DENVER | Transportation Thread

[wong21fr]

So, what is magical about $300 million, a PPP for the North Corridor perhaps? Whatever this proposal might be, it has to disproportionally benefit the northern suburbs.

RTD to produce $300 million plan for FasTracks
By Monte Whaley
The Denver Post
October 24, 2012

Regional Transportation District general manager Phil Washington vowed Tuesday night to find $300 million to help complete unfinished portions of the metro-wide FasTracks commuter project.
Washington said that by December the RTD board of directors could vote on a series of proposed cuts to other programs that will generate the needed funding for FasTracks.
"We are going to roll up 8-to-10 high impact items," Washington said during a regular meeting of the RTD board."We want to find more funding so we can build more FasTracks."
Washington said he will produce the list of "trade offs" by November for the board to study prior to a December vote.

[PLANSIT]

Is this the same $300 million from before? You know, the $300 million that was going to be sprinkled around on other projects?

[wong21fr]

No, this is another $300 million that RTD plans to accquire through analyzing other transit programs, ie cuts.

[bunt_q]

Ah, finally, what they always promised would never happen, but has ultimately happened in countless other cities. Cuts to buses to fund rail. Where else could RTD possibly find that kind of money? Sad if it happens.

[PLANSIT]

Would it be sad if they only cut northern routes?

[bunt_q]

Absolutely. The buses are still the workhorses of the system. There is more to transit than offering free parking to 5,000 downtown workers per day, under the guise of reducing traffic. Which is all those lines really do. Not to mention, those lines will almost certainly have more of a transit-cannibalizing effect than the southern routes did, because between the B et al, and the 120X et al, the north is already the best bus-served (for commuters) part of the metro. I should take a look and see what the new rider numbers are. I care less when we're building new whether we're cannibalizing ridership. But if we're cutting one to pay for another, then new transit users becomes a very relevant stat. To the extent that, once we see the plan, if service reductions elsewhere do end up being a major component, I think it probably warrants a new round of studies. Sure, that costs time and money. But the models change, and if those change, then everything else should be open for reconsideration too.

[PLANSIT]

It was tongue-in-cheek, but I agree with you about cutting one for another.

[bunt_q]

Gotcha, sorry missed that. I see it now. Stupid Internet.

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Gotcha, sorry missed that. I see it now. Stupid Internet.

I should have used another font.

[wong21fr]

Found this today (slow afternoon since junior mining companies have shitty cash accounts in Q4 and par back project spending):

http://www3.rtd-denver.com/content/Board...ving%20Strategies%20Intro%2010-16-12.pdf

What I gather is that RTD is thinking about paring back bus service improvements that were promised under FasTracks, and not increasing the base operation budget contribution by 1% a year through 2020 (which then jumps to 1.5% a year through 2035) to help fund two capital projects. The first project is the complete build out of the US-36 BRT corridor and the second extends the North Corridor to 72nd. Looks like both projects would kick off in 2017.

I'm thinking that RTD is going to make a big push to get the North Corridor done and shift Longmont over to it as well. The NW corridor would then be served by BRT and would see a very, very, very slow incremental expansion of the rail. If at all.

[SnyderBock]

I like that plan, if it works. It buys time before new tax money will be needed. It also gets the majority of the corridors built out or under construction. Then, when a new tax is put before voters, it wouldn't seem like a FasTracks bailout so much, as a FasTrack2 which happens to also fund the last couple little things that fell short under FasTracks. Furthermore, it could likely be a joint RTD-CDOT tax.

The new tax would be state-wide (but collections from within RTD district still go to RTD, outside go to CDOT) and may accomplish the following:

1.) Restore bus upgrades and enhancements for the RTD system
2.) Fund the SW and SE LRT extensions
3.) Fund the Central Corridor LRT/Streetcar extension and expand it throughout downtown Denver
4.) Study and fund a mass transit solution for Colfax from Union Station/Civic Center to I-225 LRT (including possible grade-separate options; in-street/elevated/subway LRT and/or streetcar)
5.) Extend the NW DMU to Broomfield and/or Boulder
6.) Extend I-225 LRT to DIA train terminal
7.) Extend North Corridor EMU to Longmont

For outside RTD's district, this new tax may accomplish the following for the CDOT:

1.) Extend North Corridor EMU From Longmont to Loveland and Fort Collins
2.) Extend Gold Corridor EMU through Golden and up I-70 to Eagle County Airport (in phases)
3.) Construct highway enhancements and improvements including a 3rd bore at the Continental Divide (capable of accommodating new traffic lanes and the commuter rail)
4.) Other bridge and highway reconstruction/enhancements, throughout the state
5.) Study ways to extend commuter rail service to other destinations, such as Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Trinidad, Black Hawk and Winter Park (but would not fund those projects)

[bunt_q]

Good luck with that, Snyder.

Sorry but I am strongly opposed to paring bus service to fund the weakest of our rail lines. If the north metro rail was worth a crap, it would be happening already.

[wong21fr]

Here's a few more RTD tidbits:

For Bunt (as he's bitched about these in the past):

1) RTD will have credit card ticket purchases in 2Q 2013.
2) Smart cards will roll out by the end of this year (being printed right now for Ecopasses and college passes) with the elimination of all paper tickets by the end of 2013.
3) Implementation of Real Time Passenger Information on busses in 2014 and rail in 2015. Radio location systems are currently being installed on the bus fleet.

Oh, and you can read all about the Downtown Circulator right here (starts on page 60): http://www3.rtd-denver.com/content/BoardOffice/boardPacketsUpload/2012-09-04%20Weekly%20Board%20Packet%20Revised.pdf

The highlights are:
-Denver and the DDP backed out of sharing O&M costs, which led RTD to cut back the service to what was provided for in the FasTracks scope.
-It will only run during peak periods with 5-min intervals. No midday, night, or weekend service.
-It only goes to Civic Center Station. No more service to the Golden Triangle.

[bunt_q]

The circulator was always badly conceived, I can't really fault the city and the partnership for backing out. It just reinforces fastracks as a commuter-only program. The distance from the CML/light rail to the other end of downtown is still a puzzle we'll need to figure out eventually, and the circulator never felt like quite the right answer. It's just not that easy to replicate something like the mall shuttle.

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Here's a few more RTD tidbits:

For Bunt (as he's bitched about these in the past):

1) RTD will have credit card ticket purchases in 2Q 2013.
2) Smart cards will roll out by the end of this year (being printed right now for Ecopasses and college passes) with the elimination of all paper tickets by the end of 2013.
3) Implementation of Real Time Passenger Information on busses in 2014 and rail in 2015. Radio location systems are currently being installed on the bus fleet.

Oh, and you can read all about the Downtown Circulator right here (starts on page 60): http://www3.rtd-denver.com/content/BoardOffice/boardPacketsUpload/2012-09-04%20Weekly%20Board%20Packet%20Revised.pdf

The highlights are:
-Denver and the DDP backed out of sharing O&M costs, which led RTD to cut back the service to what was provided for in the FasTracks scope.
-It will only run during peak periods with 5-min intervals. No midday, night, or weekend service.
-It only goes to Civic Center Station. No more service to the Golden Triangle.

Yeah, this is truly unfortunate.

Although, the circulator will have some mildly sweet infrastructure improvements.

[bcp]

can they at least make it a two-way, sensible loop? stops at every-other block would be a massive improvement....alas, i guess not if they are only doing peak-service (failure!)

[PLANSIT]

Have we seen this yet? I don't remember.

[LAM]

Originally Posted by PLANSIT

Have we seen this yet? I don't remember.

That's the first time I've seen that, but that doesn't mean much, since this forum is where I get a lot of my info.

From what I've seen online, it is a pilot project with RTD to develop a TOD at Alameda Station. It is referenced in this October 2012 presentation from D4Urban. Those are the folks with the very impressive plan to turn that old Big Box fiasco near the Alameda Station into a TOD linked back into the city.

They have an updated master plan for that area in OCt2012 Presentation. It is interesting to look at their original TOD proposal and how much it has changed by the proposal for the Alameda Station Village Apartments.

I guess it would be nice to know if this is moving forward. Has any one seen any activity at the site?

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by LAM

That's the first time I've seen that, but that doesn't mean much, since this forum is where I get a lot of my info.

From what I've seen online, it is a pilot project with RTD to develop a TOD at Alameda Station. It is referenced in this October 2012 presentation from D4Urban. Those are the folks with the very impressive plan to turn that old Big Box fiasco near the Alameda Station into a TOD linked back into the city.

They have an updated master plan for that area in OCt2012 Presentation. It is interesting to look at their original TOD proposal and how much it has changed by the proposal for the Alameda Station Village Apartments.

I guess it would be nice to know if this is moving forward. Has any one seen any activity at the site?

This is definitely moving forward. Just hadn't seen a rendering yet.

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

The circulator was always badly conceived, I can't really fault the city and the partnership for backing out. It just reinforces fastracks as a commuter-only program. The distance from the CML/light rail to the other end of downtown is still a puzzle we'll need to figure out eventually, and the circulator never felt like quite the right answer. It's just not that easy to replicate something like the mall shuttle.

Subway dreams aside, how about starting with articulated buses on the Mall Shuttle.