The Denver Green Festival

Tommorow and Sunday is the first annual Denver Green Festival.  Looks like the cost is $15 per person, with a few discounts if you take the bus or bike, and a few other cases.   There are a few speakers related to transit, including “Not your father’s Union Station” and a talk from the Transit Alliance.

Also in the news today, e-Go car share just added a second car downtown.

Sprawling From Grace video available online

I just got this from the folks over at Transit Alliance.

In honor of Earth Day, in partnership with Cinema Libre Studio and Grapeflix, we would like to offer you the opportunity to view David M. Edwards’ powerful new documentary, Sprawling From Grace: The Consequences of Suburbanization, online for free!

The film features Bill Clinton, former governor Michael Dukakis and many other leaders on the issues of suburban sprawl and the need for better public transportation, centralized planning and renewable energy.

For a preview, visit www.sprawlingfromgrace.com

Or check it out on Facebook.

The free online access starts Monday, April 20 beginning at 8:00am ET through Wednesday, April 22 at 11:59 PT and can be viewed at any time during that period.

So start watching it now -it’s easy!

1.Go to http://www.grapeflix.com/Category/frmCategoryDisplay.aspx?CategoryID=3599

2. Click on the green “Play Online” button

3. Register for Grapeflix VOD (video on demand)

4.Test your system to make sure you meet the minimum requirements to view the film online. (After the test is complete, click ‘Continue’ to watch the film. If you get taken back to the Grapeflix homepage, just click on the link in step #1 of these instructions and then click “Play Online”.)

5. A window will pop-up with the embedded video player

6. The film is viewable in full screen by clicking the full screen button on the video player or by double-clicking the video player in Firefox.

To ensure you will not have difficulties viewing the film please:

-Disable all pop-up blockers. (Enable Active X)

-Use Internet Explorer

-Upgrade Windows Media Player to version 11

-Confirm that you have a stable high speed internet connection.

-Allow time for the film to buffer after the video player pops up.

*Please note: the Grapeflix system work best with a Windows operating system and Windows Media Player 11.

Further help with Grapeflix can be found here: http://www.grapeflix.com/Index/frmPlayerHelp.aspx?QID=49#answers
Contact Grapeflix here: http://www.grapeflix.com/Index/frmContactUs.aspx

If you enjoyed the film, click on the orange button on the Grapeflix page to tell your friends about it.

The film will be available on DVD this week at Cinema Libre Store, online at Grapeflix and through other major retailers.

We hope you enjoy it and find it as enlightening and inspiring as we do.

RTD Lightrail Statistics

Special thanks to my source at RTD that pointed me to this information. You can view current and past data at http://www.rtd-denver.com/Service/ and click on Light Rail under Ridership on the left. Not surprisingly, 16th Street, Auroria, and Broadway are the major stations. It’s amazing to me how much Mineral St is a missed opportunity, that station ranks 7th overall, there is major retail right next to it, yet the two are so disconnected that the city really sees no sales tax increase from the station, and there are no services for the people getting on and off the train, just a long walk to a dreary parking lot. I’ll look over the numbers more in the coming week and see if I notice anything else interesting.

16th Street Mall Plan Public Input

About a year ago, I discussed the 16th Street Mall Plan.  The city is now preparing for round 2 of public input.  The next public meeting is on April 15th, from 5:30-7pm, at the Colorado History Museum.

Here is the announcement:

The Downtown Denver Partnership in cooperation with the Downtown Business Improvement District, the City and County of Denver and the Regional Transportation District are leading a long-term planning effort for the 16^th Street Mall – The 16^th Street Plan: A Vision for the Future.

As part of The 16^th Street Plan, we have hired Matrix Design Group and EDAW to conduct a Technical Assessment and Rehabilitation Strategy to analyze the Mall’s existing conditions.  This strategy is focused on forensic research relating to the Mall’s infrastructure and building materials.  After three month’s of dedicated work, Matrix/EDAW has completed the majority of the data collection needed to formulate three rehabilitation alternatives.  These alternatives will be presented at the April 15^th public meeting.  After the April public meeting and after reviewing the survey data, the consultant team will refine the three alternatives and will present a single rehabilitation strategy in May.

The Technical Assessment and Rehabilitation Strategy will not succeed without public input.  At this time, we are offering two opportunities for the public to become engaged:  a public survey and a public input meeting. Details for both are in the announcement below.  The text below in blue will link you directly to the webpages referenced.  If you wouldn’t mind, please include this announcement in any future newsletters and other communications with your employees, peers, friends and family.

You can also fill out the 16th Street Mall Public Survey, and check out the 16th Street Mall Page.

Slip ramps, exit ramps, and off highway park-n-rides

I’m getting a lot more opportunties to experience transit now than I have in the past, so yesterday I collected some times on the different methods of reaching the park-n-rides along US36, also known as the Boulder Turnpike.  Regional buses (the big, comfy ones) travel this route, stopping at Sheridan, 104th, Broomfield and Superior.     Currently Broomfield is the only stop left that doesn’t have a slip ramp on the exit ramp.  The buses have to exit the highway, drive across the highway, through three lights, pull in to the Park-n-Ride, wait for passengers, then repeat the process.  I was curious how much time that little detour took.   Just over 10 minutes on a good day.  Compare that to two and a half minutes on the slip ramp at the Superior Park-n-Ride.   Stand alone  slip ramps would probably be even better.   The only one I can think of is on southbound I-25 near Thornton Parkway.  I don’t often get up that way, but maybe sometime I will to see what the time is for that one.

I’m generally ok with transit taking longer than driving, I get to use that time to do something else, like write this blog, read, or sleep.  That doesn’t mean that time shouldn’t be cut down as much as possible.  When talking about buses, BRT, with center lane passenger pickup/drop off, and HOV lanes is obviously the fastest.    Most expensive as well.   Exit lane slip ramps and stand alone slip ramps make a drastic improvement on speed, with less cost.   Part of the 120th Ave flyover project is moving the Park-n-Ride next to the Broomfield Event Center and using stand alone slip ramps.  When this project is completed, and it’s still quite distant, the bus trip will be 8-10 minutes shorter.  That may not sound like much, but it may be the difference between taking a later bus and having to take one that leaves half an hour earlier.

Detail on Stimulus Dollars for Transit in Colorado

The information below is from Tom Mauser at CDOT, Colorado Association of Transit Agencies, and Kathleen Osher at Transit Alliance.

Please understand that this information is subject to change. This summary is provided by our partners at the Colorado Association of State Transit Agencies. Tom Mauser, CDOT Modal Programs Manager, was kind enough to the pull together information (primarily from Transportation Weekly) which was released on February 17th. Tom’s report is as follows:

FTA STIMULUS DOLLARS FOR TRANSIT IN COLORADO

• Section 5311, Transportation for Rural and Small Urbanized Areas: ~$12,492,195 to be administered by CDOT
• Section 5309, Fixed Guideway Modernization: ~$753,399 for RTD only
• Section 5307, Large Urban Cities: ~$90,223,469 to be awarded directly to designated recipients

The apportionment of the urbanized funds has not yet been announced, but based on how they are typically divided, CDOT expects monies to be apportioned in these approximate amounts:

• Denver-Aurora ~ $64,173,350
• Colorado Springs ~$9,095,435
• Fort Collins ~ $3,627,345
• Boulder ~$3,410,160
• Grand Junction ~$1,615,165
• Greeley ~$2,120,460
• Lafayette/Louisville ~$1,317,400
• Longmont ~$2,346,045
• Pueblo ~$2,517,485

There is also $100M set aside nationwide for “discretionary grants for energy efficiency.” Details regarding this pot of funding have yet to be released. It is presumed that the funding would be nationwide competitive and could include alternative fueled vehicles or alternative energy transit facilities.

Also, $1.5B has been set aside for competitive “surface transportation grants.” This could be either highway or transit, and it is assumed that this would also be a nationwide competitive process for large projects.

For New Starts projects, there could be an estimated $750M. Details are not yet available.

The Department of Homeland Security budget has approximately $150M for transit and rail security. Details are not yet known.

The FRA has $8B available for high speed and intercity rail projects, but Colorado is probably not positioned at this point to compete for those funds.

Finally, it should be noted that the STP highway funding is flexible, but transit systems and their supporters would need to fight hard to gain access to it.

Many thanks to Tom Mauser for providing us with this detailed update. I don’t mean to harp on this too much, but I do need to throw in one last reminder that the information provided here is subject to change.

Financing Living Streets

Registration is now open for the final lecture of the Denver Living Streets Education and Engagement series. Please join national transportation expert Anne Canby, president of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, and an esteemed local panel of experts on Thursday, February 26th from 7:30 – 10:00 AM as they explore how to finance living streets.

Panelists include Russell George, CDOT Executive Director; Peter Park, Manager of Denver Community Planning and Development; and Bill Vidal, Manager of Denver Public Works.

Seating is limited and our last event sold out quickly! Register today to reserve your seat!

Visit www.annecanby.eventbrite.com to register.

Comparison of transportation spending in House and Senate stimulus bills

The Transportation for America Blog has a comparison of transportation spending in both the House and Senate Stimulus bills. In terms of transportation spending, the bills are not too far apart, it’s a total of about $45 Billion dollars, with about $30 billion going to highway and bridge projects with the rest divided among several different funding options, most of which would be transit options of some sort.

It’s my personal opinion that Denver should be well situated to receive some of this funding since we have transit projects already in the pipeline. Although not directly related to stimulus package, the President seems to want projects that can happen quickly, urban projects take a long time, due to the intense planning that has to go in to the project. Rural high speed rail projects might have an inside edge for funding because they tend to be able to get underway faster. The New Mexico Rail Runner project was funded in 2003, and opened in 2006. Maybe this will bode well for The Rocky Mountain Rail Authority.

Fastracks Groups on LinkedIn and Facebook

Former RTD Board Member Neill Quinlan has created FasTracks groups on Linked In and Facebook. The official name of the group is “FasTracks”. Just search this name and you’ll find it.
After a several month hiatus, I am going to start publishing new information to this blog again. A lot has happened over that time and I will try to get back up to speed quickly. I am also inviting other authors that are interested in transit in Denver to post to this blog. If you’re interested, contact me.

Price appreciation near light rail

Yesterday The Denver Post had an article about appreciation near light rail. I was quoted in the article, the interview was done after 3 hours on a motorcycle at a truck stop in Louisiana, just lucky that she happened to call me while I was stopped. As the article points out, according to our preliminary studies, properties within 1/2 mile of the southeast corridor are appreciating at about 4%, while the rest of the market is down about 7.5%. There was a lot more to the interview, here is the gist of what I recall:

The important thing to remember about any study involving average home sale prices is that it only reflects the price of homes being sold at that time, not the value of a particular house, so when you see your neighborhood has gone down 7%, that doesn’t mean that your particular home has gone down by 7%. Often it is a reflection of the fact that the higher end homes on the market are not selling, either because the sellers have pulled them off the market, or because there is no market for them at the moment. Once the foreclosures clear out, we should see the median home prices stabilize. (See our 2nd quarter trends packet for a detailed discussion on that)

There are still a lot of variables in the data, so I’m working on doing a more detailed analysis of several of the corridors, including the west corridor. Transit does drive up demand for homes and therefore price. As I’ve mentioned previously, many of the people that I’ve talked with on my trip have mentioned that transit is not good where they are, and it’s a deciding factor not just in what neighborhood they move to, but what city they move to. We don’t have any data yet on the West Corridor, but anecdotally, I have seen a lot of competition for properties on the west corridor. We lost a bid on a property that was listed for around $100,000, even though we bid $25,000 over the list price. Transit and TOD are going to be one of the key factors to the health of the commercial real estate industry in Denver for the foreseeable future. The principle idea behind transit is to give commuters an alternative mode of transportation, and to reduce stress on the road system. The principle idea behind TOD is to create walkable communities so that those same people have an alternative for the other 80% of their driving, possibly allowing them to reduce the number of vehicles they have to have from 3 to 2, or 2 to one, or even none.