We Do The Things We Do Because of Our Children and Grandchildren.
  |
|
|
|
Hello everyone! This is Bill Spriggs and I have found several news articles, links, and blogs that I wanted to share along THE BACK FENCE & beyond in the Wednesday December 28, 2011 Edition.
|
 |
Denver & Colorado
| DenverBizJournals
Officials Discuss Single Tax Push for Both FasTracks, Roads
By Cathy Proctor, Dec 21, 2011
Colorado state and regional transportation officials are looking at the possibility of asking voters to approve new taxes in 2012 to improve roads as well as FasTracks rail lines in metro Denver.
TheDenverPost.com/Editorial
Union Station is in Good Hands
By The Denver Post, Dec 22, 2011
The team chosen to remodel downtown Denver's crown jewel is well-versed in historic preservation. The Union Station Alliance may not have been our first choice for redeveloping historic Union Station, but we're hardly disappointed that the RTD board chose the group Tuesday in a unanimous vote. Not only did the alliance tweak its plan to accommodate critics, but its expertise in historic preservation is second to none.
YourHub.com
RTD's Bid for Grant to Help Extend Light Rail in Aurora Falls Short
By Joey Kirchner, Dec 21, 2011
Bid to secure more funding was rejected by U.S. Department of Transportation.
LongmontTimesCall.com
Rising FasTracks Cost May Mean Delay in Longmont Line
By Scott Rochat, Dec 21, 2011
A recent estimate by BNSF Railway Co. suggests that building FasTracks rail service to Longmont will be pricier than expected. The railway boosted RTD's original estimate of $894.4 million to a new figure of $1.4 billion, based on right-of-way costs for double tracking and sidings, increased costs for environmental protection and moving utilities, and an up-front cost to operate and maintain the train service.
TheIcosaMagazine.com/Metro Denver Breaking Barriers With Multi-Modal Transportation Infrastructure By Niccolo Casewit, Eli Regalado, and Emily Haggstrom. Fall 2011
Infrastructure is more than airport runways, bridges, roads, and trains. It is ultimately about connecting people, information, goods and services. Our lifestyles have become more regional requiring greater mobility to get where we need to be. Colorado is transforming what it means to live, work, and play in a great environment.READ MORE... BoulderBlueLine.org Plutonium and the Jefferson Parkway: Another Look By Leroy Moore, Dec 27, 2011 In an article published in the Blue Line a few days ago, I reported incorrect results from citizen sampling for plutonium in soil in the area at Rocky Flats proposed for construction of the Jefferson Parkway. The sampling effort was initiated by Rocky Flats Nuclear Guardianship, a project of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center. We wanted to determine whether highway construction would be likely to stir up a cloud of highly toxic plutonium-laden dust that would endanger workers, nearby residents and others.
DenverInfill.com
20th & Chestnut Project Near Union Station Approaches Groundbreaking By Ken Schroeppel, Dec 22, 2011
The Nicols Partnership's proposed grocery-anchored residential project in Downtown Denver's Union Station district is on track for a March 1, 2012 groundbreaking.
 | 20th & Chestnut NE in yellow; Union Station, Lower Left;
Coors Field, Lower Right.
Sweet!
|
|
|
National
|
TheAtlanticCities.com
2011's Biggest Transportation Failures
By Eric Jaffe, Dec 27, 2011
No one likes a car crash, but when one does occur, very few of us have the strength to look away. Likewise, while it would be great if every city transportation project and program in the United States ran smoothly, many inevitably do not. Here's a rubber-necked review of ten of the worst urban transportation failures to take place in American cities this past year.
The AtlanticCities.com
Bike-Sharing for the Unbanked
By Emily Badger, Dec 26, 2011
Just about every bike-share program in existence requires, before you undock a bike from a station anywhere in town, that you first insert some plastic. A credit or a debit card, generally either one will do. This transaction is crucial to the entire model of bike-sharing. The ride may only cost a dollar, but if you inserted one in paper form, as if into a vending machine, what would prevent people from swiping bikes instead of sharing them?
Grist.org
Gen Y and Gen X Get it Right on the Environment; Old Folks Don't
By Lisa Hymas, Nov 07, 2011
Generation Y is more likely than older generations to support clean energy and environmental protection and to believe climate change is happening and is caused by human activity, according to new Pew polling and analysis. Generation X is close behind. Boomers aren't so bad either. It's the old folks, the so-called Silent Generation aged 66-83, that are the big problem.
READ MORE...
YouTube.com (Video)
EPA's 2011 National Award for Smart Growth" Normal, Illinois The Town of Normal, Ill and its recently completed and combined traffic roundabout and stormwater management project has just received the EPA's 2011 National Award for Civic Places. Normal's uptown traffic roundabout doesn't just safely manage traffic flow, it also brings together residents in an attractive public space, diverts thousands of gallons of untreated stormwater away from a creek, supports an Amtrak multi-modal high speed rail facility, and contributes to the town's economic development. The roundabout serves as a central civic space for Normal, which had previously lacked a true town center.
VIEW VIDEO
TheAtlanticCities.com
The World's Next 20 Tallest Skyscrapers By Eric Jaffe, Dec 21, 2011
If skyscrapers followed a human course of development, we might say they're about to enter puberty. By 2020 the world's 20 tallest towers will achieve an average height of 1,962 feet (nearly 600 meters). That's more than 500 feet taller than their average height in 2010, and more than 700 feet taller than the average in 2000...
READ MORE...
Grist.org
BikeStravaganza: Grist's Top Bike Stories of 2011
By Greg Hanscom, Dec 27, 2011 I spent the day yesterday digging through 18 -- count 'em, 18 -- pages of search results in a quest to find Grist's Overarching Narrative of the Bike in 2011. I laughed. I cried. I almost blew tea on my laptop.
ThisBigCity.net
A Letter to the Women's Institute: Mandatory Helment Laws Will Not Encourage Cycling
Cyclists in the UK have some new supporters. The Women's Institute are eager to get more people cycling, and make it safer. One problem: they've got the totally wrong idea about how to do it:
READ MORE...
|
|
International (when available)
|
Finance.yahoo.com
China Tests 500 km/h Super High-Speed Train
By Reuters, Dec 26, 2011
China launched a super-rapid test train over the weekend which is capable of travelling 500 kilometers per hour, state media said on Monday, as the country moves ahead with its railway ambitions despite serious problems on its high-speed network.
TheAtlanticCities.com
Can Foot Traffic Cut Crime in Mexico City? By Ruth Samuelson, Dec 27, 2011
After years of steady deterioration, Mexico City's Centro Histórico is finally showing signs of health.
PopUpCity.net 1,000 Recycled Doors Make A Great Façade
By Joop de Boer, Dec 21, 2011
1,000 recycled doors are enough for the South Korean architect Choi Jeong-Hwa to transform a dull ten-story building into a fresh-looking landmark. This 'skyscraper' in the center of the Korean capital Seoul has become a pixelated landmark, that tells the story of thousand people who once chose a fitting color for a door in their apartment.
READ MORE...
|
|
Wednesday's Films (when available)
| UtilityCycling.org
Dublin Cycling Officer Post Saved! By Melanie Colavito, Dec 22, 2011
Copenhagenize posted yesterday about Dublin, Ireland, where the city's cycling officer - the main person in charge of making the city a better place for cycling - was in danger of getting canned.
VIEW FILM,,, |
|
Things you need to know along the West Corridor
| |
>Lakewood, Wednesday, Jan 11, 7:30am to 8:30am
Ward 2, Lakewood City Council members, Cindy Baroway and Scott Koop will meet with residents and considerate guests at their monthly outreach meeting. The West Rail line slices thru the northern section of their ward. 7125 West Colfax Avenue at the Lakewood West Colfax business Improvement District Office.
>Denver Union Station
Model Railroad Holiday Schedule
For all the children (and adult kids) there is no greater exhibit than the model railroad exhibit located in the basement of Union Station. The show is put on by The Platte Valley & Western Model Railroad Club and the trains will be running on the last Friday of the month in December (the 30th) from 7pm to 9pm Schedule updates and building access are posted at www.pvwrr.org
DenverInFill.com
Denver Union Station Update #92 Posted by Rick, Dec 02, 2011
READ MORE...
Denver Union Station Construction Cam Golden Jeffco Station Construction Cam
Wish You Could Find an Apartment/Condo near a Light Rail Station? As part of TBF's continuing efforts to bring TOD's to the West Corridor & elsewhere, this link from Walk Score.com will now be a permanent feature. Thanks. |
|
Commercial Real Estate Assemblages, Land or Buildings Available on The West Corridor.
Please note: TBF does not
own or sell any real property.
| |
>10th Avenue Light Rail Assemblage
>13th Avenue & Newland St., Light Rail Vacant Land
THE BACK FENCE supports a corridor wide, regional vision, with individual nodes of unique "places" within that corridor. We hope that the listing of commercial properties available will help to speed this vision to fruition sooner. Learn more about this vision below from the Center for Transit-Oriented Development.
West Corridor Vision
|
|
Things You Need to Know Around the Region
| |
>Registration Open for Colorado Bicycle Summit
>Denver, Mon & Tues, Feb 6-7 Colorado's second state bike summit will take place February 6-7, 2012, in downtown Denver. Registration for the event is now open. Presented by Bicycle Colorado, the summit will bring together advocates, industry leaders, on- and off-road cyclists, commuters and elected officials and staff from across the state. The inaugural 2011 summit sold out with 200 attendees.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER & LEARN MORE
|
|
|
|
|
