DENVER | Transportation Thread

[CharlesCO]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

You could today. Englewood just wrapped up an apartment project by the Oxford Station that's much larger than what they did next to the Englewood Station back in the day. No way they'd build that TOD at such a low density if we were just doing the Cinderella City redevelopment now.

Exactly. Englewood has to be one of the earliest TOD projects in the metro area, and all of that was planned when RTD light rail was pretty new (and still not really proven.) If the southwest corridor line were built today or even in the last ten years, not only would it probably be commuter rail, but they almost certainly would have gone for something more than big boxes and 3-4 story apartments. Historically as a city, Englewood has been pretty open to development.

With that said, since it is all still fairly new construction, I don't really see much of that immediate area densifying anytime soon beyond filling in some of the areas around Hampden or around Broadway. And that's fine.

But then I suppose on the other hand, maybe we could see a lot of those big-boxy things redevelop sooner than we think. The River Pointé development in nearby Sheridan, as I understand it, has had trouble attracting stores to move in. I could be wrong but I feel like that entire shopping center has never been 100% occupied. That's not a very strong endorsement of low density, big box, brick and mortar retail. We're already seeing Cherry Creek flip the fairly new Whole Foods and other things into denser development, so maybe Englewood isn't too far behind.

[mr1138]

Originally Posted by CharlesCO

But then I suppose on the other hand, maybe we could see a lot of those big-boxy things redevelop sooner than we think. The River Pointé development in nearby Sheridan, as I understand it, has had trouble attracting stores to move in. I could be wrong but I feel like that entire shopping center has never been 100% occupied. That's not a very strong sign of low density, big box, brick and mortar retail. We're already seeing Cherry Creek flip the fairly new Whole Foods and other things into denser development, so maybe Englewood isn't too far behind.

I was thinking this too. Those apartments they built might not be dense enough, but are decent enough land-holders for the short term. The real problem is all of the strip malls and parking lots just beyond the initial plaza. They aren't even close to building out the .5 walking radius on the east side of Santa Fe. Walmart in a TOD? At least that company isn't known for having a good track record of longevity with their stores, so it may become a development opportunity sooner than people realize. But in a more profitable location, I suppose it could be different?

Connecting Cinderella City to South Broadway in a real way would be a game changer and have the makings of a pretty decent little downtown.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by CharlesCO

I had a whole post planned...

Wonderful photo tour; many thanks.

While it's been a (very) long time, I used to hang along Littleton Blvd, along So. Broadway up into Englewood and along old E. Hampden Ave. There used to be The Best Italian restaurants and/or pizza joints in the area.

Also, my 23 year-old son was born at Swedish Hospital. Around the corner from Swedish is the acclaimed Craig (rehab) Hospital which (fairly) recently worked with former Olympian star Any Van Dyken who married Denver Broncos punter Tom Rouen and live in the Phoenix area where she was paralyzed in an ATV accident.

Craig Hospital recently finished its own expansion.




Images courtesy of SmithGroup JJR

I also agree that while the Big Box approach near the Englewood Station isn't ideal it may be just as well in that when it finally is ready for redevelopment it's likely to be much more dense than if they had done it from the git-go.

[TakeFive]

Suggested Enhanced Bus Routes

Notes

• This was a tough exercise and I freely acknowledge that one could likely throw darts at a map and do just as good.
• This is an RTD regional vision
• It's more about areas of enhancement to include frequency and bus stop quality. Specific bus upgrades will likely have to occur over time.
• Working generally from the inside-out and counter-clockwise it has a SE-erly bias which is both logical and my bias as well.

West

West Alameda - from the Alameda LRT Station to Wadsworth Blvd plus a leg along the redeveloping Morrison Road to Sheridan.
Wadsworth Blvd - from W Virginia Ave to Olde Town Arvada.
Sheridan Blvd - to be a Phase 2 route

South
(With light rail along So Broadway to the I-25 Station)

South Broadway - from the I-25 LRT Station to Littleton Blvd and then west to the Littleton LRT Station
E Evans Ave - from LRT Evans Station to Colorado Blvd/Station.

Southeast

Two routes from Belleview Station
Mr. Shorty - between Belleview Station and Arapahoe Station through the business park
Mr. DTC - from Belleview Station east along Belleview and south along DTC Parkway to loop around and back on Belleview
East Arapahoe Rd - From the Streets at SouthGlenn to Arapahoe Station

So Quebec St/Tamarac Dr - From the LRT Leetsdale/Quebec Station south along Quebec/Tamarac/DTC Blvd then west along Belleview to loop around to the north along Union and back to DTC Blvd
Two routes from the LRT Parker/Mississippi/High Line Canal Trail Station
Mr Iliff Station - So Parker Rd to Iliff Ave and east along Iliff to Buckley Rd.
Mr. Nine Mile Station - So Parker Rd to Nine Mile Station then south along Parker to Smoky Hill Rd to Buckley Rd.

East

M.L.K. Jr Blvd - From Downing St to Havana St
E. Alameda Ave - from the Cherry Creek Dr/Alameda LRT Station to Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Havana St - from Colfax south to Hampden Ave then west along Hampden to Monaco Pkwy/Southmoor Station.

The logic of the SE bias is that's where the most density generally occurred as Denver developed outward. If anyone has ideas for filling in the N/NE parts, feel free.

Time to watch the Rockies

[CharlesCO]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

While it's been a (very) long time, I used to hang along Littleton Blvd, along So. Broadway up into Englewood and along old E. Hampden Ave. There used to be The Best Italian restaurants and/or pizza joints in the area.

Rico's is the best! Always great to see Salvatore whenever I'm home and pick up a pie from there, though it doesn't seem like he works very much anymore.

[seventwenty]

Ten years ago, Colorado’s roads were a “quiet crisis” that couldn’t be ignored. Now the state spends even less.

Originally Posted by Denver Post

A decade ago, then-Gov. Bill Ritter assembled a bipartisan commission to study an issue of growing concern to state leaders: transportation.

They called it the “quiet crisis.” Colorado’s roads weren’t yet in terrible shape. But it was clear what was on the horizon: Declining revenues coupled with booming population growth had put the state’s motorists on a collision course with potholes and congestion.

“It is a crisis we can no longer ignore,” the commission concluded in its final report, published in January 2008. And the bipartisan group urged lawmakers to double what the state spends on infrastructure.

But a decade later, Colorado spends even less than it did then.

. . .

The clearest sign that the transportation fight isn’t over came just a day after the 2017 legislative session ended.

Lawmakers a day earlier had secured $1.9 billion for transportation projects — the largest infusion of road money since 2009, when the state hiked vehicle fees by $200 million a year through the FASTER program. But even as he called it “the most productive session” of his tenure, Gov. John Hickenlooper said he was considering calling lawmakers back to the Capitol to do more.

. . .

On Friday, Hickenlooper put the speculation to rest — no special session this year. And with election-year politics clouding hopes for a major transportation bill in 2018, that will only give transportation advocates more reason to go to the voters on their own.

The needs, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation, are staggering. The state faces $9 billion in unfunded highway projects over the next decade, on top of unmet needs at the local level. The state’s roads have deteriorated from a B rating in 2007 to a C- today. At current maintenance levels, the pavement’s on a trajectory to get worse.

And that’s not all. CDOT officials say the $1.9 billion generated from mortgaging a number of state buildings won’t go as far as some think. CDOT will have to chip in $1 billion of its own money over 20 years to repay the leases, cutting into the department’s already inadequate maintenance budget.

. . .

When Hickenlooper floated the idea of a special session, Democrats were receptive — if skeptical that it would actually happen.

But Republicans scoffed. If lawmakers couldn’t reach a deal in the 120-day legislative session, what made the governor think a few more weeks would break the impasse?

. . .

With the legislature at an impasse, advocates across the political spectrum are now looking to ballot initiatives to fund the state’s roads. But it’s a costly endeavor that will require signature gathering and a well-funded campaign to generate support from voters.

It’s also a politically risky one. Without the legislature’s endorsement, advocates believe it will be a tougher sell. And if it fails, it could be a long time before there’s political will to try again.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by CharlesCO

Rico's is the best! Always great to see Salvatore whenever I'm home and pick up a pie from there, though it doesn't seem like he works very much anymore.

Ahh, Yes!!


http://emilicavinatto.weebly.com/blog

Originally Posted by seventwenty

Ten years ago, Colorado’s roads were a “quiet crisis” that couldn’t be ignored. Now the state spends even less.

Joel Hillan, Denver CBS4 also had a nice news clip of Shailen Bhatt.

Interesting to reflect back on Bill Ritter's "Quiet Crisis."

I'm not concerned with CDOT's payback responsibility bcuz Republicans have Big Dreams. If they sweep the statehouse in 2018 then CDOT will get boatload's of money to spend. We have seen stranger things happen.

In any case I'm still grateful CDOT is getting what they are - for now.

[TakeFive]

Mehr sehen/Pinterest

So is this what a transit planner's (wet)Dream-Job looks like?


Must Be Nice
B.C. will match federal transit funding
Fri Mar 31 2017 By: Matt Kieltyka - Toronto Metro

Province announces it will match the $2.2 billion budgeted by the federal government for Phase Two transit projects in Metro Vancouver.

She-it, the state of Colorado can't even adequately fund CDOT.

[TakeFive]

Here Ya Go

2017 General Obligation Bond
Transportation & Mobility Presentation to Executive Committee
May 22, 2017

Don't miss pages 15-31 which goes over each Tier 1 project, photos included.

[ddvmke]

DIA might get its own Central Market, and the airport definitely got a Roasting Plant Coffee

Looks like we soon may have something to do while awaiting those 30min evening headways! Coffee for now, cocktails and some good food possibly later in the rail station of the airport.

https://www.denverite.com/dia-might-...-coffee-36278/

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Here Ya Go

2017 General Obligation Bond
Transportation & Mobility Presentation to Executive Committee
May 22, 2017

Don't miss pages 15-31 which goes over each Tier 1 project, photos included.

Thanks for the link. At least there's two major transit projects in Tier One: Colfax BRT and the Broadway transit lane.

[CPVLIVE]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Thanks for the link. At least there's two major transit projects in Tier One: Colfax BRT and the Broadway transit lane.

Alot of worthy projects, but very little actual transit. How is a half-arsed BRT-lite Colfax and a bike lane on Broadway supposed to alleviate the coming gridlock in this city? This solves exactly nothing.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by CPVLIVE

Alot of worthy projects, but very little actual transit. How is a half-arsed BRT-lite Colfax and a bike lane on Broadway supposed to alleviate the coming gridlock in this city? This solves exactly nothing.

Don't give a shit about the bike lane on Broadway- that's as worthless as RTD's Call-n-Ride program. But the dedicated transitway is something different.

Also, this Bond program is certainly targeting projects that have had planning done and can be implemented rather quickly- which precludes anything that's pie in the sky like everyone's wet dream light rail to CC. Substaintal transit improvement will need another revenue source- one that provides dedicated, sustained funding. Then we can get the buses rolling.

[TakeFive]

Money, Money, Money
"It's a Rich Man's World"

Originally Posted by CPVLIVE

Alot of worthy projects, but very little actual transit. How is a half-arsed BRT-lite Colfax and a bike lane on Broadway supposed to alleviate the coming gridlock in this city? This solves exactly nothing.

Remember that Denveright/Denver Moves is a separate process and is ongoing to be wrapped up near the end of the year. And yes, as wong suggests it will require it's own (drawn-out) process of prioritization and funding.

This presentation is basically the start of a prioritization and culling process. Transportation is but one of 5 sub-committees even if likely to get about half of the bond money.

The transpo committee has a strong Streetsblog/urbanism influence. When you scroll through the priorities you start with the no-brainer Colfax BRT. Then it's Sidewalks, Bike Infrastructure, Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge, Broadway Corridor - not only bikes but buses too (Yea), pedestrian friendly Colfax Corridor Improvements, etc. On many city priority street improvements (for cars) if you look closer you see they recommend a lower level of initial (bond) funding.

Comment - I totally respect the process. I respect the time and efforts of those who willingly participated. All of their listed priorities are worthy projects. I'm sure most of the $1.8 billion listed projects are worthy. I think that going forward this exercise will be invaluable and well worth the time. How much bond funding should go for what is a different question.

One interesting example: Deferred road maintenance is a high priority for the city, specifically "Arterial/Collector Repaving & Curb and Gutter & Bridge Rehabilitation." There's the old saying that you can only procrastinate repairing the roof so long before the costs go up exponentially. The committee lists $50 million for this at the bottom of Tier 2, specifically Tier 2D, lol. The $50 million is a fair chunk and I'm sure they know the city's priority for this.

It will be highly entertaining and interesting to see how this plays out.

[ddvmke]

What a happy day to FINALLY get an RTD MyRide card so I no longer have to seek out ticket machines or exact change to take the bus! Only downside of their first day of public operation...the online site to reload cards is down :

"The MyRide website is undergoing maintenance and is currently unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. MyRide cards and other smart cards may still be used to pay your fare, and MyRide cards may still be purchased or loaded at MyRide retail sales outlets. Please contact Customer Care at 303-299-6000 for further assistance."

https://myride.rtd-denver.com/

Please tell me they will eventually bring in new ticket machines that can do this live in addition to the current online process with the 24-72 hour delay (and apparent susceptibility to outages).

[Cirrus]

^
I bought one online, for the minimum possible amount ($5). They'll mail it to me. I want it for my collection (it'll be the only one I got via mail, but for Denver I'm making an exception):

[CastleScott]

^ Thats cool Cirrus!

[TakeFive]

Jeffrey Evans: What did Bus Rapid Transit do for Aspen?
April 26, 2017 - Aspen Times

Good read but a bit geeky.

[seventwenty]

I mean, this is a thread to show off your transit card collection. Speaking of which, Cirrus will you trade me a 1997 BART card for a 2005 Berlin BVG ticket? My ticket is in near mint condition.

[Cirrus]

Only if you throw in a Tokyo rookie.