President (To Win Colorado)
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CO-01 (Denver)
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CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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(D) Joe Neguse*
(R) Marshall Dawson
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(D) Trisha Calvarese
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CO-05 (Colorado Springs)
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(R) Jeff Crank
(D) River Gassen
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CO-06 (Aurora)
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(D) Jason Crow*
(R) John Fabbricatore
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CO-07 (Jefferson County)
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(D) B. Pettersen
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State House Majority
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December 17, 2010 12:13 AM UTC
22 Comments
What did RTD say to you?
And here I was thinking the best way to get train to the airport was light rail from the 9-Mile station in Aurora direct to DIA basement.
there’s at least one or two days every year, when my wife’s Beemer goes in for detailing, that our daughters really need that light rail to get to Park Meadows mall.
GD class warriors!
Thank you. One sentence of snark says so much.
As someone who represents Aurora, this very frustrating. We are the 3rd largest city in Colorado and still lack the clout and wealth to attract sufficient public transportation. We assume everyone in this day and age has a car but a surprising number of people in my district don’t and need functional public transportation to get to work.
When I would discuss with Aurorans the concept of the Aurora Transportation District, similar to the Boulder Transportation District, most people liked the concept. Although the problem of funding is huge, that the people were agreeable to the concept was important and were willing to think about ways to fund a basic system.
The frustration with RTD is very high due to lack of routes and schedules. A local system can succeed as seen by the Boulder system.
It’s a lot of the same demographic that is opposed to big government spending programs – like Fastracks – and the taxes needed to pay for them.
but sadly it’s been an execptionally long term problem. I voted against the last tax hike they shoved down our throats specifically because it didn’t include funding for the north end of town and didn’t seem to be anywhere near large enough.
Looking at that last proposal they hit us with it was blatently obvious that the plan wasn’t anywhere near expansive enough to actually provide viable mass transit options for the greater Denver area. If you’re not really solving a problem it’s a complete waste of tax dollars that will ultimately cost us more in the end.
The new tax hike they are discussing is exactly why I voted against the last one. The plans are never expansive enough to actually do what they claim and end up existing off tax subsidies forever. Unless the mass transit is to the scale of what you see in Manhatten it’s usually worthless.
One question: How do the tax contributions for FastTracks break down by geographic area? In other words, what percentage of money for FastTracks came from areas to be served by the project, and what percentage came from areas being avoided?
The bulk of the funding here looks like the line to DIA. The next largest is the south buildout that was completed in 2006. Next the Gold Line to Arvada, then the West line to Golden. I know with that line, the rail base was already in place, so moving forward there early on made sense. My point – how many of these decisions were based on realities like land acquistion, rights of way, and other engineering/planning crap?
I’m not saying don’t protest the unfairness. If any areas desperately need transit, it’s Adams County and Aurora. But to stall one part of an integrated project that’s closer to completion, in order to begin work on another section, it’s not productive.
Do make noise. But please don’t assume all these decisions are (initially) made on political bases.
I’d forgotten that RTD had a right-of-way along large portions of the West line route.
The first line was from downtown Denver along Santa Fe. Last I checked, Denver wasn’t highly represented by the affluent. And the line stops at Mineral, short of the richest communities in that direction. There’s a good mix of communities along the way
The second line, from Broadway down to Lincoln along I-25, was deliberately planned to coincide with the T-REX development project, funded largely by the Federal government; it was much cheaper and less disruptive to do the development simultaneously. Its most important stop is arguably at University; most of the rest of the stops seem more placed to service business travelers than residents (though at pretty much every stop, residential complexes have sprung up…)
The two new lines (West and East) also look to go through some solid working-class neighborhoods on the way to their terminal points. The West line also covers the Federal Center and Red Rocks Community College, which are solid destination points.
Are you also going to gripe that the North Metro Corridor is scheduled to run all the way up to 162nd street, which is well in to some pretty nice neighborhoods?
Not to mention that Aurora, when the next two lines are done will have two separate stops on two separate lines and will have direct connections to downtown, the Tech Center and DIA, something no other City will approach. Further, the reality is that the Lakewood, Gold and DIA lines are easy to build because of existing right-of-ways. As for the north-end, no one is taking into account the distance of the Boulder Longmont line which is hugely expensive and the massive amounts of funds which have been spent over the years on both US 36 and I-25 north of the downtown area. Frankly, given that the total cost was under-estimated and no one could have predicted this huge downturn in the economy, I think they are doing the best under difficult circumstances. And, finally, remember, that all counties except Douglas ultimately supported Fast Tracks. Someone has to go first. It’s really the northern part of the City that is lagging behind, and to me that’s a matter of cost and the existing infrastructure improvements that have been made over the past 15 years.
Alright now, Phoenix and I have gotten all facty on this. It would be good to hear some responses. Y’all weren’t just aimlessly bitching, were you? What do you do to promote the buildout in other areas?
I know that Paul Tauer (among others, Sen. Carroll noted here) has been complaining loudly about Aurora’s last place in line for years. I appreciate it. I understand it. But what are the alternatives?
this is an interesting but clearly half-baked analysis; it’s full of assumptions; you haven’t covered who is actually using light rail, who is likely (or not) to use it when it reaches them, what the total number of likely trips saved for each line is, the environmental impacts, the cost per trip saved, and oh yes the practicalities; such as right of way, coordination with other projects, different types of vehicles to be used on each line, availability and current usage patterns of other transit modes …
and if you really want to make your point clear, put some demographic data (how about population density, average income and average commuter miles/person) right on your map; to start with, a quick look at http://projects.nytimes.com/ce… might be helpful
i suspect RTD has a real analysis of many of these factors, so a better starting point might be there, and tell us where that analysis is flawed
The “RTD Transit System Funded and Unfunded Corridors” Map shows exactly where the money has been spent. Thank you for taking the time to post this. We must build-out the entire system. The most congested area in the state is I-25 between 120th and just north of Denver (just listen to the radio every morning). This stretch of I-25 is parallel to the RTD North Line that has yet to see one penny go toward construction. Thanks again JeffcoBlue.
And you’re right – the I-25 stretch from 120th down to 84th is pretty much the first item listed every morning on the traffic reports. Much like the stretch covered by the Southeast Corridor (I-25 to the Tech Center) was the most congested stretch of traffic back before T-REX.
When FasTracks started, half of the population north of 120th wasn’t there.
It’s good to talk about building the rest of the system out for the future; just let’s not get bogged down in imagined past slights.
that those who already have the rail service will vote for the new sales tax?
Both Arapahoe County and Jefferson County parts of which had light rail in the first two lines both supported this last vote.
disappointing.
I can’t speak to the issue of the portions not funded for build-out. But, I can speak to the issue as to the perception that the west corridor, in particular, serves the rich and the white. The west corridor passes through some of the most low income sections of Jeffco. Furthermore, part of the reason for that alignment is the desire to engage in gentrification redevelopment. It was the previous District M RTD Board Member who famously called the section along W. 13th Ave., “nothing but a shanty town that needs to go”. The hope was to attract a Master Developer to create “high quality” TOD along the entire length of the corridor. Don’t need no stinkin’ poor folks getting on that shiny new line.
I’m guessing there are some properties in that area actually owned by those poor people, rather than rented. Those lucky folks will (if they know what they’re doing or hire someone who does) get a decent return on investment for their property.
But, yes, there are likely to be a large number of displaced people who can’t afford to stay in their redeveloped area, and others kicked out from their rented houses/apartments by landlords eager to get redevelopment cash.
Same goes with businesses. Those with a bit of spare money and a good product might be in a great position to cash in on the influx of train travelers. Those who can’t keep up and don’t own their business property will likely be forced out.
I redract my “aimless..” statement.