 | 16th Ave and Pierce Streets, Lakewood Co. 80214, looking south, July 04, 2012
Why do the people who cycle and promote health, help the environment and promote alternative transportation have to be inconvenienced?
"Promote Transportation Alternatives to the Automobile."
"Promote a Safe Multi-Modal Transportation System"
"Minimize Conflicts Between Non-Motorized &
Motorized Transportation Modes."
All quotes from the 2003 Lakewood Colorado Comprehensive Plan, Pg. 30
Have a Bicycle Related Issue Within the City Limits of Lakewood, Colorado?
Public Rights-of-Way (streets) 303-987-7980
Trails Within City Parks? 303-987-7800
|
|
|
THE BACK FENCE NEWSLETTER
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. |
|
The "W" Line Opens
in
292 Days
 |
|
|
Hi 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 Sunday Edition, July 08, 2012. |
Stay Tuned to This Block for Future Details About The Tour de FasTracks -
West Rail Line Bike Event
hosted by RTD
Saturday, September 15, 2012 9am - 1pm |
Here's an Unsolicited Fan Letter. Thanks Larry! July 01, 2012
Bill
I get a lot of email. Both in my professional life, and my life as an RTD Director. It adds up to a lot of time spent reading. Many of the items I get are almost immediately deleted. It's a survival technique. When you started your Back Fence Newsletter, my first impulse was to
"delete." However, I felt I should at least give you the courtesy of one read. Well, several newsletters later, I'm an avid reader. Thank you for your interest in transportation and keep up the good work.
Larry Hoy,
Director, District J, RTD
|
|
West Corridor, Denver & Region
| TheDenverPost.com
Editorial: Abusing Denver's Historic Preservation Ordinance
July 07, 2012 Denver Councilman Charlie Brown is right: The city's historic preservation ordinance is being abused in a case involving an old, abandoned warehouse west of Coors Field whose owners have plans to replace it with five-story apartments.
READ MORE...LaVozColorado.com
Life Changing Fires in Colorado
By Ernest Gulrule, Jul 03, 2012
It would be an understatement to suggest that nature has been unkind to Colorado this summer. But, that would be inaccurate. Nature acts without conscience and, this summer, has burnished its image of force and fury into the hearts and minds of Coloradans in an unforgettable way..."It is an unsustainable model," says architect and land use expert Niccolo Casewit "It is in bad taste to blame the victim," Casewit says, "but building in these places is not much different than building in a floodplain. |
|
National
| TheHill.com
Commuter Tax Benefit Gets GOP Champion By Keith Laing, Jul 03, 2012 A Republican lawmaker from New York has filed a bill to make the tax benefit given to people who use public transportation systems to get to work equal to the one given to workers who drive.
READ MORE...DC.StreetsBlog.org
GOP's "Bridge Repair, Not Bike Lanes" Mantra Was Just a Lot of Hot Air
By Tanya Snyder, Jul 06, 2012
Last fall, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) proposed diverting all transportation enhancements funding, which goes primarily to bike and pedestrian projects, to bridge repair. "With nearly 25 percent of our nation's bridges deemed either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, we need to make their reconstruction a priority over errant beautification projects."
READ MORE...LeanForward.msnbc.msn.com
This is a Win? After Dems Cave, Transportation Bill Creates no New Jobs By Ben Adler, Jul 03, 2012 The Surface Transportation law, which determines how the federal government will disburse transportation infrastructure funds, is normally passed every six years, and it expired in 2009. It used to be a fairly simple matter: tally up the revenues from the gasoline tax, give 20 percent to mass transit, the rest to roads, and send it back to the states. But those days are long gone.
READ MORE...
DC.StreetsBlog.org
Buck Up Reformers: Despite the Hard Knocks This Bill is a Step Forward By David Burwell, Jul 05, 2012 There is much despair in the transportation reform community about the mugging we took in the MAP-21 conference committee negotiations. And, yes, it was a mugging. It was also unnecessary and unfair - we worked hard for a good bill, got it, and then saw much of our effort left on the cutting room floor. Complete streets, rail, freight, state of good repair, transparency and accountability - all these took hits. READ MORE...
DC.StreetsBlog.org Civil Rights Groups to Build Toward 2014 Transportation Bill Reauthorization
By Wade Henderson, Jul 05, 2012
The long-overdue passage of the federal transportation bill attracted bipartisan congressional support, but it was not the hallmark legislative advancement for civil and human rights that it could have been. Still, the work that led up to the bill's passage proved to be a small but significant step for our movement and one that establishes a pathway toward achieving greater transportation equity when the bill is reauthorized in 2014.
READ MORE...BusinessInsider.com
Harvard Economist: The Government's Mortgage Policies Are Making Us Poor By Jill Krasny, Jul 03, 2012
Harvard economist Edward Glaeser makes no bones about his love for cities, and energy-efficient apartment buildings in particular. In his new paper,"Rethinking the Federal Bias Toward Homeownership," he writes that the government is pushing families out of city dwellings and into the suburbs through its home mortgage policies.
TheNewYorkTimes.com
Car-Pooling Makes a Surge on Apps and Social Media By Mickey Meese, Jul 04, 2012
The annual ritual of piling into the car for the great American summer road trip has a new twist as more travelers are inviting strangers along for part of the ride.READ MORE...SaturdayEveningPost.com
The Looming Crisis In Mass Transit By James McCommens, Jul/Aug, 2012 Over the past 50 years America made massive public investments in its highways-hundreds of billions of dollars in the interstate system alone. And largely because of that investment, cities and suburbs have grown into sprawling, disconnected clusters, largely dependent on the automobile..."We have to change that and give people more options," says John Robert Smith, president of Reconnecting America, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C...
READ MORE...TheAtlanticCities.com
The End of Taxis By Sommer Mathis, Jul 05, 2012
A recent customer survey from Capital Bikeshare, the metro area's rapidly expanding bike-share service that already boasts 18,000 members, found that 56 percent of more than 5,000 respondents reported taking fewer taxi rides since joining the service. READ MORE...PikeResearch.com
Light Duty Natural Gas Vehicles July 06, 2012
Interest in natural gas vehicles (NGVs) from both consumers and fleet managers is growing worldwide due to the current high cost of gasoline and diesel, and the recognition that continued reliance on petroleum based fuels poses increasing environmental and energy security challenges. |
|
International (when available)
| TheCityFix.com
China Transportation Briefing: Booming Public Bikes By Heshuang Zeng, Jul 03, 2012 The Beijing Municipal Government recently launched a new public bike rental program, though this is not Beijing's first foray into bike sharing. There are 39 public bike schemes in China-dwarfing all other nations. As more Chinese cities introduce public bike systems, we need to think carefully about their design and operations under a broader sustainable transport framework.
READ MORE...
PikeResearch.com
Electric Vehicles in China China has become the world's largest automotive market, and the nation is well-positioned to become a significant exporter of vehicles due to favorable labor costs and experience in mass producing technology and energy storage products. The Chinese government has made vehicle electrification central to its aggressive New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan for growing the automotive market both domestically and internationally and has created many national and local incentives for plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) purchases |
| Sunday's Film (when available)
| TheAtlanticCities.com
Taking Art to the Street, Literally Kaid Benfield, Jul 05, 2012
This is a long-winded introduction to a great video on how neighborhoods in Portland are strengthening community bonds and identity through, among other things, street painting. From a website called City Repair:
|
 |
Things you need to know along the West Corridor
|
>Lakewood, Wednesday, July 11, 7:30-8:30am. Lakewood-West Colfax Business Improvement District Office, 7125 W. Colfax Ave.
Ward 2 Lakewood City Councilors Cindy Baroway and Scott Koop will meet with residents and considerate guests at their monthly outreach meeting. The future light rail line will traverse the NW section of their Ward.
>Lakewood, Thursday, July 12, 2012 6pm to 8? King Sooper's Plaza, 1645 Quail St. Ste 27. Neighborhood meeting for rezoning request. The applicant for a rezoning request at 11199 W. Colfax Ave. will meet with residents from the surrounding neighborhood. The rezoning proposal would allow for a bank with a drive-through facility to be built. For more information, contact Project Manager Paul Rice at (303) 987-7725 or pauric@lakewood.org.
>Denver, Friday, July 13, 2012, 4-6pm.
The West Colfax Business Improvement District is hosting a Sustainability Oasis & Celebration of Champions event to honor their champions, most notably Rick Garcia for projects completed or underway made along West Colfax Ave (Denver).
The event will take place in conjunction with the opening of their summer public art project with the Rocky Mountain School of Art and Design: Sustainability Oasis. This temporary, interactive art project on the lot at Colfax and Vrain (4600 West) aims to green and activate a privately owned space for public purpose. All are invited. Lot located at Colfax Ave & Vrain St.
>Lakewood, Saturday July 14, 2012, 11am to noon. 5330 West 9th Ave., Lakewood, Co. 80214
Surfside Park Dedication
One of the most beneficial community "people oriented" gathering places to open in Lakewood since the Belmar Plaza will dedicate the opening on July 14, 2012. Since the dedication will include food and prizes, the City of Lakewood is requesting RSVP's. To RSVP by Wednesday, July 11 call (303) 987-7800. For more information, call (303) 987-7837.
>Denver Union Station Historic Summer Tours, July 12, & July 26, 2012 at 4:30pm - 5:30pm
The Denver Union Station Project Authority (DUSPA) will be conducting free guided tours of the Denver Union Station redevelopment site this summer. This guided tour will emphasis the early station history and famous travelers who visited Denver by Train. The tour will also tell visitors about all the exciting new features that will soon be part of, and surround, the historic station. The one-hour tour will start inside the Great Train Hall at the historic station, 1701 Wynkoop Street. Participation is limited to 35 people per tour. To reserve your spot, visit. RSVP here [Scroll down on left] >Denver, Thursday, July 19th, 2012 9:30am to 11am
Federal Boulevard Workshop Rude Recreation Center, 2855 West Holden Pl. Denver Co. 80204 The City & County of Denver invites residents and considerate guests to a workshop to discuss transportation, walkability, land use, urban design, and economic development as these relate to Federal Blvd from 6th Avenue to 20th Avenue. There will be a walking tour of Federal Blvd between 6th Ave and Colfax Ave. Coffee and donuts will be served
[Note: in just 10 short months West Corridor residents will be able bike to a West Rail Line station, jump on board with their bikes, get off at Union Station & cycle just six blocks to Coors Field and LEAVE THE CAR BEHIND. But until then, those of you adventurous souls who can commute to downtown, check out the facilities in place this year.]
2012 schedule of Ride to the
Rockies Games
Aug 05, & Sept 02. All games are Sunday Day games.
Over the course of 20 games this season the Rockies along with media partners ROOT SPORTS, 850 KOA and The Denver Post will once again be enlisting players and fans toward making a positive impact on the environment through the 2012 Games of Green initiative.
NEXT BIKE TO THE GAME!
WHEN: Sunday, August 05, for the game against the SF Giants. Bike lot opens at 11:30 a.m. and closes 10 minutes after the game ends.
WHERE: Coors Field, the special Bike to the Game secure parking lot at 21st and Blake St., across from Gate C.
WHAT: Check in at the Bike to the Game Tent at the entrance to the bike lot at 21st and Blake to enter a drawing for great prizes, like a Rockies Batting Practice experience, Rockies tickets, autographed items and more.
The very popular RTD West Corridor bus tours will be ending soon! Only two remaining!, The tours will be from 9am to 11am on the 3rd Friday of the month (August & September). 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
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. |
|
Residential Real Estate Agents
Who Get the "Big Picture" of Transit Oriented Living
| Jim Smith
|
|
Things You Need to Know Around the Region
| |
THE TRANSIT ALLIANCE
IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR THE FALL 2012 AND SPRING 2013 ACADEMIES!
Please note that the Academy application process is competitive as they only have 50 slots available and usually have 100 applicants or more. Applications must be submitted by 5 PM on August 17th to be considered for the Fall 2012 Academy.
The Fall Academy (2012-02) will begin September 5 and end on October 17, 2012.
Tour de FasTracks - West Rail Ride Bike Event
Saturday, Sept 15, 2012
Calling all cyclists in Golden, Lakewood, west Denver.
The RTD FasTracks West Rail Line which will serve our West Corridor will host a bike event on Saturday, September 08, 2012 to show off its magnificent bike path that parallels most of the future "W" line.
The Back Fence, in the coming months, always a huge supporter of alternatives to the single occupier automobile, will advocate for the "final mile" and call for more and safer cycle access from the future light rail stations. We also consider the bicycle as not only a recreational vehicle, but a tool of economic empowerment that helps our citizens stay healthy and keeps more expendable cash in their pockets in which to enhance our local businesses; and I won't bore you with lectures on sustainability, oil dependence and air quality.
Although the Tour de FasTracks event is billed as a "leisurely ride" that will start at the future Oak Street Station parking area and end at the Decatur Federal Station, there also will be a stage for the intermediate and advanced cyclists that will start at the Jefferson County Government Center-Golden Station. Details will be forthcoming, but you can. Click Here to View the current RTD Bike Path.
|
|
|
|
|
| The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of William A. Spriggs and no one else. |
|
|
|
|
|
