DENVER | Transportation Thread

[Cirrus]

As one might expect, Canadian cities are doing better than US cities.

[bunt_q]

Federal judge declines to halt $2.35 billion I-70 project

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n...5-billion.html

[twister244]

“It’s not over.”


Yeah.... it's over...... lol

[TakeFive]

Courtesy Tenor

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Federal judge declines to halt $2.35 billion I-70 project

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n...5-billion.html

As I understand the process and bar that needs to be met this would seem to be the relevant part.

But U.S. District Judge William Martinez on Tuesday issued a 20-page decision denying the injunction request, saying “plaintiffs have not shown that they are likely to succeed” on the environmental claims or the claims against the Federal Highway Administration.

Originally Posted by twister244

“It’s not over.”


Yeah.... it's over...... lol

[TakeFive]

Let's Back up the Bus

It occured to me that some may have missed the recent, key post by PLANSIT whether from all the commotion or doing a Moonwalk in Munich.

If you like BRT and especially if you'd like BRT on Colfax, his pdf link to the recent Community Task Force presentation is really easy peasy to scroll through with good visuals and overview of the process and where things stand.

I still believe that getting this right can set up a better future of better bus service in Denver.

Originally Posted by PLANSIT

Two separate but linked efforts:

1. Alternatives Analysis - Figure out what the transit/multimodal vision for Colfax is. The City is just about done with this as it recommended Center-Running as its Preliminary LPA. Public feedback was positive based on survey results shown last week to the Task Force. Next step is 30% Design, NEPA, and FTA Project Development.

[Cirrus]

Great news.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

OK method two.

• W - 13,930

I just found a DP article from April 27, 2014 after the W Line had been open about a year.
https://www.denverpost.com/2014/04/2...o-has-critics/

“I think we are still in the process of discovery about the line,” said Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy. “More and more people are riding it every day because they are finding it convenient. There is so much ease and comfort to it.”

I remembered Bob Murphy discussing light rail (but covered by the Sentinel) over the supposed disappointing early ridership but consider this:

Since it opened for service, it has averaged 14,000 riders daily, with passenger numbers steadily increasing, according to RTD. By 2030, it is projected the W Line will carry 30,000 passengers daily.

Thought I recalled a much lower number but nvm.

In this case the disappointment is that ridership has apparently not grown from 2014 to now.

[ddvmke]

Came across this today and is related to a topic I've been wondering about on almost every trip out to lunch during the week:

https://denver.streetsblog.org/2018/...e-pedestrians/

Can someone to explain to me why we still have pedestrian scrambles in the CBD? I know it's a leftover from the Barnes Dance crossings, but it makes it take more time for everyone to get around to have three cycles at every light, especially when walking diagonally through the city (where in a normal two cycle intersection you can at least cross one way at all times). I don't recall ever having to deal with them in New York, London, or Chicago which have orders of magnitude more pedestrian traffic than Denver. Is it just due to the huge length of crossings and limited experience drivers have dealing with peds downtown compared to other cities?

I find it especially puzzling considering they're looking to limit turns in the future which further reduces the conflicts for peds and turning vehicles.

[Cirrus]

In my relatively limited and non-expert experience, pedestrian all-way crossings are often done to benefit drivers more than pedestrians. You put them at intersections where the pedestrian volume is so high that using a normal signal right-turning drivers can only squeeze through one or two per cycle. Making an all-way pedestrian crossing adds wait time for pedestrians in order to give right-turning drivers a cycle to get through in larger numbers.

That's how they've been used in DC. I really don't know about Denver.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Federal judge declines to halt $2.35 billion I-70 project

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n...5-billion.html

I took the time to read through the decision by Judge William Martinez. I don't normally bother since so much is outside of any area of expertise. Interestingly, I was able to follow the gist of the decision quite well. Seemed to me, he totally spanked them and left no opening that could be even worth pursuing. Would they throw good money after bad? Who knows.

Originally Posted by ddvmke

Came across this today and is related to a topic I've been wondering about on almost every trip out to lunch during the week:

https://denver.streetsblog.org/2018/...e-pedestrians/

I find it especially puzzling considering they're looking to limit turns in the future which further reduces the conflicts for peds and turning vehicles.

Sorry, I can't answer your question but I found Sach's piece interesting. It's certainly an urban/Streetsblog approach but if there's one area where it makes the most sense it would be downtown. Hard to know in advance how much of a difference this will make. If the changes are easily noticeable it should be interesting to see how everybody accepts them.

I think they also intend to incorporate designated lanes for buses. My guess is that limiting turns would be primarily to keep cars out of the bus lanes.

[TakeFive]

So is Cirrus the inspiration behind this vision?


Courtesy Virginia DOT vis WTOP

Notice the bike lanes plus sidewalk as well as future BRT lanes.

[Cirrus]

I have only the most tertiary relationship with that project. It's outside my jurisdiction, but is part of some of the region-wide plans that I work on.

US-1 in Northern Virginia is comparable to... oh I dunno... South Federal maybe. It's been strip mall territory for 60 years, but is old and poor and ready for a new look. Probably more importantly, it's one of an ever-dwindling number of places in the DC area with a lot of infill capability and not insurmountable political obstacles. So there you go. So it'll get BRT, which lets the county upzone for TOD, which lets an already sprawled-out county keep growing now that leapfrog isn't possible for them anymore.

[TakeFive]

^^ Pretty interesting actually. tertiary - I've always been fond of that word.

Can't wait to see bunt do this:
https://www.denverite.com/i-70-const...-denver-50392/

“The viaduct stays up for the first two years of construction,” White said. “I think that’s the most difficult part for people to wrap their heads around.”

Then bunt will go for a dark-of-night jog along the 1.8 mile section of viaducts and push em all down.

Interstate 70 starts construction soon. Here’s what it means for your neighborhood.
Posted on April 9, 2018 by Andrew Kenney/Denveright

It’s going to be tricky.

[mishko27]

Norwegian is starting the flights to Paris today, the first one shall be taking off in a couple of minutes. DBJ also reports that:

A company executive who recently visited Denver confirmed that the low-cost airline already is examining whether Denver could support a flight to Barcelona, Madrid or Rome.

Which would be really nice... We need way more connections to Europe. SAS to somewhere in Scandinavia and Austrian to Vienna would be nice.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by mishko27

Norwegian is starting the flights to Paris today, the first one shall be taking off in a couple of minutes. DBJ also reports that:

Which would be really nice... We need way more connections to Europe. SAS to somewhere in Scandinavia and Austrian to Vienna would be nice.

MOAR Euro flights please... YES

Changing Denver International Airport

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n...that-will.html

Great Hall Partners, the private consortium hired by Denver International Airport for its $1.8 billion overhaul of the main terminal, is launching its search for business partners to fill the first 10 of the 50 new spaces being created for new restaurants, shops and amenity areas under the airport’s iconic white tents.

United Airlines and American Airlines watch as Frontier Airlines spreads wings at O'Hare

DIA upping its game, adding 2 new (really nice) passenger lounges

[TakeFive]

It's raining FTA grants on Colorado and CDOT

Serious props to CDOT for knowing how to bridge community needs with how to work the process.

The FTA received funding request applications for 453 projects worth $2 billion; hands out $264 million in grants for 139 projects.
https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/...ities-projects

The Colorado Department of Transportation, on behalf of the Town of Estes Park, will receive funding to purchase an electric trolley for use on the Free Shuttle transit program to replace a 12-year-old trolley that has significant maintenance issues and has exceeded its useful life. The trolley serves downtown Estes Park. 360,045

"The Colorado Department of Transportation, on behalf of the City of Glenwood Springs, will receive funding to purchase a new CNG bus for the city's Ride Glenwood bus fleet. The new bus will replace an aging diesel bus that has exceeded its useful life and is often out of service due to mechanical issues. $458,384

City of Colorado Springs (Mountain Metropolitan Transit) Mountain Metropolitan Transit (MMT) in Colorado Springs will receive funding to acquire property and design and build a bus storage facility to house a fleet that is stored outside, exposed to the elements and increasing maintenance costs. The storage facility will provide operational stability and improve the longevity of MMT's fleet. $758,785

The Colorado Department of Transportation will receive funding to purchase replacement trolleys for Durango Transit, one of the state's largest rural transit providers. Trolley service in Durango provides transportation for people commuting to jobs and schools and accounts for close to half of Durango Transit rides. $264,000

The Colorado Department of Transportation will receive funding to purchase new transit buses for Greeley Evans Transit in Greeley. The buses will replace vehicles that are past their useful life and unable to serve growing ridership. $758,785

[TakeFive]

Good, Bad and Future

Metro is about to redesign its entire bus network
Apr 9, 2018 By Matt Tinoco - Curbed L.A.

In the last five years, weekday bus boardings have plunged 25 percent. That’s a severe problem.

Everybody has their want's and everybody wants somebody else to pick up the tab.

Reversing the system’s ridership decline is one of the goals... In a recent survey, 90 percent of Metro’s riders said they want buses to run at least once every 10 minutes...

What is it that disappoints, frustrates people?

...73 percent said buses are unreliable. The study also found that among former riders, 73 percent were frustrated by buses getting stuck in the same traffic as cars, 69 percent complained about having to transfer too many times, and 88 percent said Metro bus service is unreliable.

Has the bus system changed much in the last 25 years?
No, not really.

Cheung says the way people move around the region today is very different compared to 25 years ago.

This is not unlike what Denveright/Transit is currently doing and customer feedback was much the same.
It's likely that RTD also needs to take a strong look at their own system.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

cities|transit|croissants

I'm often a little slow... and I just noticed your new look. I like it; it's much better; it's

[TakeFive]

Denver's Colfax bus gets priority at green lights
Apr 12, 2018 by Jaclyn Allen/7Denver News

On the busiest and the slowest bus in Denver, the Colfax Bus Route 15L...Starting this week...at a dozen intersections on Colfax, buses have a new...weapon that allows them to get longer green lights or shorter reds.

It's called transit signal priority, and RTD buses are already equipped with the required cellular and GPS technology that activates new routers inside signal control boxes and controls the signals as buses approach.

Will other routes be getting this?

In the future, buses will get greens on more streets. Denver already has funding for Federal Boulevard and West Colfax Avenue.

Here's a schematic that shows how the tech works:


Source

Cirrus... what would be your experience/feedback with this stuff. Seems I recall reading that Los Ageles abandoned this on 'some' streets where they tried it.

[TakeFive]

Cirrus... famous from coast to coast.

Can the Valley’s Orange Line—the nation’s most successful BRT—get any respect?
Aug 8, 2017 By Patrick Sisson - Curbed Los Angeles

Transit writer Dan Malouf calls the situation BRT Creep: promising great bus rapid transit, then undercutting it by removing the very features that would make it a success.

Interesting article actually.