DENVER | Transportation Thread

[taylor23]

Originally Posted by austingood

Am I reading that right that the rail station will be constructed in Longmont by 2015, even though the train supposedly wont get there until 2044? I know they want to make Longmont feel like they aren't being ignored but seriously...

It is misleading to call it a train station. It is really a transit center for buses. I don't think any train components will be built until/if the NW line get there.

[taylor23]

Originally Posted by SnyderBock

Don't you all remember that when the Eagle 3 bid came in $300 million under what RTD expected, they allocated those funds to other corridors. This is where that $300 million was designated to be spent:

-I-225 LRT from Nine Mile to Illiff (1.5 mile extension)
-North Corridor EMU to National Western Stock Show
-US36 BRT phase 2
-Multi-modal transit station for Longmont (to initially be used for expanded bus, express bus and BRT service and at a future date also for Commuter Rail)

I had been wondering if they will do something similar since the I-225 line is being built way under what RTD budgeted.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by taylor23

I had been wondering if they will do something similar since the I-225 line is being built way under what RTD budgeted.

No, because the only reason it is getting built at all is because it can be done for significantly less than anticipated. It's not like they had enough money for what it was supposed to cost in the first place.

I should figure out how to post a poll. Which will happen first:

A. NW Rail to Longmont.
B. Living breathing human on Mars.
C. Who cares, I'll be dead. (Not actually a joke... if 2044 is the number, I probably will be dead.)

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

C. Who cares, I'll be dead. (Not actually a joke... if 2044 is the number, I probably will be dead.)

Can I have your truck? Seriously, if you're going to keel over at somewhere around sixty five or so, than someone else might as well enjoy what you've got. The truck could be a nice collector's item by then.

[Cirrus]

OK. Question.

The US 36 BRT will run in the HOT lanes, which will be in the center of the highway. But all the stations are on the right side along slip exits. So does that mean buses stopping at every station will have to merge in and out of the HOT lanes, through the main lanes, at every stop?

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

The US 36 BRT will run in the HOT lanes, which will be in the center of the highway. But all the stations are on the right side along slip exits. So does that mean buses stopping at every station will have to merge in and out of the HOT lanes, through the main lanes, at every stop?

Put succinctly... yes. That's why all that talk last week-ish about RTD buses being allowed to use shoulders in heavy traffic on the new US 36 - for when they can't get to the HOT lanes.

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Can I have your truck? Seriously, if you're going to keel over at somewhere around sixty five or so, than someone else might as well enjoy what you've got. The truck could be a nice collector's item by then.

No male in my family has made it to 65 yet. I have a hard time believing I'll be the first.

But yeah, my truck will be super sexy in 2044. Although 13-15 mpg won't seem so nice...

[Cirrus]

I'm trying to make a map that highlights Denver's bus routes with frequencies at or better than every 15 minutes. This is my first draft. It wouldn't surprise me if I missed some, because I'm really not all that familiar w/ the bus network except for in Boulder. Any comments are appreciated.

I recently put a lot of time into a diagram map of DC's 15-minute routes. If inspiration strikes I may do the same for Denver.

[PLANSIT]

Cirrus,

Check out Mile High Connects. They did a giant report based off of "frequent service" which I believe was defined at 15 minutes or less.

Equity Atlas Report

I would note that Alameda (3, I believe) has 15 minute service. Something the report left out (RTD wasn't happy).

[PLANSIT]

Here is the map from the Atlas Report

[Cirrus]

Nifty.

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Nifty.

Of course, there is room for improvement regarding presentation/graphics.

I've seen your DC version and it's significantly better illustrated.

[wong21fr]

I'm getting seriously pissed of at Lousville, Boulder, Longmont area for their feelings that they are entitled to receive a rail line that is the biggest boondoggle in the entire FasTracks program w/o even acknowledging that it might not be the best idea. Someone up there has to start speaking rationally and acknowledging the situation instead of threatening to drop out of RTD and expecting that they will self fund it (does anyone seriously think that Lousville, Boulder and Longmont can build the Northwest Corridor themselves?).

I'm also pissed off at RTD for not growing the balls to point out that all of the lines under construction to date have received either federal or private funding, sometimes both. But the Northwest Line will not receive anything from the feds or the private market because it is the most economically nonviable line with the lowest ridership. Which is almost entirely due to keeping the commuter bus service along US-36 as a payoff to Boulder. Only one of these two systems should have been built. Either rail or bus. Not both.

[EngiNerd]

Wong, you forgot /Rant

[wong21fr]

Whoops...

[rant] [/rant]

[bunt_q]

On the atlas report map. Why the assumption that all fixed guideway transit belongs on that map? If a bus with headways >15 minutes doesn't count, I'm not sure why a train with >15 minute headways should (that map is clearly not interested in peak hour only frequencies, or else there'd be more buses too). A 30-minute headway train is no better for the transit dependent population than a 30-minute bus (and that was the target of the atlas, after all).

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

(does anyone seriously think that Lousville, Boulder and Longmont can build the Northwest Corridor themselves?).

Population 300,000. Capital cost $1.7 billion+. Yeah, might be tough - $5,666 per person - without big federal money. Sure makes that extra 14-cents on a pizza that Obamacare is going to cost us seem like a pittance, doesn't it?

[Zmapper]

The map only counts frequent peak buses, not all day service. Despite that, the map is innumerate at the same time. Routes 130 and 133 both have 15 peak/30 off peak, yet they aren't on the map.

A while back I made an accurate map of frequent all day routes. http://goo.gl/maps/stqOD

The only standard I had was that a route must have 4 somewhat evenly spaced buses per hour during weekday daylight hours.

Side note: Route 24 could have been shown on the map between Evans and Monaco, but RTD cut service in half back in January.

[sashyenka]

Zmapper, this map is up to date with which service changes, just for reference? The frequencies mostly tend to go down each time they roll them out, though the August changes seem relatively minor in comparison to, say, last year.

Edits for my sloppy typing. The ideas are all there, but apparently my writing has escaped me...

[Octavian]

The Regional Transportation District is considering a study of the rail program's northern and northwestern area -- a study that could include whether to shift Longmont from the long-delayed Northwest Rail Line to the more direct North Metro Rail Line.

The North Metro is planned to run east of Interstate 25, passing through Commerce City, Thornton and Northglenn on its way to northern Adams County. Extending it far enough to reach Longmont would mean passing through Weld County, which is not part of the RTD.

Longmont Times Call

[Cirrus]

I'm looking through the schedules for the bus lines from the Atlas Report, and none the lines they show that I hadn't ID'd myself are 15-minute at mid-day. The 105 and 3 are pretty good, but still have some 30-minute gaps mixed in. I want 15-minute more or less all day, so I'm going to leave them off and stick with what I've got.

But still, seeing that was a huge help, because it meant I didn't have to look at every single route.