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The Dedicated Employees of Metro West Housing Solutions, Lakewood, Colorado will hold their first street-clean up on their adopted street -- Pierce Street -- from 10th Avenue to 20th Avenue on Thursday, August 23rd, 2012.
This north-south passageway will be an important bicycle route to the future Lamar Street Light Rail Station (The Brickyard) & the Lakewood-Wadsworth Light Rail Station via 14th Avenue for residents of Creek Side and the students of Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design (RMCAD)
Click on the photo above to learn about the great work that Metro West Housing Solutions provides to the West Corridor.
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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. |
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The "W" Line Opens
in
264 Days
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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, Aug 05, 2012. |
LAST CHANCE!!!
Local Businesses Take Note!!!
Become a Sponsor of the RTD West Rail Line's Tour de FasTracks Bike Event - September 15, 2012
Click on the Logo to Learn More!
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West Corridor, Denver & Region
| | TheDenverPost/Guest Commentary
Squandering Opportunity in North Denver
By Tom Anthony, Aug 05, 2012 Since FasTracks is placing a new commuter rail station at 48th and Brighton Blvd., our neighborhoods have the chance to overcome the "lack of rooftops" obstacle to convenient living: nearby grocery stores, restaurants and other retail. However, broad brush-strokes aren't going to suffice in a constricted urban zone.
DC.StreetsBlog.org
White House Transportation "Champions" Didn't Get There By Car
By Tanya Snyder, Aug 01, 2012
Every week, the White House honors leaders and innovators in a chosen field, and yesterday was transportation's turn. Their choices of honorees spoke volumes about this administration's principles around transportation. [One Champion featured is Jacque Whitsitt, Mayor of Basalt, Colorado, and an Honorable mention went to Phillip A. Washington, General Manager of Denver's RTD].
READ MORE...Blogs.DenverPost.com
Colorado Delegation Goes Full Court Press on Wind, Romney, Coors give Shout Outs By Allison Sherry, Aug 02, 2012
...Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Jefferson County, scribed a letter to House leadership asking that the House stay in session to pass the extension of the tax credit. |
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National
| | DC.StreetsBlog.org
Atlanta's Bad Traffic Situation Is About to Get Worse
By Angie Schmitt, Aug 01, 2012
Well, the Atlanta region has spoken.
READ MORE...
GlobalPublicSquare.Blogs.CNN.com
The Cost of America's Inefficient Sprawl By William Fulton, Jul 31, 2012 When sprawling new development happens, it's easy to mistake that for prosperity. New buildings and wide roads look great when they first meet the eye. But over time, distant development costs more, gradually bleeding taxpayers and putting the hurt on municipal budgets.READ MORE...TheNewYorkTimes.com
Amid a Political Calm, a Tax Break for the Wind Industry Advances
By Diane Cardwell, Aug 02, 2012 It has been a tough year for companies in alternative energy.READ MORE...USAToday.com
The Nation is in a Sharing Mood - and Start-Ups are Capitalizing on it.
By Roger Yu, Jul 16, 2012 Americans with heaps of stuff, skills and time are connecting online with tech-savvy and early adopters eager to share and rent homes, cars, tools and services in exchange for deep savings.
Governors Get on Board With Smart Growth
By Tanya Snyder, Aug 02, 2012 As yesterday's post about Oklahoma City's fight to replace a downtown highway with a real urban boulevard illustrated so well, cities are often at the vanguard of smart urban planning and transportation choices while state-level agencies can be laggards. So it's nice to see some governors and ex-governors stepping forward to emphasize the value of smart growth policies.
READ MORE...
DC.StreetsBlog.org
Oregon Takes the Next Step in Moving Beyond the Gas Tax
By Tanya Snyder, Jul 03, 2012
Rep. Earl Blumenauer likes to say that Oregon was the first state to adopt a gas tax and it will be the first state to get rid of it. In 2006-2007, the state conducted a pilot study of alternative revenue collection methods, with an eye toward moving to a better system. This fall, they'll do another pilot, fine-tuning their process for replacing the gas tax with a vehicle-miles-traveled fee.
TheAtlanticCities.com
How Urban Parks Enhance Your Brain, Part 2
By Eric Jaffe, Aug 03, 2012
Last month we explained how parks can restore much of the mental fatigue imposed on our brains by the busy city. The psychological evidence for this concept, known as the "attention restoration theory," is quite clear. What would be great to know, as I noted at the end of that post, is precisely how many trees it takes to recover the cognitive strains of urban life.READ MORE... Grist.org
These Trees on Wheels Double as WiFi Hotspots
By Sarah Laskow, Aug 02, 2012
It doesn't seem fair that car-owning people can use parking spots (or rent them at extremely low rates) to store their cars, but the car-free don't get to use them to store our stuff. We have 50 cents, and we live here too! Fortunately, Milanese designer Matteo Cibic has found an easy way for the car-free to share this public space: We can use it to park our wifi hotspot trees on wheels.
READ MORE...
Dirt.asla.org
City Bountiful: The Rise of Urban Agriculture
By AslaDirt, Aug 02, 2012
At the Greater & Greener: Reimagining Parks for 21st Century Cities conference in New York City, Laura Lawson, ASLA, Professor and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers University, described how urban agriculture has experienced explosive growth in recent years.
READ MORE...
TheEpochTimes.com
Rooftop Farm Helps Relieve Sewage Overflows
With smokestacks and cranes in the distant view, it is hard to believe a 43,000-square-foot farm can exist on a rooftop.
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International (when available)
| | Imprint.PrintingMag.com
Roadside Beautification: Japanese Gas-Tank Art
By Steven Heller on August 1, 2012
In the 1970s, the peace artist and former Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Corita Kent painted the Rainbow Mural on a gas tank in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Driving into Boston, this landmark made you smile. Since then, he Japanese have been doing their own version of gas-tank art-adding the spark of wit, transforming the otherwise Death Star-like globes into big friendly balloons.
READ MORE... Rail.co
Magician Brought in to Entertain Olympic Rail Passengers
By Marc Johnson, Aug 02, 2012
Magician Danny Hall has been making Olympic travel blues disappear for London Overground passengers in Stratford. |
| Sunday's Film (when available)
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Things you need to know along the West Corridor
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Photo: Heritage Culture & the Arts
>Lakewood, Saturday August 11, 10am 2pm
Denver & Intermountain Interurban Trolley, Car No. 25, Open House.
Bring the whole family to enjoy a free ride on this completely restored trolley car that connected early Lakewood Colorado citizens to the booming downtown Denver at the turn of the 20th Century.
Location:
Denver Federal Center, Bldg No. 78
Enter on Kipling St. South of 6th Ave. Gate I, Follow the Yellow Signs.
[All adults need a government photo ID (i.e. Driver's License) to enter the Federal Center. Sorry, pets are not permitted]. >Lakewood, Wednesday, August 8th, 7:30am to 7:30am.
Cindy Baroway and Scott Koop, City Council representatives for Ward 2, will meet with residents and considerate guests from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at the 40 West Arts District Office, 1560 Teller Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80214. The future light rail line traverses the NW section of their Ward.
>Lakewood, Thursday, Sept 13, 2012 7pm. Mary Harris Auditorium on the Campus of the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design. 1600 Pierce Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80214. Music! Singing! Dancing! Comedy! Oh My! A variety show produced by the 40 West Arts District showcasing the performing arts with an array of upbeat, high-energy, family-friendly acts. The inaugural show, emceed by the inimitable "Naughty Pierre" from Lannie's Clocktower, is set for September 13 at the Mary Harris Auditorium - Click here to learn more and purchase tickets.
>Lakewood, Saturday, August 18th, 9am to 10:45am Karen Kellen and Ramey Johnson, City Council representatives for Ward 1, will meet with residents and considerate guests at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, at the 40 West Arts District Office, 1560 Teller Street, Lakewood, Colorado 80214. The future light rail line traverses the northern section of their Ward.
[Note: in just 9 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
The Last Bike to the Game will be held Sunday, September 02, 2012
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, Sept 02, for the game against the SD Padres. 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. |
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Residential Real Estate Agents
Who Get the "Big Picture" of Transit Oriented Living
| Jim Smith
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Things You Need to Know Around the Region
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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 24th to be considered for the Fall 2012 Academy.
The Fall Academy (2012-02) will begin September 12 and end on October 24, 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 15, 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.
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| The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of William A. Spriggs and no one else. |
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