20% of their money from this source. Unfortunately, the current bill reauthorizing the fuel tax, HR 3864 would end using fuel tax money for buses and trains. It seems to replace $25 billion with $40 billion, but in it is replacing a dedicated $25 billion each year with $40 billion for infinity. In fact, the new Alternative Transportation Account is not guaranteed to ever come into existence by this bill.

The good news is that our opponents know that they are trying to pull a fast one on the American public. That is why the bill is not clear. That is why two Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee voted against this bill. That is why when I called the office of that committee, the staff pretended that they did not know what was happening.

We need to keep dedicated revenues going to buses and trains. We need to keep at least 10% of highway funds going to other forms of transportation.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION

Vindication by Train by Elia Fisher

It seems that more than ever these days nearly every person has a profound opinion about the state of our local, regional, and national affairs. The disquiet stems from Main Street to Wall Street, exists from the front lawn of my house to your house to the White House and all points in between. Public distrust of our central council and regional governments has been demonstrated on sidewalks, inside of beltways, overheard on the outside patio of coffee shops, and expressed over the airwaves of talk radio communities in almost every corner of the US.

Personal responsibility and proactive ownership on the other hand seems far less exercised. This, too, has been greatly demonstrated to the extreme by the American citizenry. From the occasional motorist sporting a “Pro-Life” bumper sticker on the back of his or her Ford Excursion while barreling carelessly down the roadway at high speeds to the self-professed libertarian who views “free” curbside parking as a non-government-subsidized public entitlement (like there is such a thing) to the anti-corporate, pro-tax human rights activists who demand impunity for undocumented immigrants to the hard working blue collar unionist who does all of his weekly shopping at a multinational big-box merchant, it seems that society is as equally rich in hypocrisy as it is in opinion.

Undoubtedly the biggest cause of pollution, human illness, social injustice, the weakening condition of our national security, our ever inflating health care costs, and our economic stagnation is America‘s love affair with the car. The impacts of the “private” automobile has been hugely ignored by the many modern Americans as equally as much as the many benefits of taking public transportation have been greatly overlooked.

Personally, I feel that the most powerful way to bring about change is to take unspoken action, like the lifestyle Christians and the Ralph Naders of this country tend to do. So where can the average person like me find a magic fulcrum for taking action and fostering great change in our country? Right at our front doorstep in the buses and trains that run in front of our own house or apartment.

A Gallup poll released earlier this year found that at least 3 out of every 4 Americans are highly concerned about “contamination by of soil and water by toxic waste”. This is in spite of the fact that many of them don’t mind or either don’t bother to care about their own heavy contribution to the rising cancer rates in many Canadian cities, towns, and villages that have been caused by the mining of oil sands. Canada is, after all, America’s biggest supplier of the crude that we use to fuel our automobiles. In several places affected by the steam extraction of the Athabasca oil sands, some cancer rates are 30% higher than the Canadian average. But I guess if it is not happening to us, we shouldn’t care, right? Well at least that seems to be the prevailing attitude. To me that is a prime example of the usual double standard.

Throughout the past decade, several US senators and house members have introduced bills calling for the issuance of an official apology to American Indians for the wrong-doings committed throughout the past. Strangely, these same lawmakers have recently and continually voted in favor of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the interests of big oil. Offering an apology for destroying an ancient, God-given lifestyle while simultaneously opening their land to exploitation is a moot gesture to say the least. Like many parents tell their kids, sorry is a sorry word- the best way to apologize is to refrain from repeating the guilty offense. Therefore if an elected official wants to truly apologize for the near extermination of the American buffalo and the resulting ultra-high diabetes rates and chemical addictions (also now linked to non-paleo diets) that are found among the today’s remaining indigenous Great Plains cultures, he or she should instead prove that they really care for aboriginal people by protecting the moose, caribou, and salmon that Alaskan Natives and Canadian First Nations still subsist on today. One way to do this would be to invest in a national train system instead of highway infrastructure and the billions of dollars worth of big oil subsidies that have gone along with it. Together with keeping oil companies out of the remaining traditional hunting grounds, this would be a sincere act of contrition.

And for you Tea Party activists out there, I am sorry to say that you have not escaped the scope on this one. Those of you who have criticized the government are often just as guilty of double standard thinking as the next guy over. As you often and rightfully suggest, nothing in this world is free. To exist costs money. And it would only be right to enact a tax strategy that lowers national spending and eases the taxpayer burden, right? Well, if you didn’t know, an investment is when you use capital to save capital. May I ask if you have missed the multitudes of independent studies throughout the last several decades that have proven rail’s cost effectiveness over air and highway travel?

There is a special magic in public transit that holds a golden benefit for everyone. I could go on and on about how taking the bus or train can improve the world in which we live, but instead I encourage you as an individual to look into the power that it beholds.

So in all the confusion it should be good to know that changing the world really is easy. Whether you are a private citizen with a bumper sticker on your vehicle that reads, “Live simply so that other may simply live”, or are an elected public official who is an extreme hardcore national security hawk, right now is your opportunity to mean what you say by exchanging your hippy hotrod Volkswagen or gas guzzling pickup truck for a transit pass. Actions speak far louder than words.

The next you want to help preserve the culture of an indigenous American community, limit your environmental footprint, or take a stand against a government that is hostile to western society, get out of your car and get onto a train. The time for concerned citizens to reevaluate the worth of public transportation is here and is way overdue.Just a simple observation from a commonsense independent voter.

No local potatoes?

When I went to the store today, the peaches were from Utah rather than Colorado. This may have been because of climate; the peach season in Colorado was actually longer than usual this year. But I am often surprised at how hard it it is to get food that is grown in state. Potatoes keep all year and grow well in some parts of the state. I can get potatoes from Idaho and Michigan all year round, why not from Colorado? Do they all sell before the end of the season?

We cannot grow enough food here in Colorado to feed ourselves, our growing season is too short. Even states that have more farm-friendly climates import a lot of food because people in the US are used to having the same foods in their supermarkets year round. Most of this food is shipped by truck, and some fresh food companies are having a hard time finding trucks to transport their goods. This may be because higher diesel prices have made things harder for trucking companies, meaning that there are fewer trucks out there.

Whatever the reason, train companies, such as Railex, are filling the gap. Each Railex train takes 200 trucks off our highways which reduces traffic congestion, making all forms of transportation more reliable. It also means that the states that rail serves have a more flexible food delivery system. If food can't get where it needs to go by truck, a train can bring it before it rots.

Colorado is particularly dependent on trucks for our food. Some grain is shipped by rail, usually heading out of state, but vegetable and fruits usually come in by truck. Railex does not ship here.

Trains not only add depth to our transportation system, they have the additional benefit of being more environmentally friendly than trucks. A Railex train uses a third the diesel fuel that those 200 trucks do and produces a third the greenhouse gases. For companies like Albert's Organics, this is important.

But services like Railex need a certain kind of infrastructure to work. Tracks need to be smooth so that food does not get bruised in transport. The trains need to be able to go fast, more like passenger trains, so that the produce does not rot before it can be sold. The slow speed of a coal train does not work. There also needs to be the capacity to load and unload trains indoors. That I know of, these conditions can only be met in California, Washington, New York with a new distribution center coming in the southeast (North Carolina?). Illinois may have the tracks that can meet this demand, but may not have the proper warehouse capacity anymore.

How does this influence what foods we can get in our supermarkets? It means that farmers in the states of California, Washington, and New York know that they can distribute fresh foods and vegetables around the country, no matter what happens to our transportation system. It means that distributors operating in those states can boast about being environmentally sensitive and sustainable in a way that distributors in other states cannot. It means that it is always worth more to invest in agriculture in states with good rail infrastructure even when the climate and soil conditions are comparable (or even better) elsewhere.

It means that our uneven infrastructure promotes the centralization of agriculture. If we want a more balanced food supply, which includes being able to buy local when we are buying produce that grows well where we live, we need to have more consistent rail infrastructure. If rail in Colorado is only good for coal trains, that is the only thing that they will carry. And all the businesses that could benefit from good trains will go elsewhere.

ColoRail Member Meeting

The Colorado Department of Transportation has a new Rail and Transit Division, and of course that division has a new director, Mark Imhoff, who was instrumental in getting Denver's first light rail line built.

Mr. Imhoff is coming to the next Colorado Rail Passenger Association Member Meeting. Yay! We might even have the chance to give him suggestions.

We are meeting on Saturday, November 20 at 10:30 at the Englewood Community Center and Library. Mr. Imhoff's section starts at 10:45. At 11:45 the Board will ask the members what they would like us to be working on.

The Englewood Community Center is on light rail line D. Bus routes 0, 12, and 27 come right next to the center.

Take action to put more buses and trains on our streets

A previous post mentioned the Public Transportation Preservation Act (S 3412 and HR 5418) which would provide federal money to restore bus and train service that has been cut throughout the nation.

Cars get a subsidy from every tax that we pay. We pay for cars through property taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, and miscellaneous fees. Buses and trains deserve the same level of support. Some car people who want to widen a single highway in my state are looking for $20 billion in subsidies. The Public Transportation Preservation Act would restore bus and train service throughout the country for only $2 billion.

Also, to show that people in the US will ride trains, we need to actually run them. Cuts create declining ridership which gives a weapon to train opponents.

I hope that you will all send letters to your Representatives and Senators through the online petition at Change.org.

Tell Congress to pass the Public Transportation Preservation Act

A Way to Support Local Transit

Senator Chris Dodd recently introduced the Public Transportation Preservation Act (S. 3412) . So far only Senators from states with good transit are co-sponsoring this bill. This act would give local transit agencies money to maintain basic bus and train service, something that we are losing now.

The companion legislation in the House is HR 5418.

So please call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor this legislation.

More on airplanes vs. trains

On my recent trip, I came home on the California Zephyr which is not the most pleasant train in the Amtrak system. In particular, it was not very clean.

While we were starting to head toward Denver, I heard a woman talking on her cellphone to a friend. She said that she was pleasantly surprised because the train (and its bathrooms) was so clean!

Apparently, the airlines are throwing giant pigpens through the air.

So take the train because it will never be as disgusting as flying.

Warning for visitors to Toronto

The management of Union Station in Toronto have decided to take down the signs that tell you how to get to the different kind of transit services that they provide. Here is guide to the signs.

TTC = subway

VIA = trains

I am sure that there is some other acronym for buses.

(From comments at Slate.com.)

"A response to why cars and planes are better than trains" by George Robertson

1. Airports are single pupoose expensive and quite dangerous (9/11), Freeways aresingle purpose, expensive and quite Dangerous 40,000 fatalities annually (As if Al Quaida succeeded a little over once a month)

2. Planes go where they want but landing is mainly done at airports,  we call it crashing when it is not at an airport.  Cars, Trucks and Buses mostly confine themselves to roads.

3. Flying before or after your scheduled flight is very expensive, very energy intensive, or very very tiring. 
Cars do leave when they want, but they are very energy inefficient, and you have to drive.  You cannot read or work or relax and have dinner with four interesting people you just met on the train while you travel.

4.  Getting off the plane between airports is generally fatal.  
You can get out of the car where ever you want, but they are very energy inefficient, and you have to drive.  You cannot read or work or relax and have dinner with four interesting people you just met on the train while you travel.

5. But trainsets are modular and as a result they can be easily sized to fit their load, unlike both planes and cars.

Furthermore.... Did someone propose having only trains?

Buses are more flexible....but they get stuck in traffic, , are much much smaller and carry a tiny fractionn of the number of people and and much less freight, They cannot reach half the speed that modern trains can for longer trips.  they are handy for getting to the train however and you don't have to park.

Cars are more.....but they are very energy inefficient, and you have to drive.  You cannot read or work or relax and have dinner with four interesting people you just met on the train while you travel.

Why not make a better automobile engine....yes why not do that? you get right on that.  I'm going to take the Train to LA while you work on that and  I'll read a couple of novels. meet and dine with about twenty strangers on the way and have a thoroughly wonderful trip.

(Reposted here because the original disappeared from Ideas for Change: Rebuild American's Rail System. George Robertson has his own blog, Khyimo.)