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Changing Landscape:
The New RTD Parking Garage at 14th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood, Colorado With the Light Rail Station (The "Clouds") Spanning Atop Wadsworth Boulevard on Right.
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Some humans are restless creatures. They are always going from this place to that place; moving stuff from here to there; tearing down the old and replacing it with the new. Those very people who love this messy vitality are now witnessing this very change taking place in the picture above and want to be part of this new transformation they consider "New and Exciting"; they will gravitate to this part of "old" Lakewood, Colorado. Those who hate change that accompanies this new vitality will try to stop this "invasion" of their old way of life by attempting to "historically preserve" things that "movers and shakers" consider useless.
Stay tuned for discord.
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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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>20 days until The Tour de FasTracks
bike event
>The "W" Line Opens
in
243 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 26, 2012. |
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West Corridor, Denver & Region
| TheDenverPost
North Suburbs Keep Pressure on RTD for Rail Line By Monte Whaley, Aug 24, 2012
Officials in Denver's northern suburbs vowed Thursday to keep pressuring the Regional Transportation District to build a commuter-rail line to serve their communities, which they say have been ignored in favor of projects in other parts of the metro area.
TheDenverPost/Editorial
RTD Should Pick up the Tab for Northwest Study. August 23, 2012. The agency shouldn't stick the ignored northwest metro area with part of the cost of a study to determine that area's needs.
READ MORE...
BoulderReporter
Appelbaum not Amused by RTD Betrayal
By Bob Wells, Aug 22, 2012
The Post and Camera Aug. 19 had a detailed account of how Denver's northern suburbs aren't going to get what they were paying for - train service - from RTD anytime soon. Boulder Mayor Matt Appelbaum is quoted: TheAtlanticCities
Who Has the Right to Preserve a City's Past?
By Nate Berg, Aug 23, 2012
The owners of the long-shuttered Gates Rubber Company factory complex in Denver want to knock it down. So do neighborhood groups who have been calling for the site to be redeveloped. But an urban explorer college student living in nearby Boulder has taken it upon himself to save the site by applying for a historic landmark designation - a controversial move that's causing many in the city to consider who has the right to preserve history.READ MORE...
 Auraria Campus Adds Transportation Alternatives By Ken Schroeppel, Aug 23, 2012
By Jill Jennings Golich
The fall semester at the Auraria Campus...started on August 20th with two exciting developments in furthering alternative transportation options for the 44,000 student campus located in downtown Denver. The first is the addition of a bike route on Curtis Street between Speer Boulevard and 5th Street, and the second is the addition of eGo CarShare.  Denver Union Station Update #106 By Ryan Dravitz, Aug 23, 2012
Today we will be focusing on the underground bus terminal. As I mentioned in my last update, the second phase is beginning to get enclosed and back-filled.
READ MORE...
Improving Bicycle Facilities for Better Safety
By John Hayden, Aug 23, 2012
Last week I attended a meeting of City staff and bicycle community advocates to discuss possible tools for improving bicycle safety in Denver. The meeting focused on what kind of a campaign might be used to improve behavior among motorists, pedestrians and cyclists when sharing the roads and paths in hopes of increasing safety for all users.
READ MORE...[Sorry for the late post below -- it's not timely but still very informative].
DenverWestWordBlogs New 15th Street Bike Facility? City Exploring Major New Link in Cycling System
By Sam Levin, Aug 13, 2012 As the number of cyclists in Denver continues to grow rapidly, the city is racing to keep up, building new infrastructure that helps bikes and vehicles safely share the road. The city is now exploring the best options for a bike facility on 15th Street, a major link in downtown, to be completed in 2013.
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National
| | DC.StreetsBlog
Finally, the Presidential Race Turns to Transportation
By Tanya Snyder, Aug 22, 2012
The Obama campaign has fired the opening salvo in a new presidential campaign front: transportation.
READ MORE...DC.StreetsBlog
Romney Energy Plan: More Drilling, More Oil Dependence By Tanya Snyder, Aug 23, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney unveiled his energy plan today. The idea is to break our addiction to foreign oil - by increasing our addiction to domestic oil. If by "domestic" we mean Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.READ MORE...
CitiWire
Atlanta's Transportation Vote: Region Shoots Self in the Foot
By Neal Peirce, Aug 24, 2012
Atlanta's civic-business-political leaders are still licking their wounds from the shattering defeat voters across their 10-county region handed them July 31.
READ MORE...DC.StreetsBlog
Portland's Parking-Free Apartment Boom
by Angie Schmitt, Aug 21, 2012
Portland is undergoing a bit of a building boom. According to local planners, about 40 apartment projects have come online in the last year and a half. Here's the best part: More than half of those apartment projects have no parking - for cars anyway.READ MORE...TheAtlanticCities
What Big Cities Lose When They Lose Their Small Businesses
By Eric Jaffe, Aug 22, 2012
A few weeks ago Jeremiah Clancy announced the sudden closing of Mama's Food Shop, a quaint spot in New York's East Village that had been serving comfort food to the neighborhood for about 15 years.TheAtlanticCities
Can Altering a Stoplight's Yellow Signal Help Save Lives?
By John Metcalfe, Aug 23, 2012
You're coming up on an intersection and the light turns yellow. What do you do: Apply the brakes, or slam on the gas like you're trying to bust though a Nigerian military checkpoint?READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities
Preventing Suicide With Architecture
By Nate Berg, Aug 22, 2012
In 2003, in two separate incidents, two students at New York University committed suicide inside the tall atrium of the university's main library by jumping from its open, inward-facing balconies. Officials responded to the tragedies by installing Plexiglas barriers around the edges of the balconies.
READ MORE...DC.StreetsBlog Stroller-Share: Can I Get an Amen? By Tanya Snyder, Aug 24, 2012
Childless urbanites love to hate the stroller. New Yorker Laura Miller started a blog, "Tood Big For Stroller," dedicated to mocking older children who get around the easy way. Commenters on a Greater Greater Washington story about strollers on buses last year showcased surprising vitriol, saying, "Carry your child, like an able-bodied adult should" and "Pretty lousy parenting, when you could fold the stroller and hold the child" and "Keep those strollers off our buses."
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International (when available)
| ThePolisBlog
An Ode to High Speed Rail By Alex Schafran, Aug 23, 2012 On Monday I traveled 1000 km (a megameter?) round-trip for a meeting. It could not have been a simpler and more relaxing experience - approximately 25 minutes from my apartment in the 18ème arrondissement via two metro lines to the Gare de Lyon; 10 minutes to walk from the metro to the platform; precisely 119 minutes on the TGV to the Part Dieu Station in Lyon; a leisurely half hour on the BRT-esque C3 to Vaulx-en-Valin and, as the French say, voila.
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| Sunday's Film (when available)
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 | | Floating Bicycle Roundabout in Eindhoven, Netherlands |
[Any chance we can get a dozen of these floating roundabouts here in Lakewood Colorado?]
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Things you need to know along the West Corridor
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[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.
SEPTEMBER 21-23RD, 2012
Denver Union 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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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.
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. Click Here to View the current RTD Bike Path.
>Denver, Thursday, November 8th, 2012, 7:00am to 10:30am
The Transit Alliance Presents the Transit Event of 2012
Union Station:
Community Trans-Formation
Celebrating the Vision of FasTracks Coming to Life
The Ritz Carlton Denver, $75 - Individual, $700 - Table
Stay tuned for reservation details
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| The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of William A. Spriggs and no one else. |
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