DENVER | Transportation Thread

[CastleScott]

Here is something about meetings on the Colorado front range high-speed rail proposals which will have train speeds up to 150mph.

Colorado DOT seeks public input on high-speed, intercity passenger-rail study



The Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT) Division of Transit and Rail will host open houses next month to present findings from the Interregional Connectivity Study of potential high-speed and intercity passenger-rail service.

Begun earlier this year, the study examined the area between Fort Collins and Pueblo, including the Denver and Colorado Springs areas, CDOT officials said in a press release.

Station locations were identified. Also examined were various high-speed rail technologies used in the United States, Europe and Asia.

The study also considered a variety of alignments from each study area section; design feasibility, benefits and technology; funding, including public and private financing options; and potential travel demand and ridership.

The open houses are scheduled for Nov. 4, 19, 20 and 21.

[CastleScott]

^ Just some info off CDOT's site of the meeting places and times:
CDOT presenting Rail Study Findings to Public

October 25, 2013 - Statewide Transportation Plan - DENVER – The Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Division of Transit & Rail is holding several open houses over the next few weeks to present recommendations to the public from the Interregional Connectivity Study (ICS).



Work began on the ICS earlier this year. It studied the area between Fort Collins and Pueblo, including the Denver and Colorado Springs metropolitan areas. Station locations also were identified. Additionally, the ICS examined:

Multiple types of high speed rail technologies currently used in the U.S., Europe, and Asia
A variety of alignments from each section of the study area, investigating impacts, design feasibility, benefits, and technology
Funding, including public and private financing options
Travel demand and ridership, modeling and simulating potential ridership in the future based on current data trends, taking into account numerous factors including future land use, employment, population, and development

The open houses are scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at each location. A presentation and discussion period begins at 5:30 p.m. on the following dates:



November 4
Windsor Library

720 3rd Street, Windsor

November 19

CDOT Golden Office, Trail Ridge Room

425 C Corporate Circle, Golden

November 20
Pike Peak Area Council of Governments
15 South Seventh Street, Colorado Springs

November 21
Pueblo Convention Center, Heroes Pavilion
320 Central Main Street, Pueblo



The final ICS report will provide preliminary recommendations. However, those recommendations may or may not be achieved or funded.

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Sorry, missed this. Was in Seattle lat week and not reading the forum.

Anyway, yes, it's common. You just tow or ticket anybody who breaks the rules. I snapped this picture on Connecticut Avenue in DC while having dinner tonight:

Thanks.

Do the parking meters not accept money during the peak hours?

[bunt_q]

How was Railvolution???

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

How was Railvolution???

I heard it was foggy. Very foggy.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by PLANSIT

I heard it was foggy. Very foggy.

Legalization, glorious legalization. Fogging up western U.S. cities since 2013.

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Legalization, glorious legalization. Fogging up western U.S. cities since 2013.

Haha. While I'm sure Rail~volutionaries were fascinated by plant fog, they were also treated to mother nature fog.

Fogmageddon

[bcp]

well...RTD has done it...I have not seen a future-system map, but I drove by the DUS pavilion / 17th street today and they have signage / way-finding going up...

Local Bus Image - buses this way
Regional Bus Image - buses this way
Light Rail Image - LRT this way
Heavy Rail Image - Commuter rail this way


I hate to be doom-and-gloom, but this does not bode well for the map, line naming, colors or price-structure. It sounds like separation of systems because of some differences in the mode...people just think "choo choo" or "bus"...let's keep it simple!

I hope my gut feeling is way, way wrong...

[Cirrus]

Railvolution:
It was foggy. While riding the ferry from Bainbridge Island, we stopped and the captain came on the PA and said we'd arrived at the Seattle terminal, but I couldn't see it while standing at the front of the boat. Anyway, I took a metric crapton of pictures and will post them after I've gone through them on my computer. The most pertinent thing to our discussions in this thread was probably Seattle's integration of a cycletrack and streetcar on the same street. Oh, and in a session on public-private partnerships, RTD's Bill Van Meter described the Union Station project as "22 bus bays" - undersell of the decade. Here's a video of the moment (and if you fastforward to here you can hear me ask the Vancouver guy a question about the Canada Line P3).

Connecticut Avenue:
I've never tried to park there so I have no idea, but I would guess they accept payment all the time and it's up to drivers to know not to waste their money. I don't see how that's a problem. But if I think of it the next time I'm there at rush hour, I'll drop a nickel in and see if it takes.

[RyanD]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Before Halloween.

WWWEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLL SSHHHOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTT.... Let's just pretend I rode the VelociRFTA....

[Cirrus]

I'm in a jolly mood today, so instead of banning you as promised, I'll let you escape with probation and a warning avatar.

[RyanD]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

I'm in a jolly mood today, so instead of banning you as promised, I'll let you escape with probation and a warning avatar.

YAYAYAYAY! How long am I on probation for?

[Cirrus]

Until you post some pictures of VelocRFTA, of course.

[bunt_q]

That'll be hard since Ryan is allergic to mountains, and there are a lot of those standing between him and the VelocRFTA...

[Cirrus]

Oh hey, that Seattle street with the streetcar and cycletrack is... wait for it... Broadway.

[bunt_q]

Convenient to have a broad(right-of-)way when you want to do a lot of different stuff. I wish we had a great big wide quirky commercial street like that.

[RyanD]

Ah-Choo

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by Denver Business Journal

Interview with Tami Door, President of the Downtown Denver Partnership:

Door: "Our staff met with a lot of tech companies in Denver and we asked them what we can do to make companies stay here and come here. You know what they said was the biggest obstacle on getting employees to Denver?

Business Journal: "The 16th Street Mall?"

Door: "No. The number one thing they want is bike lanes. Ten years ago we never would have thought that walk ability or bike lanes would be economic development tools."

[RyanD]

I think we are going to hit a ceiling with bike lanes and bike users here. So I say get it out of the way, give the Portlandians what they want so we can move on to streetcars and more solid year round forms of transportation.

Kind of like Union Station. Get it all built out so we can focus on CBD, 14th Street, etc again..

[bcp]

i really find it hard to believe that the NUMBER ONE need for tech companies to stay / relocate here is bike lanes...biggest jump in responses? I can see that...top "nice to have" I can see that...overall number one? I gotta see this study and how the questions were asked...(i'm all for bike lanes - when we don't run out of paint - there just seems to be more pressing needs for biz)