DENVER | Transportation Thread

[seventwenty]

BNABreaker, welcome to Denver. Don’t worry we bite one another.

Quick question on TN politics, as I grew up there. How does the Memphis/Nashville dynamic play out? How does it affect transportation poltics?

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by seventwenty

BNABreaker, welcome to Denver. Don’t worry we bite one another.

I hope I didn't leave any scars.

Originally Posted by seventwenty

Quick question on TN politics, as I grew up there. How does the Memphis/Nashville dynamic play out? How does it affect transportation politics?

I do know a lot about Memphis.

Originally Posted by PLANSIT

And RTD has purged 65k daily riders since 2nd quarter 2016 (335k daily riders). Ouch.

That's ugly. If my math is correct that's a drop of 16%.

Different time period but the Philadelphia Business Journal recently published a slideshow for the 20 largest passenger declines for 2016: Trouble on the Tracks. - and Denver isn't even listed.

Decided to check and sure enough the APTA report for the 2nd quarter is out. Total trips YTD are only down 718/day or 1.44%. Bus ridership is down 4.77%; light rail ridership is down 5.88% (I'm clueless). They've got commuter rail up a whopping 154% which is why total ridership is only down 1.44%.

BTW, first time I quickly read through "transit-only facilities" the dots didn't connect for me but I'm up to speed now.

[seventwenty]

North line faces construction delay of 18 months

Originally Posted by Denver Post

The Regional Transportation District is looking at an estimated 18-month construction delay for the North Metro Rail Line, officials say. The first phase of the project, including six of eight planned stations, was originally scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2018. The delay puts the opening in late 2019, though RTD officials will not commit to that time frame and have vowed to make up the time as best they can.

. . .

The delay up north stems from a variety of complications in designing and building the 12.5 miles of track that will eventually carry electric, heavy-rail trains from Denver’s Union Station north to East 124th and Eastlake avenues in Thornton. RTD’s design-build contractor on the project is Regional Rail Partners.

The project is snagged over how it will impact the historic Riverside Cemetery at 5201 Brighton Blvd. RTD has proposed closing the cemetery’s existing entrance on Brighton and placing a new entrance off of Race Court.

. . .

Cemetery officials say they want to keep the entrance as it is.

Meanwhile, RTD is building a nearly 2-mile-long bridge to carry the single-track line over York Street, existing rail road tracks and Interstate 270 in Commerce City. The so-called Skyway bridge also passes over a portion of the Suncor oil refinery.

But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has deemed the refinery as important strategically, RTD’s Currey said, and mandated the agency add blinders on portions of the bridge so passengers can’t see down into the facility.

[Cirrus]

Ha. I rode a LimeBike yesterday. We have them in DC.

[semiurban]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Ha. I rode a LimeBike yesterday. We have them in DC.

How do they 'lock'?

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by semiurban

How do they 'lock'?

Look at this photo. See the black mechanism under the seat? That's the lock. Inside the black mechanism is a ring-shaped piece of steel. When you're riding, the ring is inside the mechanism. When you're done with your trip, you push a button and the ring extends down from one end of the black box to the other, through the bicycle wheel, thus preventing the wheel from turning.

So the bikes lock to prevent unauthorized rides, but anyone can pick them up and move them. Yes, that can result in problems (in fact just today I ran across this misuse with another dockless bikeshare in DC).


photo by single flyer seattle

[TakeFive]

Cirrus... Interesting; and I do like the LimeBike.

CDOT to fix 'one of the worst' freeway traffic bottlenecks in metro Denver

Wait... CDOT expects splashing some paint around will do this? Right

Well maybe; it seems to make sense.

[LooksLikeForever]

RTD will be hosting open houses regarding issues with the commuter rail lines: http://www3.rtd-denver.com/elbert/ne...x.cfm?id=10125

Monday, Oct 23 – 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Central Park Recreation Center
9651 M.L.K. Jr. Blvd, Denver, CO 80238

Wednesday, Oct. 25 – 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada, CO 80003

Thursday, Oct. 26 – 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Wheat Ridge Recreation Center
4005 Kipling St., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

Saturday, Oct. 28 – 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center
4890 Argonne Way, Denver, CO 80249

[TakeFive]

^ I'm sure they'll get an earful.

What’s behind the delays on RTD’s North Metro Line?

I believe somebody recently mentioned the delay of the N Line. Couple of days ago Cathy Proctor covered the background. It's quite the interesting clustermess including this factoid:

Among the challenges is the North Metro line’s Skyway Bridge, which at 9,533 feet long is just a little under two miles.

The Skyway Bridge will carry rail commuters over 11 existing transportation corridors and waterways. It’s longer than the Golden Gate Bridge (nearly 8,980 feet), the Brooklyn Bridge (5,989 feet), and Colorado’s Royal Gorge Bridge (1,260 feet).

It’s also “the most complicated and technical bridge that will ever have been submitted” to state and federal rail authorities, Currey said.

Then it gets even more complicated.

Assuming everyone wants to know... I'm unbothered by the delay.

[spr8364]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

^ I'm sure they'll get an earful.

What’s behind the delays on RTD’s North Metro Line?

I believe somebody recently mentioned the delay of the N Line. Couple of days ago Cathy Proctor covered the background. It's quite the interesting clustermess including this factoid:

Then it gets even more complicated.

Assuming everyone wants to know... I'm unbothered by the delay.

While that Skyway "Bridge" at 9,533 feet long is an impressive and complicated construction project, I'm pretty sure that it would more accurately be described as a viaduct. I'd love to see that nearly 2-mile bridge with only 2-support locations (other than the ends). Not quite the engineering marvel of the other bridges mentioned when you think of it like that.

[twister244]

http://www.cpr.org/news/story/arvada...delayed-g-line

"While the FRA’s approval did not supersede the PUC, it split the agency’s three commissioners. Two have recommended RTD scrap its crossing gate system and start over, while a third is siding with RTD. On Wednesday, the PUC’s two-commissioner majority issued an order formally denying RTD’s request but allowing the transit agency to start an appeal process. RTD officials say that will happen soon."

Am I missing something here or is PUC being completely ridiculous in their attempts to care about the "safety" of these crossings? It's not like they don't work, they just come down to early and go up too late. If anyone goes around those gates and gets hit.... well that's on them.

You know it's bad when the feds think it's safe but the state STILL is trying to shut this thing down.

[mr1138]

It sounded to me from that article like the ball is in RTD's court. The PUC said they would reconsider their decision in light of the FRA ruling, but as far as I can tell, they have not yet taken up the matter. The CPR report today said that RTD is preparing to appeal - which would mean the appeal isn't in front of the PUC yet. I have actually been checking the PUC's weekly agenda that they publish, and haven't seen anything about this in two weeks, so it would seem to me the issue simply hasn't come up on their schedule again.

The previous PUC ruling gave me reason for concern as much as everybody, but I am tempted to believe the earlier discussion on this thread that the PUC simply didn't want to get in front of FRA requirements that they don't have a say in. I don't see anything here in this report that tells us the PUC is necessarily trying to "kill" the train.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by mr1138

It sounded to me from that article like the ball is in RTD's court. The PUC said they would reconsider their decision in light of the FRA ruling, but as far as I can tell, they have not yet taken up the matter. The CPR report today said that RTD is preparing to appeal - which would mean the appeal isn't in front of the PUC yet. I have actually been checking the PUC's weekly agenda that they publish, and haven't seen anything about this in two weeks, so it would seem to me the issue simply hasn't come up on their schedule again.

The previous PUC ruling gave me reason for concern as much as everybody, but I am tempted to believe the earlier discussion on this thread that the PUC simply didn't want to get in front of FRA requirements that they don't have a say in. I don't see anything here in this report that tells us the PUC is necessarily trying to "kill" the train.

RTD couldn't appeal until the PUC issued their formal written opinion- which is what was just done. Now RTD has to analyze the written opinion in order to submit a written appeal. So RTD has been waiting to get the ball back and the PUC was in the back-court dribbling. I can also see some optics at play as it would look rather arrogant of RTD to submit an appeal immediately following the PUC's issue- which isn't something they can afford given the attitude of the PUC towards the crossing gate technology. Though that attitude was there before the FRA basically bitch-slapped the PUC across the face....

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by twister244

http://www.cpr.org/news/story/arvada...delayed-g-line

Am I missing something here or is PUC being completely ridiculous in their attempts to care about the "safety" of these crossings? It's not like they don't work, they just come down to early and go up too late. If anyone goes around those gates and gets hit.... well that's on them.

You know it's bad when the feds think it's safe but the state STILL is trying to shut this thing down.

Eh, I'm with the PUC on this; unfortunately it's a bit complicated.

Nobody's perfect but sheesh, RTD managed to bungle what has been done "mechanically" for decades and turn a straight-forward function into a fiasco.

CBS4 Investigation: CDOT Scraps Cloud System; $340,000 In Losses
October 25, 2017 By Brian Maass - CBS4 Denver

DENVER (CBS4) – A CBS4 Investigation has found the Colorado Department of Transportation paid nearly $16,000 per month for almost two years for a cloud computer backup system that never went ‘live’ and never worked properly.

“We did pay $340,000 for a process that never got to the deployment we were looking for,” said CDOT communications director Amy Ford. “We bought a product that never worked for the security we needed to have”.

So CDOT wrote off their bad investment and moved on to a system that does what they need, even if more expensive to operate.

When RTD claims that a difference in operator/train speed gums up the system then the system is seriously flawed. Anything more than a marginal few seconds is nonsense.

Originally Posted by trubador

there is no way that this is just a software error or else it would be fixed already. My theory is they purchased components that have built in PLC's or some non-programmable components that hard-coded the delay and replacing would cause a long downtime due to testing the system.

I do seem to recall that they might need to change or relocate some hardware. I also seem to recall that they, in effect, 'over-engineered' the system. While the approach to crossings is (obviously) more critical than trains clearing the crossing, when you take a task that has been performed for decades and so complicate it that it can't function properly then that's the definition of STUPID.

[TakeFive]

How Denver decided it wants its own department for transportation and mobility
October 26, 2017 By Megan Arellano - Denverite

The decision to give Denver its own department of transportation back in July was more of a squeaker than you might’ve thought.

And so the decision was made to split. But it was more than numerically close:
“I think there were a number of folks on the project team that felt like the disruption was not worth it, and we could follow the Minneapolis model of keeping it all together,” Edinger said. “But ultimately the decision was made to split.”

Relatively short easy-to-read article that begs a few questions. At the time, my first impression was "This is a good thing."

Rant - It's been tons of fun reading both local and national StreetsBlog pieces but it's time for me to head back to the NBA/sports world of fun. Specific objectives aside, what was eye-opening is how ideologically driven the StreetsBlog crowd is. Eh, propaganda is all the same whether from the right or left. For example, if we repeat a falsehood over and over then it eventually morphs into a fact. Hmm, it does seem to often work for the right, so who knows?

In any case I do think there will be benefits to having a clearly defined transportation/transit/mobility group; whether it needed to be it's own - voter approved - city department is a different question. Whether it's less efficient and creates turf wars is a question worth watching. The hardcore mobility members do not like roads - except for that portion, presumably, used by buses.

Ideologically it's the set of uncompromising principles that count. Things like budgets and other priorities are somebody else's problem. Should be interesting.

[Elrod]

Hi, could someone point me to a good summary of how the BRT line to Boulder turned out. I had to leave town 4 years ago for CLT and they're now having a BRT discussion and I thought it was a decent comp to what is happening here.

Thanks!

[TakeFive]

How endless is Denver's Money Tree?
The City has enjoyed healthy revenue growth in recent years that has allowed it to fund extra maintenance and capital improvements like Brighton Blvd etc. But if you look beneath the covers there's other budget-eating activities going on.

Denver has also been bulking up their payrolls in most departments. Certainly processing building permits more timely is a good thing. All of it may be necessary but these are not one-off expenses; they become recurring operating budget expenses. Consider the class after class of new police cadets they've been adding for a few years now. In Phoenix, for example, the average cost of a cop was just under six figures (a few years ago) and Public Safety eats up about 70% of the General Fund... srsly. Denver has skated by with less than 50% of their General Fund for Public Safety. New officers (PD and Sheriffs) plus firemen and other court personnel see healthy growth in pay and benefits as they accumulate service time. It all takes money, lots of money. I would expect Denver 's budget for Public Safety to quickly rise towards 60% and perhaps beyond.

A new Dept of Transportation and Mobility will also add significant costs to the Operating Budget in terms of personnel and layers of administration and red tape, presumably. Oh, about all those mobility projects you think are such a must...

Hello Taxpayers; Come on Down

[twister244]

A few stories out today...

Some news on the DIA gate expansion, which is probably a good investment as airport numbers grow:

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/10/27...nsion-project/

Another story on the G-Line:

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/10/26...es-commission/

And... while this doesn't directly tie to the I-70 expansion, it would appear this is one less thing to snag the construction timeline:

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/10/26...ject-approved/

[seventwenty]

So We're gonna hit 60 million DIA passengers, 10 million over stated capacity. The goal is to get to 80 million capacity by adding 39 gates, telescoping on the current concourses. It's $1.5 billion all in for the gate expansion project. Construction costs of $65 million by either Jacobs Engineering or HNTB Corp and built for $655 million from Holder-FCI joint venture or $700 million proposed with a Turner-Flatiron joint venture. I'm assuming remaining costs are repayment costs.

City council to start considering proposals Nov. 1 at 1:30, with final votes as early as Nov. 13.

Terminal redesign and a runway prep bring up the bills to $3 billion.

I wonder how the 39 gates will be allocated. It's the 3rd gate expansion for DIA, after the RJ gates on the east end of B and the 5 gates on the west end of C.

Comparison of DIA gate space over the last 10 yrs or so:

Just after the B gate expansion.

This year.

[twister244]

Yeah, the more I think about it, 39 gates is a pretty huge number. The 5 gates for the C-concourse added a nice new chunk. I would imagine they will be distributed across all three concourses. Maybe there will be more weight on "telescoping" A out given it isn't nearly as big as B?