Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirrus
Stub stations are fine if a stub is your only choice. The disappointing thing about Denver is that it wouldn't have been particularly hard to make it a through station instead. In Milan, there's nowhere to go. The tracks just end in the middle of the city. So /shrug/, stub station it is. But in Denver, the tracks pick right up again just a couple of blocks later. In fact, there ARE through tracks, a little bit further up the CPV. Making Denver a through station is totally feasible (though more expensive).
But I don't think it's as big a problem as maybe some others think. It makes little difference for commuter-oriented lines like in Fastracks. Where it will be a problem is if we ever get around to Front Range rail.
|
The most important current problem with DUS is that it is not designed to facilitate travel through (due to very poor transportation planning, bottom line).*
Let's say one lives near the Osage Station on the light rail and wants to go to the DIA line (being built) to the 40th and Colorado Station, which is perhaps 5 or 6 miles as the crow flies. He or she in 2020 will have two options: the first, to take a DUS light rail train to DUS Light, walk almost the length of the Underground buying tickets (hopefully) en route, walking to the platform that the DIA train will use, wait for the train (unless timing is perfect), catch the train and ride the 4 or so miles to the 40th and Colorado Station. The 2nd option (in 2020 or so) will be to take the light rail to the 38th Street Station,wait for a DIA bound train, travel one stop and get off? How long will this take to travel the 5 or 6 miles as the crow flies between the Osage Station and the 40th and Colorado Station? In both cases, I suspect during higher frequency times (rush hour) close to 45 minutes, which works out to an average speed of 6 mph (~10 kph). Going the other way- from the 40th and Colorado Station to Osage would be a bit faster, as the frequencies of the light rail that go from DUS Light to Osage are higher than the frequencies of the DIA line will be. In this case, perhaps 8 or even 9 mph (~15 kph)
This type of timing scheme applies to any rider that enters DUS via light rail and then transfers to the heavy rail, and visa versa.
This type of problem extends also to the Bus Station. As the station is huge (due to it filling a space originally meant to contain DUS light rail) a higher percentage of buses that serve local communities in a 5 mile radius in an arc north of Colfax will now stop at the Underground in their route. How will this, for example, affect north-south local bus schedules for those who use buses that have no need to travel through the DUS Station Complex?
While having such buses serve commuters going downtown is a positive, a huge percentage of local bus traffic has no need to have to travel through the Underground as the riders do not have Lodo as a final destination.
(I will admit that east-west bus traffic through the Underground will be made more efficient, as the time for buses to enter and exit the Underground in many cases will be less than such times at the old Market Street Station.)
Problems, Cirrus, will start long before any heavy rail option from the south is considered, as more and more users discover that the system works poorly (unnecessarily long travel times) if one has to travel THROUGH downtown.DUS Station will add 20 - 40 minutes to travel times via rail in such cases.** In addition, 10 - 20 minutes to bus travel time for current riders on those bus routes that will now be forced to either terminate at the Underground that do not now, or to routes which up to this time did not go downtown.
This all is a reflection on the DUS Station complex design which now is set in concrete.
*The reason this planning boondoggle occurred can largely be traced to the positioning of the Pepsi Center, combined with the width of the track corridor now used for light rail and heavy rail freight. Basically, commercial property development, as a function of total area usage of the old rail yards was maximized at the expense of public transportation users. RTD seems to have little political choice but to build the station complex in the area provided for them by those who sought (and seek) to use DUS to enhance property value. Regrettably, RTD will bear the brunt of the blame and the Joe Caldaras of this world will unequivocally condemn RTD, without blaming private parties who also were involved.
**Similar timing problems will also exist for travel between stations on different heavy rail lines in the future as the system will have no transfer points between lines besides DUS.
Prev
Linear Mode
