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Photo: Compliments of RTD
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RTD holds a "Safety Roadshow" at the Molhom Elementary School.
The mobile mock light rail crossing demonstrates to kids how to cross the light rail tracks safely. The mock crossing includes all items that you might find at a real crossing; swing gates, rail signals, signage, and sound. Molholm Elementary is located at 6000 West 9th Ave., Lakewood, Co. 80214 - 0.6 miles - a 12 minute walk or 3 minute bike ride to the future Lamar Street Station (The Brickyard) stop. Other schools scheduled to have the roadshow will be: Eiber Elementary School, Jeffco Open School, St. Bernadette Catholic School, Fairview Elementary School and Cowell Elementary School
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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
201 Days
After almost three years of twice-a-week publications, The Back Fence will be shifting to only once a week later this fall. This will allow us to focus more on our cycling advocacy in conjunction with the opening of the West Rail Line and the "final mile" from each station to dwellings & destinations in the area. Stay tuned.  |
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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, October 07, 2012. |
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West Corridor, Denver & Region
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TheDenverPost
Transit Groups Tackle Park-n-Ride Shortcomings
By Monte Whaley, Oct 07 2012
Often the biggest hurdle faced by commuters in metro Denver comes when they step off their Regional Transportation District bus or train...Barriers facing people just off the morning or evening bus are incomplete or broken sidewalks, bad lighting that can breed crime, or the lack of bike trails...
READ MORE...
[Note to below: the September 30th article in the Denver Post focused on criticism of Denver's B-Cycle has gone national.]
DC.StreetsBlog
Why Isn't Bike-Share Reaching More Low-Income People?
By Angie Schmitt, Oct 03 2012
Earlier this week, Denver's B-Cycle bike-share system came under fire for allegedly side-stepping low-income neighborhoods. The accuser was City Council Member Paul Lopez, and his complaint was not something that system operators necessarily deny: There aren't many stations in low-income neighborhoods...The broader claim - that bike-share isn't serving the populations that might benefit most from it - has dogged nearly every system in the country.
BoulderDailyCamera
Louisville's Highway 42 Envisioned as Smaller, More 'Livable' Corridor
By John Aguilar, Oct 02 2012 City staff identifies three-lane alignment as preferable to five-lane option...
Details of the city's ambitious Highway 42 Gateway project came into clearer view Wednesday evening during an open house in which the city staff and consultants laid out the latest vision for what would work best on the busy highway corridor...
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National
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How MAP-21 Allocates Transpo Funds Where They're Needed Least
By Tanya Snyder, Oct 03 2012
Transportation reauthorizations have typically not been a time for major discussions about national policy goals. They've been a time for getting while the getting's good, a time for deal-making and pork and a lot of back-room transactions to make sure every member of Congress could go home and talk about how much federal money they were bringing home.
TheAtlanticCities
Sustainable Transportation Simply May Require a Top-Down Approach
By Nate Berg, Oct 02 2012 The words "sustainable" and "transportation" don't really fit together too well here in the U.S. For the most part, the transportation scene in America is dominated by people driving cars everywhere they go, often alone. But that's all starting to shift slightly, with more places emphasizing so-called "alternative" transportation options, like public transportation, bicycling, or simply making use of ones legs and walking.
TheAtlanticCities
Want to Get More Families Into a City? Pay Their Kids' College Tuition
By Matt Stroud, Oct 04 2012 Have you considered moving to Kalamazoo? ...The decision to offer free college tuition for those who enroll in Kalamazoo's school district from K-12th grade has received its share of attention, and as many as 25 cities nationwide have either instituted or considered instituting a similar program.
TheAtlanticCities
Yes, This Ad Is Offensive. But Free Speech Rides Public Transit, Too. By Emily Badger, Oct 05 2012 The implication, via Ayn Rand quote, that Muslims are "savages" is offensive and racist. And this is probably not the kind of sentiment most of us would want conveyed to out-of-towners or foreigners traveling the streets of San Francisco or the New York subway.
READ MORE...
WashingtonPost
The Physics of Cycling Makes it Easier to
Stay Upright When You're Going Faster
By Brian Palmer, Oct 01 2012
When learning to ride a bicycle, one must accept on faith this astonishing fact: The faster a bicycle goes, the less likely it is to fall over.
READ MORE...
MedicalXpress
Children's bicycle helmets shown to be effective in impact and crush tests.
October 02 2012
To determine the effectiveness of bicycle helmet use, a research team at the Illinois Neurological Institute and Bradley University tested how well helmets withstood forces of impact and crush tests when covering human cadaver skulls.
READ MORE...
RenewableEnergyWorld
Gardens That Grow Gigawatts
By Elisa Wood, Oct 01 2012
Is it possible to develop large solar projects with households as backers, and do it again and again? That's the idea behind solar gardens or community shared solar, a trend catching fast in the US. READ MORE...
StreetsBlog
Turning Around the Transportation Culture at a School
By Angie Schmitt, Oct 05 2012
Are you ready for some depressing statistics? Only 13 percent of children walk to school today compared with 66 percent in 1970, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Parents driving their kids to school make up 20 to 30 percent of morning traffic in urban areas, according to America Walks. We won't even get into the subject of childhood obesity.
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International (when available)
| TheAtlanticCities
5 Reasons Germans Ride 5 Times More Mass Transit Than Americans by Eric Jaffe, Oct 05 2012
When it comes to car use, there are a number of similarities between Germany and the United States. Both have high levels of vehicle ownership and saw motorization increase during postwar suburbanization. Both have extensive highway networks...Both countries have recently recognized that young people seem to be driving much less than their parents.
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| Sunday's Film (when available)
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StrteetFilms
Vancouver's Velo Vision: Safe Biking for All Ages
By Elizabeth Press, Sep 27 2012 In June, the city of Vancouver hosted the Velo-City Global 2012 Conference, where international cycling planners, professionals and advocates convened.
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Things you need to know along the West Corridor
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AN IMPORTANT NOTICE:
FOR THE WEST CORRIDOR!
>Lakewood, Saturday, October 13th 2012, 10am - 12noon >Clements Community Center, 2nd floor, 1580 Yarrow St. Lakewood, CO 80214 RTD District M Board Member Candidate Forum between Matt Cohen & Natalie Menten
[As a reminder, THE BACK FENCE endorses Board Member Matt Cohen for re-election. It's time to take our region back from the parasites who pretend to care about transit and our society. Show up and show your support for Director Cohen!]. >Lakewood, Every October Wednesday at Noon, 12 noon to 1:15pm. Community Room in the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, Lakewood, Co. 80226. Each October the American Planning Association and the City of Lakewood celebrate National Community Planning Month to show the important role that planning plays in communities across the U.S. National Community Planning Month highlights the contributions of sound planning and also publicly recognizes the participation and dedication of Lakewood residents who have contributed their time and expertise to the improvement of our city. These citizens participate on planning committees, in public hearings and in community meetings to become better educated about issues affecting Lakewood and to voice their opinions and desires for community planning efforts in Lakewood. To learn more click below: Lakewood's Schedule for Community Planning Month
>Lakewood, Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012, 7:30am - 8:30am
Lakewood Ward 2 City Council members Cindy Baroway and Scott Koop will meet with residents and respectful guests at their monthly outreach meeting. The future light rail will traverse the northeastern section of their Ward. 40 West Arts District Office, 1560 Teller St. Lakewood, Co. 80214
>Lakewood, Thursday Oct 11 2012 7pm
Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 920 Kipling St. Lakewood 80215. All are invited. The Lakewood Chapter of the American Association of University Women and Jefferson County League of women voters will cosponsor a forum on the Jefferson County School District mill levy increase (3A) and bond issue (3B) and discuss the pros and cons of both issues.
>Lakewood, Tuesday, Oct 16, 6:30pm - 8pm Cops, Council & Community Forum. The Lakewood Colorado Police Dept will host their quarterly community forum with City Council members Karen Kellen & Ramey Johnson from Ward 1 and Cindy Baroway & Scott Koop from Ward 2. The topic will be code enforcement and animal control.
The forum will be held at the Clements Community Center, 1580 Yarrow St. Lakewood, Co. 80214. The Center is located 0.4 miles or a 2 minute bike ride or 9 minute walk from the future Lakewood-Wadsworth light rail station. >Lakewood, Saturday, Oct 20th, 9am to 10:30am. Lakewood Ward 1 City Council members Karen Kellen and Ramey Johnson will meet with residents and respectful guests at their montly outreach meeting. The future light rail traverses the northern section of their Ward. 40 West Arts District Office, 1560 Teller St. Lakewood, Co. 80214 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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>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
Click on the UNION STATION logo above to RSVP.
>Denver, Wednesday, October 17, 2012 5pm to 6:30pm
RTD Meet & Greet.
Come and meet and greet the RTD candidates and current RTD Board Members.
The Pour House, 1435 Market Street, Denver Co, 80202
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| The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of William A. Spriggs and no one else. |
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