[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

No we can't. Because it's illegal. And where it's legal, you're still likely to get sued over it. We don't want density that would enable real transit. It's why we're stuck fantasizing about trolleys, while most of us continue to drive every day. Chicago isn't walkable because it has density in isolated pockets and disjointed industrial corridors. Chicago is walkable because you can put a five story building on the popular corner, without somebody screaming bloody manhattan.

You know, asides from the Highlands' crowd rather high-profile lawsuit, what other development related lawsuits have gained any real traction in Denver? The folks who opposed the University upzoning seem to have rolled over and submitted and it seems that most developers aren't all that serious about going above six stories due to the cost. There was the project in the Welton Corridor, but does anyone truly think that the developer wanted to go eight stories considering the escalation in construction pricing that would have incurred.

As for the Highlands, let's just sit back and watch the traffic nightmare slowly increase because if there's one place where the geography and layout are unfriendly to an expansion of transit, it's NW Denver.

And our core neighborhoods where you can build aren't going to be enough to support much more than a trolley at best. Nobody's going to build heavy rail from the golden triangle to rino, which is about the farthest extent of our real density.

Heavy rail? No. A combination of surface and subsurface (aka Seattle's bus tunnel) transit elements that can provide service for both locals and commuters? I think that will happen in our lifetimes as the City pivots to address the transit question that it knows that RTD is unwilling to.

The thing to remember about (urban running) light rail and streetcars (and I love both) is that they're generally quite slow. so it's really a last quarter mile problem. Nobody is going to walk a mile to/from a streetcar. You might as well use a different mode, any mode, at that point. I suppose that's all surmountable if you're willing to give up a bunch of right of way. But we're not. We needed to start the system before central Denver got full of people again if we were serious about taking lanes. That was ten years ago - it's too late now, now those lanes are needed. But hey, we have a pretty train hall. Shame Denver's finest didn't have the same foresight on other fronts.

Okay Wizened I don't think it's as dire as you like to paint it. At least I hope it's not as dire as you like to paint it. But it's not like it effects me that much as I'm forced to drive pratically everywhere right now. plus, I'm already priced out of my neighborhood and will end up selling, realize a large ROI, and moving out to the burbs. Hey, Stapleton or Lowry look nice.