An Expanded Lyons Shuttle Returns

The free Boulder-Lyons shuttle started this weekend and will run until August 31. It runs Friday evening through Sunday evening. It runs from the downtown Boulder Transit Center to a loop through downtown Lyons along US 36. The bus serves at least one trailhead, for Lakeridge Trail. Click here for a schedule and map (PDF).

This bus is free for all, but all buses can be free for Lyons residents. If you live in Lyons, call the City of Lyons at 303-823-6622 to find out how to get an RTD EcoPass which is a free pass for all RTD buses and light rail.

Public Open Houses about Rail along the Front Range

Wednesday, May 29 at 5-7:30 pm
PPACG
15 South Seventh Street
Colorado Springs

Thursday, May 30 at 5-7:30 pm
Pueblo Convention Center
320 Central Main Street
Pueblo

Wednesday, June 5 at 5-7:30 pm
Windsor Recreation Center
250 North 11th Street
Windsor

Thursday, June 6 at 5-7:30 pm
CDOT Headquarters Auditorium
4201 E. Arkansas Avenue
Denver

Tuesday, June 11 at 5-7:30 pm
Silverthorne Library
651 Center Circle
Silverthorne

These open houses are to let the public know about the progress of a study looking into the viability of rail along the Front Range. I am concerned that the people who are conducting these studies are not qualified to do so. I am also concerned that the public are not being properly informed of what is happening. For example, I am concerned that the meeting for the north area is not in either Fort Collins or Greeley and is not accessible by any kind of transit.

Downtown Boulder Bus Stops are Moving

Boulder is converting 14th Street near the bus station to pedestrian/bus/bike only. As such on May 29, 14th Street between Canyon and Walnut will be permanently closed to cars. Local buses will be moved for three months to the other side of Canyon, to 14th between Canyon and Arapahoe. Stops that are now on the east side of the street will remain on the east side of the street. Stops that are now on the west side of the street will remain on the west side of the street. On street parking will be removed during this time.

Any bus that goes inside the Boulder Transit Center building will continue to do so. All bus stops currently stop on Canyon or Walnut will remain exactly as they are now.

I think that it would be interesting for the City of Boulder to monitor clients of the businesses and events along 13th. I am more likely to go to the Dushanbe Tea House and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. During this time, BMOCA is hosting an exhibition of paper art and the Dushanbe Tea House is hosting the Rocky Mountain Tea Festival.

It would be also interesting to see if more Boulder High School students start taking the bus as this moves all the downtown buses to within a block of the school. Although student ridership is pretty high already.

Questions:

1. Will pedestrian access to the Transit Center be blocked in any way? It looks like people can walk from Pearl Street just fine, but that access from Canyon may be blocked.

Here is the answer from the City of Boulder: "a sidewalk on one side of 14^th Street will be open at all times and the detour signage will guide walkers through the area."

Update: I have walked the whole area, and I could get everywhere with no safety issues.

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.

RTD May Board Meeting

Tuesday, May 14 at 5:30 pm
1600 Blake Street, basement
Denver
Bus: This location is around the corner from Market Street Station

The FasTracks Monitoring Committee, Planning and Development Committee, and the Government Relations Committee will be reporting. People who wish to comment usually must be at the meeting by 5:45. Also, the planning and development committee seems to have been completely taken over by developers.

Train Day in Denver

Housing in the Golden Age of Train Travel by Karen Gerdine-Brown
Saturday, May 11 at 1:30 pm
Blair-Caldwell Library
2401 Welton Street
Denver
Bus: 38
Light Rail: D

This a part of the Five Points Housing event.

What should Boulder County charge oil and gas companies for their impact on the counties transportation system?

Public Hearing on Transportation Fees and Amendments to the Transportation Section of the Oil and Gas Regulations
Thursday, May 16 at 4pm
Boulder County Courthouse, third floor
1325 Pearl
Boulder
Bus: 204, 205, 206, 208, 225, DASH, HOP, B, BOLT, JUMP, SKIP
(For some reason, the JUMP is not on Google maps.)

So I did not have enough time to read through report (PDF) by the stupid white boy that the County hired to do the study. (Seriously, if you are not smart enough for government work, stay away from my tax dollars.) Briefly, the oil and gas industry damages the roads. The question is, how much of that damage should the oil and gas industry pay for and how should they pay?

It would be great if someone could go through report, Boulder County Oil and Gas Roadway Impact Study (PDF), and extract the relevant information for the rest of us.

An additional comment period has been added to the end of the meeting.