We Do The Things We Do Because of Our Children and Grandchildren.
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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 January 04, 2012 Edition.
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Denver & Colorado
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DenverUrbanism.com
West Corridor Progress: Burnham Yard Lead and CML Bridge
By Ryan Mulligan, Dec 30, 2011
It's time to look at some of the most logistically-challenging pieces of the West Corridor project: the relocated Burnham Yard Lead and the associated Consolidated Mainline (CML) Bridge. This essential piece of the project allows the light rail trains to cross high above the numerous coal trains travelling north and south along the freight tracks and access the rest of the corridor to the west.
TheDenverPost.com
Denver Union Station Project Must Pass Historical-Preservation Muster
By Margaret Jackson, Dec 22, 2011 RTD and Union Station Alliance will hold a kickoff meeting next month to begin the process of negotiating a development agreement for the transformation of Denver Union Station into a boutique hotel. READ MORE...[Editor's note to below: The reason that I have listed Marijuana legalization and Fastracks together in this crystal ball projection link is to give you a preview of who most likely would show up at the polls in November 2012. - I'll give you a glue: It won't be your Daddy's old electorate - Unless, someone manages to put another generic tax increase initiative on the ballot]. TheDenverPost.com
Curtis Hubbard: Looking Back and Forward Denver Post editorial page editor, 01/01/2012 Not to be left out of the annual hindsight, foresight and insight game, I give you my look back on political news from the year that was...and 12 Colorado political stories to watch in 2012:...#12). A likely vote to legalize marijuana statewide, and Justice Department tolerance for medical marijuana....#5). A likely vote to increase taxes to complete FasTracks on time.
[Editor's note to below: Last Wednesday we reported that a TOD complex at 20th & Chestnut was ready to break ground. This week brings another announcement of a new project two blocks to the northwest. If you look at the bird's-eye map below, the long tube at the bottom of the picture in the center is a walkway from a residential complex into the "backyard" of the new Union Station complex; off to the lower right off 20th Ave, not seen, would be Coors field. Sweet news twice this month!] DenverInFill.com
New Apartments Proposed for 19th and Little Raven By Ken Schroeppel, Dec 29, 2011
Another residential development is coming to Downtown Denver's Riverfront Park district!
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National
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DC.StreetsBlog.org
Record Fuel Exports Don't Mean the U.S. Is Not Addicted to Foreign Oil
By Tanya Snyder, Jan 03, 2012
The AP is reporting that for the first time since Harry Truman was president, the U.S. is a net exporter of refined petroleum products. In fact, fuel was the country's top export in 2011, totaling $73.4 billion.
READ MORE... TheNewYorkTimes.com The Recession Squeeze On Buses and Trains
By Eleanor Randolph, Dec 31, 2011 For the average American driver, the time wasted in traffic jams has more than doubled in 30 years. The best way of easing that gridlock - not to mention saving gas, curbing pollution and finally finishing that novel - is public transit. READ MORE...
TheWallStreetJournal.com
Demand for Rentals Drives Big Rise in Home Building
By Robbie Whelan, Dec 21, 2011 Residential construction surged in November, sparking cautious hope that the U.S. housing market is gaining traction. Transportation Funding Reform
Equity Considerations for Older Americans By: J. Lynott & S. Rosenbloom, Dec, 2011
This AARP Public Policy Institute report by Sandra Rosenbloom of the University of Arizona and AARP's Jana Lynott examines whether current and proposed transportation funding sources at all three levels of government are in some way inequitable for low-income people, rural residents, people with disabilities, or older adults
TheAtlanticCities.com How to Pay for America's Infrastructure by Yonah Freemark, Jan 02,2012 America's transportation infrastructure is in desperate need of an update, and most politicians would agree that more funding should be dedicated the nation's highways and mass transit systems. Yet there is little consensus about where to find those new funds and Democrats and Republicans disagree stridently over whether Washington should increase its role. TheNewYorkTimes.com For High-Speed Rail, Support in the Past From G.O.P. Presidential Hopefuls
By Michael Cooper, Jan 02, 2012
President Obama's program to bring bullet trains to the United States has been left on life support by the strident opposition of Republicans in Congress and in statehouses around the nation. But the idea may carry more favor with some of the Republican candidates vying to unseat Mr. Obama, who have a history of supporting high-speed rail.
The AtlanticCities.com 9 Ways the Housing Industry Has Failed Us
By Nate Berg, Dec 29, 2011
The U.S. housing market has been in shambles since 2008, when it helped bring the country to the edge of economic collapse. And though systemic issues like unrealistic mortgages and over-reliance on ever-rising values helped bring about the crisis, the housing industry itself also shoulders part of the blame. Salon.com The Bold Urban Future Starts Now
By Will Doig, Dec 31, 2012
America doesn't do big projects anymore - we're too broke, no one can agree on our priorities, that era of bold thinking is over. That canard has been repeated so many times that it's now accepted as gospel. Except it's not true. READ MORE...SwitchBoard.nrdc.org The New Economy: Work Closer, Live Smaller, Connect Better The Urban Land Institute's latest forward-looking report for the real estate industry has lots of hopeful news for the environment, if perhaps also some sobering news for the economy. TheAtlanticCities.com
Fixing a City by Dividing It Up By Nate Berg, Dec 27, 2011
Residents in Escondido, California, want their local elected officials to be a little more local. A group of voters filed a lawsuit calling on the city to divide the city into voting districts. As it stands now, city council members in Escondido are elected at-large, meaning there are no geographic restrictions for where candidates live in the city or who can vote for them.
Salon.com Can Gentrification Work for Everyone?
By Will Doig, Dec 24, 2011
As money flows into Washington, D.C., poor neighborhoods are being transformed. And that's where the battles begin. "Gentrification" is like the secret word in Pee-Wee's Playhouse - say it and everyone freaks out. HuffingtonPost.com
Sustainability, Politics, and Consumerism
By Steven Cohen, Dec 28, 2011 As 2011 ends and we find some time for reflection, I am thinking a lot about the issue of material consumption and sustainability. Many of my students believe that a key answer to the crisis of planetary sustainability is for individuals to reduce their material consumption. READ MORE...Forbes.com
New Urbanism: Smart, Sustainable Growth -- Fantasy Vs. Reality
By Don Southerton, Dec 21, 2011 As mentioned in a previous Forbes guest article, I live in Belmar, a new urbanism community in Colorado. With today's global and often virtual workplace, about half my day centers on Korea. Between trips to Seoul and being highly involved in Korea-facing business I've long observed Korean trends toward quality of living, green and sustainability.
SmartPlanet.com
In Billboard-Less City, Can Businesses Survive? By Tyler Falk, Jan 02, 2012
Imagine if next year, while watching the Times Square ball drop, you could enjoy the scene without the mashup of billboards that clamor for your attention while you ring in the New Year.
CommuteByBike.com Commute by Bike's Top 10 Posts of 2011
By Ted Johnson, Dec 27, 2011
So, 2011 is almost over. It's time to coast across the finish line with a look back at those times when I wasn't feeling quite as lazy as I am today, after three days off.
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International (when available)
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The Guardian.co.uk
Huge Solar Photovoltaic Farm Opens in France May 26, 2011
A new photovoltaic park has opened in Les Mées, in the southern department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Spread across 36 acres, the park, built by Belgian firm Enfinity, joins several other plants built on the vast Puimichel plateau. By the end of 2011, solar panels will cover 200 hectares and produce around 100MW, making it the biggest solar array in France. Enfinity's €70m investment has included work to preserve the landscape with space for grazing and a system without a concrete foundation
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Wednesday's Films (when available)
| TechCrunch.com Why The Collaborative Consumption (i.e. Car-Sharing) Revolution Might Be As Significant As The Industrial Revolution (TCTV) Everything, it seems, is becoming collaborative. From Airnb to RentCycle to Zipcar, we are swapping our cars, our homes, even our clothes with each other. According to Lauren Anderson from Collaborative Consumption, this change might be as profound as the industrial revolution. It will result...in a world driven by "reputational capital" in which the "We" of the our collaborative age will replace the "Me" of the industrial age.
READ MORE...
[Editor's Note to above: TBF shared a link on the "Sharing Economy" in it's Dec 21, issue...So "Sharing Economy"="Collaborative Consumption"= "Sharing Economy" "Economic Sustainability Recycling"]. The AtlanticCities.com The Rise of the Sharing Economy
By Emily Badger, Dec 20, 201. Zipcar recently released its second annual survey of how the millennial generation feels about transportation and car ownership, and the research not surprisingly lighted on a number of findings that will enthuse anyone who cares about the car-sharing company's economic prospects. Millennials - 18-to-34-year-olds, that is - actively want to drive less, care more about their impact on the environment and fear the costs of personal car ownership relative to drivers their parents' age....
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Things you need to know along the West Corridor
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>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.
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. |
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Commercial Real Estate Assemblages, Land or Buildings Available on The West Corridor.
Please note: TBF does not
own or sell any real property.
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>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
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Things You Need to Know Around the Region
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>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
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