DENVER | Transportation Thread

[TakeFive]

The future of transit in Denver is 'tricky'

I know what we should do; let's form a Blue Ribbon Panel.

Gov. Polis announces new accountability board to oversee RTD
June 18, 2020 by Meghan Lopez - 7News Denver

Over the next year this independent committee will conduct a top to bottom review and recommend the steps that are needed systemically, Gov. Polis promised during the press conference.

“The work is going to include a review of recent financials and recent audits, the structure of RTD governance and leadership, a review of the short term and long term use of resources,” Gov. Polis said.

Why this could be a good thing

As is typically the case there is no shortage of uninformed opinions. One of RTD's biggest issues is there are too many demands from divergent groups and interests.

To RTD's credit they have lots and lots of data and studies to inform the analysis and debate by such an esteemed group of people. Let them do a deep dive into every crook and cranny and we'll see how their collective wisdom focuses (or not).

My hope is that by studying all the budgetary issues they'll learn better the economic challenges and limitations. It's good that 'the state' is getting involved; learning should be enlightening. We will see.

[TakeFive]

Gov Polis, as the state's Top Dog set the tone for moving RTD forward

Polis Says RTD Still Must Build Boulder Train In Spite Of Coronavirus Cuts
June 17, 2020 By Nathaniel Minor - CPR News

Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday that the Regional Transportation District must follow through on its promise to build a rail line from Denver to Boulder and Longmont.

That’s in spite of RTD’s looming budget shortfall. The agency is now projecting a cumulative $1.3 billion hit to its budget through 2026, which will likely lead to deep and long-lasting cuts to service. Meanwhile, the most recent cost estimate for the train is about $1.5 billion.

Governor Polis, Sir, are you sure that dog can hunt?

“The train has to come. It was part of the 2004 ballot initiative,” Polis said, referencing the FasTracks vote that approved a tax increase for a massive rail expansion. “It’s a binding vote of the people,” he said, adding that another vote would be required to alleviate RTD of its obligation to deliver the project.

Hoo Boy; nothing like getting off to a fast start.

There's no guarantee that a Blue Ribbon Panel is a good idea. Let's hope the collective wisdom doesn't go down hill from here.

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Is the City of Denver getting its share of benefit from FasTracks?

Your standards are not my standards

This does put our differences into focus. I'm not concerned about Denver getting its "fair share." I'm am concerned about having a transit system that supports the most people who would use it, and enables the most possible people to start using it. Because transit is a means to having good urbanism, not an end in and of itself. I really don't care about political boundaries at all, except to the extent that I recognize the practical necessities of planning a system that gets the votes it needs to be approved.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

This does put our differences into focus. I'm not concerned about Denver getting its "fair share." I'm am concerned about having a transit system that supports the most people who would use it, and enables the most possible people to start using it. Because transit is a means to having good urbanism, not an end in and of itself. I really don't care about political boundaries at all, except to the extent that I recognize the practical necessities of planning a system that gets the votes it needs to be approved.

Fair points; cleanly stated. I have no problem respecting your thinking and can lean-in to a degree.

For example I have suggested that both the G Line and N Line's initial (Phase One) build-out should have been shorter stopping at Olde Town Arvada for the G Line and stopping at 104th ave for the N Line. I've also stated the R Line should never have been built - except for extending the H Line two stations.

It's get tricky though. IMO Denver didn't really have any ideal light rail routes except for the A Line to DIA. In theory the SE Corridor - not a part of FasTracks but built as a part of T-REX - connecting downtown with Denver Tech Center including a stop for Denver University seems to fit ideal but primarily First and Last Mile issues have diminished the return.

Modifying the above, I have endlessly promoted both the Urban Signature Line plus a Colorado Blvd Line. With these examples I blame the City of Denver. They should have stepped up and said: "Heh, we'll pay 50% of the cost to partner with you (RTD) on these two lines." The U/S line would also have included pieces of unincorporated Arapahoe County and Aurora.

One Big Picture issue is the City of Denver hardly had any more density than many parts of the suburbs - though that varies - until the explosion of growth downtown starting about the same time as the Great Recession.

Just released by the Downtown Denver Partnership employment downtown has grown a healthy 4.7% to 145,000 people. Still this is less than 10% of the total metro employment even if downtown does have the best employment density. How does this impact what a good light rail (or bus) system should look like?

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

I'm am concerned about having a transit system that supports the most people who would use it, and enables the most possible people to start using it. Because transit is a means to having good urbanism, not an end in and of itself.

If we were to go back in time and if I were to list my three top corridors for light rail - all of which would be textbook - they would be:

1. From Denver Union Station to DIA
2. My Urban Signature Line (and for simplicity we'll run down Parker Rd all the way to Nine Mile Station).
3. Colorado Blvd from Colorado Station on the south to 40th ave and Colorado Station on the north.

The cost of those in comparable $'s to FasTracks would be

1. $1.5 billion
2. $700 million
3. $450 million

Let's be generous and assume that RTD would agree to fund the operating costs for all three lines - but not the capital costs or infrastructure maintenance costs The obvious question now is "How do we fund the damn thing?"

The Urban Signature Line could be divided equally between Denver and Aurora (and technically unincorporated Arapahoe County north of Hampden Ave). Assuming an FTA grant for $315 million (45%) would those voters agree to fund the other $385 million? They might have.

The Colorado Blvd Line would be up to Denver obviously.

With respect to the train to the planes there ought be some creative way to fund that but I have no clue what it would be.

The irony is (if you will) that I'm not aware that City/County of Denver had any inclination or desire for funding any of the above.

[Launch 12]

Not sure how much ridership it's going to have during the pandemic, but nice to see some progress....

https://www.9news.com/article/news/l...2-ce5607221404

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Launch 12

Not sure how much ridership it's going to have during the pandemic, but nice to see some progress....

https://www.9news.com/article/news/l...2-ce5607221404

Thanks for finding that.

It's now an official threat that the the N Line will open on September 21st. There's been a few delaying issues along the way which nobody cares about now that it's set to open. Construction started in March of 2014 so yeah that's a tortuous period of time. As you suggest, under current COVID conditions ridership is likely to be lighter than whatever it would have been. I mean those folks can't even take in a Rockies game. Bleh.

[TakeFive]

Coming out of the closet

Seems like PLANSIT has been alluding to this for couple of years but things are now going public. We have seen the 1st fruits of his efforts with the bus and bike lanes on 15th street.

The future of downtown Denver’s transportation system:
Jun. 19, 2020 By David Sachs - Denverite

Many of Denver’s downtown streets aren’t organized for the people who use them most... And demand on those streets will only grow over the next two decades.

That’s the thinking behind “Denver Moves: Downtown,” the latest transport-focused plan from the city planners... Like its cousins, the downtown mobility scheme (which is still in production) has mounds of information about how people move around... and a lot of ideas on how to prioritize the cleanest, most efficient modes of travel... Also like its cousins, most of the stuff in the downtown transport plan is unfunded with no guarantee of realization.

City now has it's own Denver Moves Downtown website page which has lots of information and is also designed to engage the public. For example, a virtual open house was held on June 10th and they have an invitation to take a public survey.

Conflating Issues

By 2030, the city government aims to reduce car commutes from around 70 percent to 50 percent in part because vehicle emissions are the city’s second-largest contributor to climate change-causing greenhouse gases.

Hopefully by 2030 we'll be well on the way to zero emission vehicle adoption.

Not a biggie but that "50% car commutes" goal is for the whole city while this downtown plan will only address and impact some of that. But with respect to downtown commutes, the Downtown Denver Partnership recently released the results from last year's survey so let's have a look:


Source: DDP

As you can see, at least in 2019, people commuting by driving their own car was down to less than 33%.

[TakeFive]

It's looking more and more like my common-sense predictions may just happen

These 4 Maps Show How RTD’s Bus Service Could Change (And Shrink) Next Year
July 1, 2020 By Nathaniel Minor - CPR

“I’ll be frank, not everybody is going to like the tradeoffs,” Bill Sirois, RTD’s senior manager of transit-oriented communities, told the board earlier this year. “There will be winners; there will be losers.”

Each scenario takes into account an 8 percent cut from pre-pandemic service levels. The final product will almost certainly include greater cuts...

Hardly a surprise.

It’s entirely possible that the board will choose none of the above. In a brief discussion after the presentation, some board members said they wanted to see hybrids of them.

Now this sounds a whole lot like what I had suggested.

And an informal poll by the board showed clear support for prioritizing a regional transit backbone while supporting partnerships where communities pay for and operate local service — at least in the more immediate future when RTD’s budget is tightest.

That would mark a significant change for the way metro transit has worked since RTD’s formation about 50 years ago. It’s been the dominant provider since then.

"It's pretty obvious to all of us that we are not able to do the kind of service that we have done in the past, and that we need to look at ways to partner to provide service to areas that need it,” said Denver board member Kate Williams.

Kate Williams is assuming that City of Denver is more than willing to support transit within the city. She may be right and that's how it should be.

My gratitude to the Pandemic

Instead of a painfully slow process of a decade or longer, the Pandemic has forced the Board to think in terms of a whole new reality. There is this obvious potential problem:

But that could be politically difficult unless RTD sends some of its own money to local governments, said board member Natalie Menten of Lakewood. “The taxpayers may view this as double taxation,” she said.

It’s also possible that some areas that lose service could leave RTD and subsequently stop paying the agency’s 1 percent sales tax like Castle Rock did in 2005.

I disagree with that last sentence. AFAIK, those counties and areas that voted for .4 tenths sales tax increase in FasTracks - I assume are obligated by that vote, especially since all counties are now served by light or commuter rail (or BRT). As to other .6 tenths that is likely an entirely different question.

[TakeFive]

Your standards are not my standards

New study pans airport rail lines in Utah, Denver, Dallas as pricey boondoggles
Published: May 5 By Lee Davidson - The Salt Lake Tribune

A new study says light rail lines to airports may be popular politically, but they don’t make sense economically.

https://media4.manhattan-institute.o...ht-rail-CH.pdf

This paper aims to help planners and citizens evaluate when new light rail lines are justified. First, we will explore the economics behind the choice between light rail and buses, as well as how to determine the best locations of lines. Our analysis of ridership on 23 U.S. light rail systems shows that proximity to development and jobs is necessary for success. Unfortunately, very few places that are not already served by light rail systems have the features necessary to make them viable and would be better served by expanded bus service.

Guilty as charged

Further, we highlight several common errors that light rail planners have made: overexpansion of systems into low-density areas; overvaluing certain classes of destinations such as airports; and the use of low-quality rightsof-way that sacrifice ridership to avoid political controversies during construction. These errors have led to the construction of many existing light rail systems in fundamentally unviable areas.

The above is a good summary of good textbook stuff. It's not wrong. But one of us lives in fantasy land, the other in the real world.

The source for the piece in the Salt Lake Tribune was a 'paper' by Connor Harris of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank so there's a couple of things going on. For starters, they are a part of an anti-tax crowd who argues for (cheaper) bus service over costly light rail as a matter of principle. The other thing of note is that the Manhattan Institute is appropriately located at 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York City, NY.

Did anybody else get a good laugh at some 'expert' from Manhattan who's never been to Denver, knows little to nothing about Denver concluding that the A Line train to the planes is a boondoggle?

How about a real world example

The city of Nashville and Davidson County brought in a transit planner-expert from NYC to help create a transit plan to take to the voters. They did indeed come up with a very good plan; it was a transit planner's wet dream. Problem was when they went to the voters they not only failed, they got beat like a drum. That was two years ago. So now Nashville has no money for transit improvements and No Plan.

My point about textbook standards is not that they are wrong but most of the well-done plans end up being tomes sitting on a shelf. What is there value if they lead to absolutely nothing other than being a shelf filler.

Some of you might argue that doing nothing would have been better but that's a topic needing further examination. We've already discussed the literally $billions of TOD that will come. Does any of that yet show up as ridership? A silly rhetorical question of course.

[TakeFive]

A Tribute to Trains

by necessity this is historical and any good tribute starts with a classic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_New_Orleans_(song)

"City of New Orleans" is a country folk song written by Steve Goodman... Goodman got the idea while traveling on the Illinois Central line for a visit to his wife's family. The song has been recorded by numerous artists both in the US and Europe, including two major hit versions: first by Arlo Guthrie in 1972, and later by Willie Nelson in 1984.

• Video Link

The end of the video explains its creation. Amazing visuals and if you have the time, it's worth your time to read thru the comments. This song/video brought a lot of grown men to tears.

Everybody loves trains and I was like a kid with a new toy

It's been two years since I rode the rails of FasTracks. With limited time I rode the W Line, the H Line, the A Line (a few times) and the B Line.

The day was Sunday, June 24, 2018

On my return trip into downtown on the W Line I was surprised by the number of riders. Leaving Golden about 11:30 a.m. there was already a number if people heading to the Rockies game. Likely, they intended to catch something to eat beforehand. Some appeared to bring their own picnic lunch. There was also a number of young riders presumably headed to the 16th Street Mall dressed up in some pretty funky clothes.

That Federal Station is really nice. I'll assume that it acts in many ways like an 'end of line' station appealing to 'park 'n riders' from an extensive area.

Riding the H Line

When a heavy downpour hit downtown I cancelled any notion of going to the Rockies game and once the rain let up I found my way over to the 18th and Stout Station. Lots of people waiting at that station. A couple of other trains stopped before an H Line train arrived. I'd guess at least 20 passengers boarded at that one stop. Cars looked to be mostly full of seated riders after a couple of more stops.

Riding the R Line

I exited the H Line at Florida to wait for an R Line train. Only a few waiting and I asked this young attractive black girl a question. She had to remove her ear buds to say "Wut". I asked if we have to wait nearly 20 minutes for the next train headed north. She responded "Nah, those signs are screwed up; there should be a train arrive in a few minutes." She was correct.

The Peoria Station

Another impressive station I boarded heading back into downtown. Again, at least two-thirds of the seats were occupied.

Boarding the B Line

Not as busy; maybe a third of the seats were occupied. I love that Westminster Station and once all that TOD gets built it will be nice.

[TakeFive]

Photo courtesy RTD via Mass Transit Mag - Englewood Station

Denver RTD's Southwest Light Rail Line turns 20 years old
Jul 16th, 2020 - Mass Transit Mag courtesy RTD

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) of Denver marked the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Southwest Light Rail Line from I-25 and Broadway to Englewood and Littleton on July 14.

The line was the first to serve the south metro suburbs by rail. The Southwest Rail Line – an extension of the D Line – added five new stations, at Evans, Englewood, Oxford, Littleton•Downtown and Littleton•Mineral.

As a result of great collaboration they built this first suburb to city line for the cost of a song.

The Southwest Line is one of RTD's great examples of regional collaboration between RTD, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) and local governments. Elected officials along the Southwest Corridor joined RTD officials in Washington, D.C., to advocate for federal funds to help build the line.

Speaking of songs, according to Billboard in 2000, Santana had two of the top three songs of the year with their Smooth ft Rob Thomas with cool video coming in second.

This was the project that seeded FasTracks as opening TV coverage of their Park N Ride overflowing and spilling into the neighborhood had other cities drooling. The naysayers had loudly and proudly proclaimed that the cowboys in Highlands Ranch would never ride a choo choo. They hit their ten year projections for ridership within the first week of operation.

I can't keep up so I'm glad somebody else is keeping time

Since RTD opened its first light rail line, the Central Corridor, in 1994, the agency’s rail system has grown to include 60.1 miles of light rail track and 40 miles of commuter rail track, with 73 stations. The opening of the N Line will add 13 new miles of commuter rail track and six new stations.

[TakeFive]

Source

Metro 'gets moving' on $5 billion transportation measure
Jul 20, 2020 By Maddie Pfeifer – Contributing writer, Portland Business Journal

The Metro Council unanimously voted last week to send the “Get Moving 2020” measure to voters on the Nov. 3 ballot. The measure would help fund such major projects as the Southwest Corridor MAX line as well as safety and accessibility improvements in Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties.

Come November, residents across the Portland metro region will get the chance to vote on a $5 billion transportation measure that would fund investments in 17 corridors across the area and funnel $1 billion over 20 years into 10 major transit-related programs.

The measure has been in the works for more than 18 months. A 35-member task force met with community members and made recommendations to the Metro Council before an official council vote on July 16 solidified the measure’s future.

The hope is that raising $5 billion would result in as much as $8 billion including Federal Grants.

So how you gonna raise all that tax revenue and how do you entice the voters to approve this?
We don't want to burden all of our hard-working residents so we'll let businesses pay for this.

The $5 billion of funding would come from a payroll tax on businesses up to 0.75 percent of their wages paid in the Metro region. According to Metro, businesses with 25 or fewer employees along with state and local governments would be exempt from the tax.

Easy Peasy!

"These programs ensure that everyone in the region has an opportunity to benefit from the transportation measure," Margi Bradway, the deputy director of Metro's planning department said in a press release.

According to the analysis, 60 percent of the total investments in the corridors are in areas where a high concentration of people of color live.

Dream now; pay later. In a nod to the Pandemic, the tax wouldn't start until 2022.

[TakeFive]

Cirrus is known for his BRT Creep reference, but this would be more of a leap.

Pandemic Forces Austin And Capital Metro To Consider A Less Costly Start To Project Connect
JUL 22, 2020 By SAMUEL KING | KUT

During a virtual community meeting, the city and Cap Metro unveiled a proposal that would fund $7 billion of the $10 billion plan with a timetable of 10 to 15 years.

The plan would still include the proposed Blue and Orange light rail lines and downtown transit tunnel, but the Gold Line would begin as a rapid bus line and be converted to a train line later. Only three new MetroRapid bus lines would be built at first, instead of the seven lines in earlier proposals.

They have also changed some of the routes.

Didn't know previously but they plan to raise property taxes for funding (as if property taxes in Texas were such a value)

The $7 billion package would mean a potential tax rate increase of 8.5 cents, or $276 more a year on a property with a value of $325,000. It would mean $425 more a year for a home valued at $500,000.

The City Council will decide next month whether to place a tax rate election on the November ballot.

[TakeFive]

CDOT awards 6 cities with grants to revitalize main streets
Aug 3, 2020 by: Dara Bitler/KDVR

CDOT says the $4.1 million initiative is providing financial assistance to communities seeking to make creative modifications to state roadways or other public spaces as a way of promoting social distancing and economic activity.

Grants have been given to Alamosa, Aspen, Littleton, Frisco, Silt and Oak Creek.

Small potatoes, yes, but for small communities it's greatly appreciated.

CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “The program has additional capacity, so we encourage localities to take a look at other cities’ solutions and explore how these funds could benefit their own community.”

[TakeFive]

RTD Names Woman — Debra Johnson — To Lead Agency In Historic Decision
August 25, 2020 By Danielle Chavira -CBS4 Denver

DENVER (CBS4) – RTD announced Tuesday night its board of directors named Debra Johnson as the agency’s next general manager and CEO. The choice comes after a months-long and nationwide search for a new leader.

Johnson is also the first woman to hold the position ever. She has 25 years experience as a transit executive, most recently as Deputy CEO at Long Beach Transit in Long Beach, California.

Photo courtesy RTD via CBS4

It sounds like RTD may not lose as much revenue as they had feared. Having already cut service by 40% it appears as though they may at least hold to that level of service.

[TakeFive]

Photo courtesy of Dave Jensen - Retro1025

After nearly 70 years, Fort Collins sees second restored streetcar on the tracks
July 4, 2020 - The Coloradoan

This is the first time in almost 70 years that both of Fort Collins' restored street cars are operating on the same line since Fort Collins dismantled its streetcar system in 1951.

Lots of photos at the Coloradoan.

Fun video.

[Brainpathology]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Photo courtesy of Dave Jensen - Retro1025

After nearly 70 years, Fort Collins sees second restored streetcar on the tracks
July 4, 2020 - The Coloradoan

Lots of photos at the Coloradoan.

Fun video.

I can't tell from reading the captions on the photos.. can someone please tell me how long it's been since these cars have been on the same line together?

[BG918]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Cirrus is known for his BRT Creep reference, but this would be more of a leap.

Pandemic Forces Austin And Capital Metro To Consider A Less Costly Start To Project Connect
JUL 22, 2020 By SAMUEL KING | KUT

They have also changed some of the routes.

Didn't know previously but they plan to raise property taxes for funding (as if property taxes in Texas were such a value)

This passed last week in Austin. It will be one of the most ambitious transit projects for a city its size, similar to what Fastracks was back in 2004.

So we know RTD is a complete dumpster fire but what is next for transit in Denver? Colfax BRT? L Line extension from 30th & Downing to 38th & Blake? None of these are transformative for our city and region.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by BG918

This passed last week in Austin. It will be one of the most ambitious transit projects for a city its size, similar to what Fastracks was back in 2004.

I plum completely forgot about Austin's transit initiative.

The Good News is that they passed the ballot initiative; what's also good is that the increase in property tax (starting at ~$28/mo. for average homeowner) is permanent. The Bad News is that trying to unpack exactly what they're getting is no longer possible. The $7.1 billion figure is based on 45% FTA grant funding; otherwise they just build what they can.

Initial Investment
The Initial Investment includes 27 miles of rail service and 31 stations:

This includes phase one of the Orange line. Estimated cost at $2.5 billion which also includes costs for enhanced bus service at each end.

Intended to be built simultaneously, the Blue line will go to the airport. Estimated cost is $1.3 billion. This line is similar to RTD's R Line in that it will start at the north end of the Orange Line route before heading east to the airport. This hasn't worked so well in Denver but from downtown Austin it may not be so bad.

$2 billion has been allocated for a downtown tunnel running 1-1.5 miles.

It's Go Time

A lot of the previous details are no longer readily available. It's just as well as at this point the new property tax will fund the NEPA process for the Orange and Blue lines (etc.). This will include an up-to-date estimation of costs and various details. The Orange Line is a 'textbook' line and should have no problem qualifying for an FTA grant. The Blue Line however may have trouble meeting FTA standards. What they would choose to do in this case is TBD. Fair to say they have a long way to go. I wish them well.

For Comparison to RTD: per Wikipedia

As of September 2020, the 113-mile (182 km) urban rail transit system includes 74 stations on 12 lines: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, L, N, R, and W.[1]