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The Newsletter Featuring Livable Community Items That Readers Value and Highlights of Happenings Along the West Corridor on the RTD West Rail Line Serving Golden, Lakewood & Denver.
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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 this Wednesday Edition, April 04, 2012. |
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West Corridor, Denver & Region
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TheDenverPost.com
Officials Try to Gauge Support for RTD Tax, Northwest System
By Monte Whaley, Apr 04, 2012 Officials are starting to gauge whether a tax increase to fund a hybrid system of transportation along the northwest corridor from Denver to Longmont will pass in November.
READ MORE... >Mark Your Calendars! Wednesday, April 11, 2012! Swinerton Builders and RTD Invites Everyone to the Wadsworth Parking Structure Groundbreaking! See Details >Important Transit News Along the West Corridor:
RTD is planning to change bus service when the West Rail Line opens in May of 2013 and will hold public hearings to present the draft plans and hear feedback from the public.
The two meetings for the West Corridor:
April 16, 2012, Jefferson County Justice Center, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden Co. 80401
April 18, 2012, Clements Community Center, 1580 Yarrow St. Lakewood Co. 80215.
Click Here for Bus Change Meeting Schedules
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National
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WashingtonPost.com Wonkbook: Congress fails on Infrastructure. Again.
By Ezra Klein, Apr 02, 2012
On Friday, President Obama signed the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012. Odds are you didn't hear about it. There wasn't a signing ceremony in the Rose Garden, and no one on the Hill rushed to the cameras to take the credit.
DC.Streetsblog.org
HUD: Now's the Time to Tell Congress Why Smart Planning Matters By Tanya Snyder, Apr 03, 2012 I don't know how many RSVPs a HUD conference call usually gets, but everyone seemed pretty floored that a stakeholder teleconference yesterday got upwards of 400. Officials said it was a testament to the popularity of HUD's Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities and the grant programs it runs together with EPA and U.S. DOT. WashingtonPost.com
More States Privatizing Their Infrastructure. Are They Making a Mistake? By Brad Plumer, Apr 01, 2012 Say you're a state politician. Your local roads, bridges, and transit systems are all in dire need of upgrades. But there's not much money left. Budgets are crunched. No one wants to raise taxes. And Congress is throttling back on transportation funding. So what's left? Privatization, of course. [Editior's Note to below: This one's for City Planners and City Managers].
ReconnectingAmerica.org
April 03, 2012 Looking For Funding For a New Project in Your Community? HUD, DOT, EPA, and several other agencies have made available millions of dollars in funding to support the planning and implementation of projects that promote sustainable communities
READ MORE... Grist.org One Mile on a Bike is a $.42 Economic Gain to Society, One Mile Driving is a $.20 Loss
By Christopher Mims, Mar 28, 2012
Copenhagen, the bicycle-friendliest place on the planet, publishes a biannual Bicycle Account, and buried in its pages is a rather astonishing fact, reports Andy Clarke, president of the league of American Bicyclists:
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities.com
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Bus Rapid Transit By Emily Badger, Apr 02, 2012 If you're a Bus Rapid Transit believer, here's the dream - a commute around town that is as efficient as a train without the cost of finding the land, laying the tracks, acquiring the train cars and building the stations, the park-and-ride lots and the highway overpasses to get to them (a process, as many discouraged commuters know, that takes years and years and years. Grist.org How China Will Force Americans to Drive Electric Cars
By Christopher Mims, Apr 03, 2012
For all the Republican blather about keeping gas prices down with domestic production, pretty soon the U.S.'s effect on the market price of oil will be totally swamped by demand from the developing world. As energy futurist Chris NelderChris observes at Txchologist, nowhere is this trend better exemplified than the fact that auto sales in China recently exceeded auto sales in the U.S.
READ MORE...Blog.rwjf.org PedNet: Highlighting the Link Between Transportation and Health
The County Health Roadmaps project...includes efforts to build connections within and between local communities and national partners, including grants to coalitions across the U.S. The grantees will build on the County Health Rankings model, which highlights the critical role that education, jobs, income, and other aspects of the community in influencing health.
READ MORE...
BetterCities.net
Missing Middle Housing: Responding to Demand for Urban Living
By Dan Parolek, Apr 03, 2012
The mismatch between current US housing stock and shifting demographics, combined with the growing demand for walkable urban living...Now it is time to stop talking about the problem and start generating immediate solutions! Are you ready to be part of the solution?
READ MORE...
Slate.com
Death to the McMansion By Patrick C. Doherty Baby boomers and millennials are changing the definition of the American dream and, in the process, have created a pool of demand for housing nearly three times as large as what existed after World War II. The trick is, it's not for the homes that builders are building. READ MORE... Grist.org The "Fracking" Biker Problem: Why it's Hard to Share the Road By Scott Carlson, Mar 29, 2012 It was a Tuesday morning when I watched the cyclist - decked out in a green jacket and a bright yellow helmet, and laden with bags - ride into the crosswalk in front of a group of stopped cars, going against the flow of traffic. He was breaking a few laws - but for convenience and self-preservation, I sometimes break them, too. My hometown, Baltimore, is a terrible biking town. READ MORE...DC.Streetsblog.org Seattle Restaurants See More Revenue After Parking Rates Increase
By Angie Schmitt, Apr 02, 2012
Parking reformers, this is one you're going to want to bookmark. The announcement that Seattle would be raising parking rates in certain neighborhoods was greeted with a good bit of teeth gnashing - and that continues, especially among some business owners. But the data just doesn't bear out all the concern, according to an analysis by the Sightline Institute, a Northwest policy think tank. READ MORE... Grist.org More Power for Women Means Less Climate Pollution, Study Suggests By Lisa Hymes, Apr 02, 2012 Here is yet another indication that women are greener than men. According to a new study in Social Science Research, "controlling for other factors, in nations where women's status is higher, CO2 emissions are lower."
READ MORE...
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International (when available)
| TheGlobeAndMail.com
Welcome to Ikea-Land: Furniture Giant Begins Urban Planning Project By Doug Saunders, Mar 01, 2012
The people who run the Swedish home-furnishings behemoth are launching a bold push into the business of designing, building and operating entire urban neighbourhoods.
READ MORE...TheAtlanticCities.com
Why China Lags on Innovation and Creativity By Richard Florida, Apr 02, 2012
China's rise as an economic power has been staggering. Its manufacturing prowess is well-established, having earned it the moniker, "the world's factory." Roughly half of its population now lives in urban areas, up from less than one in five three decades ago. Over 100 of its cities have populations of one million or more.
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Wednesday's Film (when available)
| Wednesday's Films
StreetFilms.org Medellín: Colombia's Sustainable Transport Capital
By Elizabeth Press, Apr 03, 2012 For many who have heard of Medellín, Colombia, the name brings to mind the drug-related violence of the 1980s and 1990s, when it was often described as the most dangerous city in the world.
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Things you need to know along the West Corridor
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>Lakewood, Wednesday, Apr 11, 2012, 7am - 8:30am. Cindy Baroway and Scott Koop, City Council representatives for Ward 2, will meet with residents and considerate guests for their monthly outreach meeting at the Lakewood-West Colfax Business Improvement District Office, 7125 W. Colfax Ave. The West Rail Line will traverse the northwestern section of their Ward.
>Lakewood, Wednesday, April 11, 10am Mark Your Calendars! Swinerton Builders and RTD Invites Everyone to the Wadsworth Parking Structure Groundbreaking! See details
>Denver Union Station Basement, Friday, April 27, 2012, 7 to 9pm
Final Open House for the Model Railroad extraordinary display before construction closes same.
Soon the terrific model railroad display put on by the Platte Valley & Western Model Railroad club in the basement of the Denver Union Station will have to close because of the redevelopment of the Station (let's hope they put in better ventilation and more areas to sit for old and struggling families) The open house will run from 7pm to 9pm in the Basement.
Press Release pdf
>Lakewood, Wednesday, June 13, 4-6pm.
Grand Opening party of A+E Fine Woodworking, woodworking studio, 7175 W. 16th Ave. A&E Woodworking will become a future art collaborative where artists will share a common location to create their artwork. The location is located 0.6 miles - 3 minutes via bicycle - from the future light rail stop at Wadsworth Station.
The very popular RTD West Corridor bus tours are back!! All tours will be from 9am to 11am on the 3rd Friday of the month (April thru Sept). Each reservation that is made is for one seat only; please sign-up all attendees individually. You will receive e-mail confirmation within one week of your registration. Click here to register
MAY 19 - 20TH, 2012
JUNE 9-15th, 2012
AUGUST 20-26th, 2012
SEPTEMBER 21-23RD, 2012
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.
Prices displayed may not be correct.
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>4917 West 11th Ave Assemblage
>10th Avenue Light Rail Assemblage
>1010 Sheridan Blvd TOD Site
>13th Avenue & Newland St., Light Rail Vacant Land
>5830 West Colfax Ave
>6990 West Colfax Ave Pad Site
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.
Editor's note: Due to the greatness of Democracy and right of it's citizen's to express concerns freely, RTD has issued a follow-up statement addressing those issues raised surrounding the Future Sheridan Street Parking Structure raised on March 01, 2012. Subjects include 1) Sun/snow on the north side of the structure. 2) Safer lighting between station and parking structure. 3) Ped/bicycle interaction from structure to station. 4) more.
Sheridan Parking Structure
Here's a PowerPoint Presentation of the RTD Elected Officials Briefing held Feb 10, 2012. Part One deals with grade crossing safety (boring) and Part Two has (awesome) photos of the latest civil construction of the West Rail Line. Well worth a peek.
RTD West Rail Line video flyover (entire line from Union Station to the Golden Jeffco Station.
West Corridor Vision
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Things You Need to Know Around the Region
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| The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of William A. Spriggs and no one else. |
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