DENVER | Transportation Thread

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by RyanD

What happens when you need to do the other thing.... Lol.

I'm sure they could accommodate you these days.

I couldn't help but picture a much younger bunt.

[TakeFive]

Wow, the 1910's; was that a good decade?
Eh, my memory isn't as sharp as it once was.

Looks like RTD found my old trestle.

Photo courtesy: RTD

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Then they'll pee in the alley.

So... just like where they pee now after security boots them out?

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

So... just like where they pee now after security boots them out?

Exactly. Just keep them out of our station. Denver's Living Room. Where the pretty people come to play.

[TakeFive]

New Commercial TOD
at the bustling Pena Station

A rendering of Panasonic's new facility in Denver. Image: Panasonic/bsulley via TechRepublic

"Panasonic opens its first smart building at new Denver headquarters"
September 23, 2016 by Teena Maddox - TechRepublic

Panasonic Corp. has opened its first smart office building at the new Denver headquarters for Panasonic Enterprise Solutions.

The first building of the operations hub opened on September 12, with employees reporting to work in the smart office at Peña Station

That's very smart of them to to do this.

[The Dirt]

What about this development is transit oriented? It's hardly even transit adjacent.

[TakeFive]

Example Number One (Seattle)

Is ST3 a sexy disease?
That's what voters will be deciding.

Total projected investment:
$54 billion YOE (year of expenditure) including $27.7 billion in new taxes

1. Sales tax increase of 0.5 percent
2. License tabs (MVET) increase of 0.8% or $160 on a $20,000 vehicle
3. $100 annually for a house assessed at $400,000.

What it buys:

• 62 miles of new light rail with 37 new stations (total of 116 miles)
• 2 new BRT lines
• Sounder (commuter rail) ~40% capacity expansion
• Misc. improvements: Express buses, station enhancements etc

[TakeFive]

Diversity and coming together.

[The Dirt]

Weren't the new mall shuttles supposed start operating this month?

[TakeFive]

bunt... (or anyone) Can a city or county levy their own gas taxes or is that reserved to the state?

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

bunt... (or anyone) Can a city or county levy their own gas taxes or is that reserved to the state?

Nvm... I found it:

At BallotPedia regarding: Article_X,_Colorado_Constitution https://ballotpedia.org/Articl...

Section 18 - On and after July 1, 1935, the proceeds from the imposition of any license, registration fee, or other charge with respect to the operation of any motor vehicle upon any public highway in this state and the proceeds from the imposition of any excise tax on gasoline or other liquid motor fuel except aviation fuel used for aviation purposes shall, except costs of administration, be used exclusively for the construction, maintenance, and supervision of the public highways of this state.

[TakeFive]

Cirrus gets his way
I hate it when that happens.

"Fixing the 16th Street Mall: Denver leaders address downtown's challenges"
Sep 29, 2016 by Caitlin Hendee - Denver Business Journal

"Taking the shuttles off the mall would create more issues," he said. "It's the backbone of our downtown. The shuttles activate the mall when people aren't around."

He also said doing so would mean a huge infrastructure adjustment, and with it, a significant cost. "It's a huge inconvenience for the 45,000 people a day who ride it," he added.

Genova, RTD's GM, also said the shuttles and their place on the 16th Street Mall are a critical piece of RTD's infrastructure... "It's the first and last mile in downtown," he said,

Reading between the lines... While the Mall needs more than a little lipstick it seems clear there was little appetite for any significant redesign/rebuild and the huge costs that would entail.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Cirrus gets his way
I hate it when that happens.

"Fixing the 16th Street Mall: Denver leaders address downtown's challenges"
Sep 29, 2016 by Caitlin Hendee - Denver Business Journal

Reading between the lines... While the Mall needs more than a little lipstick it seems clear there was little appetite for any significant redesign/rebuild and the huge costs that would entail.

Good. It was a inane idea to suggest moving the Shuttle. Seems like they are moving towards shifting the Shuttle and getting rid of the center median. That will go a way towards improving the experience on the upper portion of the Mall

[Mulligan]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

Weren't the new mall shuttles supposed start operating this month?

RTD starts receiving the new shuttles this month. IIRC there's a month or two between receiving and when they hit the streets (testing, branding, all that stuff).

RTD will be taking the least-reliable shuttles off the current fleet as the new ones are available for service.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Good. It was a inane idea to suggest moving the Shuttle. Seems like they are moving towards shifting the Shuttle and getting rid of the center median. That will go a way towards improving the experience on the upper portion of the Mall

Don't think they ever (really) considered moving both but there was some consideration for pairing with another street. Apparently the idea of a center alignment has been popular. My guess or thought is they would start with a few (likely contiguous) blocks to see how well it works.

[TakeFive]

Example Number Two (San Diego)

SANDAG - San Diego Association of Governments

Measure A: SANDAG's proposal that would create a half-cent sales tax to fund transportation and infrastructure projects throughout the county. SANDAG has projected needs of $204 billion for their regional transportation plan.

Projected Investment

• (as much as)$43 billion according to BOMA
• $18 billion in estimated sales tax over 40 years

What It Buys

• More than 400 lane miles added to highway system
• More than 20 transit projects to increase frequency on trolley and commuter rail. Some of those projects include a new Coaster station at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and the Purple Trolley line from San Ysidro to Kearny Mesa.
• Hundreds of local road projects to fill potholes and fix neighborhood infrastructure

There is an extensive list of specific priority projects with this proposal.

[TakeFive]

2018 - The Year of Great Infrastructure
Wait... I thought 2018 was to be the year for Great Transit?
Things change. The picture is now split into different pieces

Last Thursday, October 6th the Downtown Denver Partnership held its annual Rocky Mountain CitySummit. It's an invitation only event so unless your are a certified Mover and Shaker you likely went to work as normal. According to Denver News7 it's about "Reimaging Denver" or "Imagining a Denver of the future." It by nature is a topical event so transportation and affordable housing were current discussions of interest. I'm sure it's a fun event.

Denverite features a piece on the 400-acre Pena Station TOD masterplan project. I assume it was bcuz downtown focused peeps like to critique The Mayor and anything outside of downtown.

Quote of the Day
from Megan Arellano's piece in Denverite, 10/9.

“We have in Denver about $1.5 billion of deferred maintenance and crumbling infrastructure challenges that we’re going to be facing very soon. We’re going to have to find a solution to address those without overburdening the taxpayer. I don’t know how we do that and pursue other creative opportunities without engaging meaningful [public-private partnership] efforts.”
— Denver Mayor Michael Hancock

If you happen to be familiar with Denver's Capital Improvement Program you might recognize that there is a list of already pre-vetted projects that add up to nearly $1.5 billion of which about half are transportation projects and likely reflect what The Mayor was referencing. A great source (for me) is the "elevate 2020 - Denver pdf."

As a certified Top Fan of The Mayor the Inside Poop is that in 2018 there will be a "Bigger Better Bond Issue" for $950 million of infrastructure projects. You might recall the Better Denver Bond Issue in 2007 which was for a total of $550 million worth of projects.

[seventwenty]

Delays Push Back G Line Opening

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2016/10/08/delays-push-back-g-line-opening/

Construction delays and issues with the crossings have pushed back the opening date of the G Line.

It was originally scheduled to open this month but not RTD says it will open sometime this fall.

[trubador]

I am starting to think the R line (225) is going to be delayed as well. I think they started some testing, but I have yet to see a train make it to Peoria. I would not be surprised to see it delayed a month or two.

[COtoOC]

Originally Posted by trubador

I am starting to think the R line (225) is going to be delayed as well. I think they started some testing, but I have yet to see a train make it to Peoria. I would not be surprised to see it delayed a month or two.

I saw a train the other day sitting at the station just SE of the Colfax station. It wasn't moving. RTD still says "Winter 2016" for the opening. So what, the last week of December? But a delay wouldn't surprise me. I wish they'd hurry up. I'm sick of driving to Lone Tree for work!