DENVER | Transportation Thread

[TakeFive]

Downtown

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty

So go downtown
Things will be great when you're downtown
No finer place for sure, downtown -- Tony Hatch/Petula Clark

I'm assuming by now that PLANSIT and Friends are deep into their analysis of moving worker bees through downtown Denver streets.

Statistica tells us that logistics will be $195 billion industry in 2019. In 2000 it was $57 billion; in 2010 it was a $127 billion. Seems to be going up.

Logistics is way above my paygrade but I assume that RTD/Denver has some good analytical modeling they can use. Common sense would tell me that since downtown has bookend bus hubs with Union Station and Civic Center Station, that as many bus routes as possible either 'originate' or pass through one of the two hubs. That way downtown employees need merely hop on one of two free bus lines through downtown that connect to both hubs. Then they can find their route bus at the hub and off they go.

I assume dedicated bus lanes within downtown will be considered and would be great where the bus density-frequency would warrant them, especially during rush hours.

[TakeFive]

Things we know

With a couple of exceptions but ridership has been going down from sea to shining sea. So many issues: speed/time; convenience/accessibility; comfort/security etc. For (too) many people riding a bus is a last resort.

Portland did the analysis but they're not the only city to observe that bus ridership has eroded the most in areas that are gentrifying. Of course, it's always the fault of those damn millennials.

Most people would rather ride light rail than a bus but what they really want is for all their neighbors to take some form of transit so they can drive on congestion-free roads.

When it comes to peer cities
Denver is probably more like San Diego than Seattle; more like Minneapolis than Phoenix. Unfortunately I haven't (the time) taken a deep dive into Minneapolis but my understanding is that they are doing some good transit things (they have Urban light rail).

[SnyderBock]

Adaptive Artificial Intelligence Automated Logistics Control of all Traffic Signals, Buses &Trains. No human drivers required. No missed transfers. Frequency and capacity adapted real time based on travel demand and congestion. Traffic singles cycle duration constant flux to maximize traffic flow and minimize congestion and to eliminate delays for at-grade buses and trains. Timed transfers automatically adjusted to compensate for any delays, so no passengers miss a scheduled transfer. Automatic rerouting of automated buses and vehicles around areas of high congestion and to prevent areas of high congestion from occuring. All this to result in the most efficient average travel times possible at all times, for every human inhabitant of the city.

[mhays]

Except pedestrians often get screwed.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by mhays

Except pedestrians often get screwed.

Isn't that sort of a chicken-egg thingy? I mean all transit riders start out as a pedestrian.

Speaking of chickens, would you settle for a rooster?

• Video Link

At least these folks are smart enough to live where congestion isn't a problem.

[mhays]

Buses aren't why these optimizer systems tend to like loooong wait times between crossings, particularly in the traffic engineers get to program things.

[DenverDave]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Downtown

I'm assuming by now that PLANSIT and Friends are deep into their analysis of moving worker bees through downtown Denver streets.

I assume dedicated bus lanes within downtown will be considered and would be great where the bus density-frequency would warrant them, especially during rush hours.

It is mind boggling that we need another year of studying to figure out that there should be dedicated bus lanes downtown. Just do it already.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by DenverDave

It is mind boggling that we need another year of studying to figure out that there should be dedicated bus lanes downtown. Just do it already.

Which streets? How far should they reach? Which one's should be permanent and which ones should be peak period only? Is the current network workable or should it be reconfigured? How much will the lanes cost? What other infrastructure improvements are needed? How will the bus lanes and general purpose lanes being reconfigured work with the train network? How can bike lanes be integrated into this network?

I do think that they should have run this study concurrent with DenverMoves Transit, but it a proper plan does take time.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by SnyderBock

Adaptive Artificial Intelligence Automated Logistics Control of all Traffic Signals...

I have no doubt you are right.

Originally Posted by mhays

Buses aren't why these optimizer systems tend to like loooong wait times between crossings, particularly in the traffic engineers get to program things.

You're just in too big of an ass hurry to get home to your new downtown condo.

[DenverDave]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Which streets? How far should they reach? Which one's should be permanent and which ones should be peak period only? Is the current network workable or should it be reconfigured? How much will the lanes cost? What other infrastructure improvements are needed? How will the bus lanes and general purpose lanes being reconfigured work with the train network? How can bike lanes be integrated into this network?

I do think that they should have run this study concurrent with DenverMoves Transit, but it a proper plan does take time.

Can anyone come up with an argument why there should not be 24/7 dedicated bus lanes on 15th and 17th streets and why that couldn't have been done already?

Also, it was brilliantly planned to tear up and repave every street downtown over the past two summers without adding any new bus or bike lanes and then afterwards perform a design study. DPW clearly missed an opportunity there.

[TakeFive]

The Colorado Sun is now a thing


Source

How Denver International Airport lands international flights — and which destinations might be next
NOV 14, 2018 By Jesse Paul - The Colorado Sun

Denver International Airport has seen explosive growth over the past year and a half into international markets, with airlines offering a host of new routes to such destinations as London, Paris, Zurich and Panama City.

And there are signs that this expansion hasn’t been for naught. It’s helped to establish the Mile High City as more of an international hub, though it still lacks the population to support global point-to-point travel.

What happened and what's next?

To find out, The Colorado Sun spoke with DIA’s top officials in charge of expanding flight service:

If you get a buzz about DIA (and you should) this piece is a fun read; well done by the new Colorado Sun.

Note: yesterday the Colorado Sun featured a piece on how the new Dem majority might seek to accomplish their goals.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by DenverDave

Can anyone come up with an argument why there should not be 24/7 dedicated bus lanes on 15th and 17th streets and why that couldn't have been done already?

Also, it was brilliantly planned to tear up and repave every street downtown over the past two summers without adding any new bus or bike lanes and then afterwards perform a design study. DPW clearly missed an opportunity there.

Why 15th? 17th is pretty much a no-brainer, but 15th has some disadvantages and no one gives a shit if a dedicated lane goes up to the Highlands as the ridership isn't stellar. I'd say 18th is the street that should have a dedicated bus lane from Broadway all the way to Union Station as you'd provide enhanced reliability for the MetroRide and several high-ridership lines such as the 0 and the all important 15 (though how is the 15 impacted by the Colfax BRT project?). Or does it make sense to shift some routes off of 18th to 15th and have just a couple of high-frequency lines going along 18th in a dedicated lane?

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by DenverDave

Can anyone come up with an argument why there should not be 24/7 dedicated bus lanes on 15th and 17th streets and why that couldn't have been done already?

Also, it was brilliantly planned to tear up and repave every street downtown over the past two summers without adding any new bus or bike lanes and then afterwards perform a design study. DPW clearly missed an opportunity there.

You just read a good comment as to why.

Interestingly I thought about tackling the topic of generic, dedicated lanes but guess what? I couldn't (easily) find anything to write about because they're a rather rare bird - unless you're referring to a specific BRT route.

For starters, life really isn't as simple as a Streetsblog fantasy or wish.

In recent years there has been a number of cities which have added BRT or Bus Rapid Transit and typically they will have some percentage of dedicated lanes on their routes. Usually it will be in the downtown/core area but that's one street, one route. For example, that's what is being planned for East Colfax and that is turning into a multi-decade challenge it seems. It obviously isn't so easy. With respect to So Broadway in Denver, because it's a one-way street and there were a lot of lanes, it was easier to make that specific adjustment but working with the whole downtown grid is a whole other kettle of fish.

Perhaps Cirrus can add some knowledge on this topic.

Seattle is the one city that comes to mind and while I'd have to revisit the history, IIRC this has been rolled out over a number of years. They started with a few blocks on one street, then added a 2nd street etc. As previously stated Seattle has well over twice the (bus) density downtown as Denver.

Afaik, even the largest traditional transit cities don't have generic dedicated lanes but my lack of knowledge may be a thing. I believe Boston is only now planning or starting that. Most cities have relied on some form of rail transit for moving lots of people when it comes to transit while buses use the same lanes as everybody else.

That's just the Way it Is.

[TakeFive]

Don't bust my budget chops

Sachs/Denverite has a pretty good review of the just passed Denver Budget. /sigh - There's never enough for the important things in life. Part of the problem is that many different interests have passions over different issues. Often overlooked and taken for granted is the 'nuts and bolts' of city gritty which without those pieces the city would fall into chaos (but I digress).

Denver City Council passes $2.4 billion budget with focus on housing and transportation
11/13/2018 by David Sachs - Denverite

The Hancock administration released the city’s first-ever transit plan this year, but it remains unfunded.

Well not exactly and this overlooks the $937 million Elevate Denver Bonds - but true, the 'plan' is mostly, both aspirational and more visionary at this point. With respect to transportation:

According to sustainable transportation advocates at the Denver Streets Partnership, the city should probably start looking locally for more funding sources — particularly since Proposition 110, a statewide transport funding measure, failed on Election Day.

“I think Denver is willing to be a player,” said Jill Locantore... “If state measures just continue to fail, Denver should take action at the city or metro-wide scale.”

There's been a lot of discussion about local jurisdictions taking responsibility for their own needs and not worrying about CDOT. The concern is that rural areas will be left out in the snowy cold.

This conflates issues as CDOT and local road/transit needs have always been distinctly different (although Prop 110 would have allocated new taxes to both). Local needs have always been up to local jurisdictions. CDOT is responsible for statewide specific state-owned roads (primarily) which btw, is a critically important need for the whole state's economic prosperity.

Recurring budget needs and obligations that are growing, for example:

Other big chunks of the 2019 budget: Funding for 31 new police officers and 37 firefighters, plus about $3 million for services and facilities for people suffering from mental health problems and addiction.

Providing safety and security is Always Job One; but cops (and firefighters) don't come cheap, presumably over $100,000 per year a copy - and this becomes a recurring budget expense. Sachs also points out how the City is having difficulty filling their personnel vacancies and needs due to low unemployment.

Some day soon... D-Met Transport coming to a voting place near you.

[DenverDave]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Why 15th? 17th is pretty much a no-brainer, but 15th has some disadvantages and no one gives a shit if a dedicated lane goes up to the Highlands as the ridership isn't stellar. I'd say 18th is the street that should have a dedicated bus lane from Broadway all the way to Union Station as you'd provide enhanced reliability for the MetroRide and several high-ridership lines such as the 0 and the all important 15 (though how is the 15 impacted by the Colfax BRT project?). Or does it make sense to shift some routes off of 18th to 15th and have just a couple of high-frequency lines going along 18th in a dedicated lane?

So many bus routes loop through 15th and 17th (6,8,9,10,15,19,20,28,32,44,48,52) that making improvements there would speed up the entire system, while 18th only has the metroride during limited hours and the 0 and 1. Also two lanes were closed off over most of the summer on 15th for construction and the world didn't end. DPW could easily put in a broadway style bus lane on 15th and 17th without much investment. I don't think this is a streetsblog fantasy, more like extremely low hanging fruit.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by DenverDave

So many bus routes loop through 15th and 17th (6,8,9,10,15,19,20,28,32,44,48,52) that making improvements there would speed up the entire system, while 18th only has the metroride during limited hours and the 0 and 1. Also two lanes were closed off over most of the summer on 15th for construction and the world didn't end. DPW could easily put in a broadway style bus lane on 15th and 17th without much investment. I don't think this is a streetsblog fantasy, more like extremely low hanging fruit.

Well, OK, true and PLANSIT could speak to the issues much better than I but a few thing come to mind. What about parking ingress and egress; hotel access; other vehicles needing to turn at corners. More importantly how many times are these bus/routes passing through downtown; is it once an hour, once every ten minutes etc. Will these be BAT lanes or strictly bus lanes?

What is the percentage of the total commuters that bus riders make up on these streets. Is it really worth the blowback from those that don't care to ride buses. If the demand for buses and their frequency is high enough then the case can be made. But if bus lanes aren't that busy or only intermittently busy then compliance could become a big problem. Honestly, I'm not smart enough to know the answers.

[DenverDave]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

What is the percentage of the total commuters that bus riders make up on these streets. Is it really worth the blowback from those that don't care to ride buses. If the demand for buses and their frequency is high enough then the case can be made. But if bus lanes aren't that busy or only intermittently busy then compliance could become a big problem. Honestly, I'm not smart enough to know the answers.

I don't think I've ever been on 15th street when there weren't multiple buses queued up in traffic. At the very least, the bus lane would carry exponentially more traffic than the crappy bike lane there does.

[Cirrus]

There are lots of cities with non-BRT bus lanes. Is that what you're asking?

First of all, tons and tons of cities have downtown trunk bus lanes, where a bunch of routes from all over the city come together in the center. Portland, Providence, New Haven, Chicago, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Columbus, Seattle... even Boulder has a small one next to the Walnut Street bus station. Except for Denver's 16th Street, this is what most downtown transit malls are for. Examples of that include Minneapolis, Honolulu, and Brooklyn.

But also there are a ton of cities with bus lanes on non-BRT major bus lines that aren't the downtown hub. Like Broadway in Denver. Among them, DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Virginia Beach, New York, Pittsburgh, Boston. Baltimore notably has a dense downtown network of crisscrossing bus lanes.

If there are more than 20 buses per hour on a street then a bus lane should be on the table. If there are more than 40 then it definitely should have a bus lane.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

There are lots of cities with non-BRT bus lanes. Is that what you're asking?

If there are more than 20 buses per hour on a street then a bus lane should be on the table. If there are more than 40 then it definitely should have a bus lane.

Awesome; thanks. I was totally clueless and didn't have the time but I had the feeling you could give us some great insight.

Btw, are you excited about Amazon and do you expect their move to add to you work load?

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by DenverDave

I don't think I've ever been on 15th street when there weren't multiple buses queued up in traffic. At the very least, the bus lane would carry exponentially more traffic than the crappy bike lane there does.

Blasphemy!

You see, the bike lanes are for wealthy white urban core streetsblog readers. A transit lane would encourage transit, and that means...more transit riders.