RTD hosted its quarterly elected officials briefing concerning progress on the West Rail Line on Friday, May 11, 2012 at the West Rail Line Project Office, 10445 West 6th Ave, Lakewood Colorado, 80215. The meeting was hosted by RTD District M board member Matt Cohen, and started precisely at 7:30am.
Notables in attendance were State Senator Betty Boyd, SD21; Lakewood City Council members, Ward 1, Karen Kellen & Ramey Johnson; Ward 3, Sue King & Ward 5; Tom Quinn. Also present were Golden City Council member, Ward One, Marcia Claxton, City of Lakewood's West Corridor Ombudsman, Jerry Goldman; City of Golden's Planning & Development, Steve Glueck; former District M RTD Board member, Dave Ruchman; Gold Line Advisory Group, Bob Wilson and Two Creeks Neighborhood Association member, Sara-Farrar-Nagy.
Mr. Cohen opened the meeting with the news that everyone in the room already knew: That the RTD Board would not pursue a tax increase in the upcoming election in November. In private conversations that I have had with some elected officials from Denver and elsewhere, the emotional states expressed over the decision range somewhere between frustration and relief, but mostly relief of not having to face angry voters who have put money into the pot for the past eight years and reacting to the fact that they would not only not get the physical system originally promised, but that it would cost double the current tax.
The decision to not go for a tax increase still leaves the RTD board committed to seeing the project completed and will they will pursue alternative revenue sources such as PPPs (Public Private Partnerships), grants, and unsolicited proposals.
Note: There really wasn't any major construction news this meeting other than Del Walker, the Deputy Assistant General Manager for RTD told the group about heavy construction on the East Line is progressing rapidly now that construction has passed the downtown area and that a "huge hole" can now be seen on the western side of the airport terminal.
Dennis Ansley and Edmond Thompson from Swinerton Builders were on hand to tell the group that construction on the Sheridan Parking Structure should begin in mid June. An announcement after the elected officials meeting notified us here at TBF that there will be an open meeting to present the 90 % construction drawings and will be used to continue getting feedback from the community. The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 24, at the Mountair Christian Church, 1390 Benton Street; the meeting will start at 6pm.
Brenda Tierney, from the RTD West Rail Line public outreach office told the group that the West Rail Line bus tour held their first tour on April 20th with about 70 participants. She also mentioned that RTD will take the lead on a providing a safety outreach program targeting Eiber Elementary, Jeffco Open School, Molholm Elementary School & St. Bernadette Catholic School.
These schools are what TBF would consider to be TOEs: (Transit Oriented Educationals) - Schools within easy walking or cycling distance from the future light rail line stations. The safety outreach program will educate the children about safety when biking or walking in those areas near the light rail line.
Other sources tell TBF that RTD will attend Back-to-School nights with handout materials and a mock-up of a rail crossing to demonstrate the function of same. (Gee, I wonder whose SUV the rail crossing mock-up will get the nod to be used?)
Great news: The West Rail Line will conduct a Name the Bike Event contest. This is part of the open secret that RTD is actually considering a "bicycle event" to show off the new bike path that that will open in the fall of this year; the path parallels most of the West Rail Line from Quail Street in Lakewood into Denver. The event program is very sketchy at this date, but the rumor is that it will start in Golden and end in Denver. No word on how to get everyone back to Golden, but hey, it's the highly sustainable and fun part of the program that counts, right? If you would like to help Click here to learn more and Name the Bike Event Contest." The deadline is June 08, 2012.
