|
The "W" Line Opens in:
141 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 Weekly Edition, December 06, 2012. |
|
West Corridor, Denver & Region
|
LongmontTimesCall
RTD Touts New Plan to Fund Some FasTracks Projects
By Monte Whaley, Dec 04 2012
A plan to produce $277 million to fund a portion of the FasTracks commuter project in the northern suburbs is being advanced by transportation planners in hopes of having some pieces close to running in five years.
READ MORE...
TheDenverPost
RTD Looks to Sell Off Property For FasTracks
By Monte Whaley, Dec 04 2012
A nearly 2-acre parcel in Fort Lupton will be sold, with the proceeds going toward a savings account to be used for completion of a portion of the FasTracks mass-transit project.
READ MORE...
East Rail Line Progress - Introduction
Posted by Ryan Mulligan, Nov 30 2012
By Robert Wilson
2013 will be a busy year for RTD's East Rail Line. Since the ground breaking earlier this year, East Rail Line construction has hit the ground running - design details are being finalized and ground has been broken on the future railway. The 22.8-mile corridor will be an essential link between the heart of urban Denver - Denver Union Station - and Denver's gateway to the rest of the world - Denver International Airport. The line is expected to open in 2016; however, the bulk of the actual transit related construction is slated to occur in 2013 and 2014.
READ MORE...
East Rail Line Progress - 38th & Blake Station Area
Post by Ryan Mulligan, Dec 04 2012
By Bob Wilson
Construction crews are working on the rail line's approach to the 38th/Blake Station. The station is the first stop after Denver Union Station is located in the River North neighborhood, colloquially referred to as RiNo. This is also the station where the future Central Corridor Extension will connect with the East Rail Line.
READ MORE...
If you have the time, the link below is a wonderful stroll down the "W" lane memory lane through a photo slide show. Geesch...It just seems like yesterday when the old Interurban tracks were torn up at a ceremony on May 16, 2007. Enjoy. West Rail Line Photo History
|
|
National
|
TransportationIssuesDaily
President Proposes $50 Billion for Infrastructure
By Larry Ehl, Dec 02 2012
President Obama has resurrected his proposal to invest $50 billion in infrastructure and wants it included in the fiscal cliff deal. Republicans were immediately critical of the proposal.
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities
Who Will Keep America From Going Over the Infrastructure Cliff?
By Fawn Johnson, Dec 05 2012
When officials in Denver started drafting a strategic traffic plan a few years back, they concluded that the city no longer had the money to expand its roads to meet the surging demands. They would have to make do with what they had.
READ MORE...
SwitchBoard.nrdc
The Fiscal "Grand Bargain" and the Gas Tax
By Rob Perk, Dec 03 2012
The countdown to the so-called fiscal cliff is on, with President Obama and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle weighing in on the budget negotiations. If a deal gets done, many experts are rightly wondering if a gas tax hike will be part of the grand bargain. The federal gas tax, which is used primarily to build and repair roads, bridges, rail lines and other transportation infrastructure, raises about $32 billion a year.
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities Why the Urban-Rural Voting Divide Matters
By Josh Kron, Nov 30 2012
...The new political divide is a stark division between cities and what remains of the countryside. Not just some cities and some rural areas, either -- virtually every major city... in the United States... has a different outlook from the less populous areas that are closest to it. The difference is no longer about where people live, it's about how people live: in spread-out, open, low-density privacy -- or amid rough-and-tumble, in-your-face population density and diverse communities that enforce a lower-common denominator of tolerance among inhabitants.
GristDotOrg
Will Gen-Y Head For the Suburbs?
By Susie Cagle, Dec 04 2012
The millennial generation stands to shape our cities for decades to come, largely because it's so big: 86 million, compared to 77 million baby boomers. Millennials are just starting to turn 30, and middle-aged demographers are wondering how many of them will run to the suburbs like their parents and grandparents before them.
READ MORE...
Politico Some Say Add Fee to Energy Production By Kathryn A. Wolfe, Nov 28 2012 With pencils being sharpened on a debt deal, all eyes are on the gas tax as a possible savior for transportation spending. But another option that may cause lawmakers less heartburn is being obscured by the gas tax dust: linking energy production with infrastructure spending.
TheAtlanticCities How Our Current Tax System Is Failing Cities
by Michael A. Pagano, Dec 04 2012
In a nation with more than 19,492 incorporated municipalities, all with varying degrees of autonomy and authority when it comes to designing their fiscal systems, policymakers have fabricated a crazy quilt of local revenue.
READ MORE...
TheNewYorkTimes Solar Industry Borrows a Page, and a Party, From Tupperware
By Diane Cardwell, Nov 30 2012 The neighbors had gathered on the patio of a sun-baked ranch here, eager to hear the party's hosts talk about their products and how they could enhance their lives. But in place of the timeworn arrangement of plastic storage containers or cosmetics on the coffee table, the couple was showing off an array of a different sort: the 32 solar panels on the roof.
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities
Cyclists and Pedestrians Can End Up Spending More Each Month Than Drivers
By Emily Badger, Dec 05 2012
Kelly Clifton has heard this stereotype a number of times: "Cyclists are just a bunch of kids who don't have any money," says the professor of civil and environmental engineering at Portland State University. "They ride their bikes to a coffee shop, they sit there for four hours with their Macintoshes, they're not really spending any money."
READ MORE...
GristDotOrg Fracking Threatens Farms and Food Safety
By Susie Cagle, Nov 29 2012
Some of our most fertile land for growing food also happens to be fertile land for blasting out tons of shale gas. You might guess who's already winning this battle.
READ MORE...
NavyTimes
Senate OKs Pentagon Green Energy Investment
By Donna Cassata, Nov 28 2012
The Senate on Wednesday gave the green light to the Pentagon's investment in green energy.
READ MORE...
GristDotOrg
How Cities Can Lead the Climate Fight: Introducing Alex Steffen's 'Climate Zero'
By Scott Rosenberg, Nov 28 2012
It's not every day that the author of a new book - a sharp perspective on a topic that's central to your work - approaches you and proposes that you make the entire thing available on your website. Usually, authors are more ... parsimonious with their work...
READ MORE...
CitiWire Sketching the Map of the 'Walkable City' Neal Peirce, Dec 02 2012 Jeff Speck's new book, Walkable City, starts with a chilling quote as he laments the fate of the many American cities plagued by "fattened roads, emaciated sidewalks, deleted trees, fry-pit drive-thrus, and 10-acre parking lots."
READ MORE...
USAToday Bicycle Traffic Signals Get a Green Light By Tracy Lowe & E.S. Perez, Dec 02 2012 Bicycle-shaped signals, which are common overseas, now used in at least 16 U.S. cities.
USNews Three Ways We Can Move Housing Policy Forward By Jeffrey Lubell, Dec 03 2012 Even after a historic boom and bust, it's clear that housing plays a critical role in the well-being of families, communities, and the nation as a whole. So why didn't we hear more about housing during the presidential campaign?
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities The Rise of 'Urban Ecology' By Eric Jaffe, Nov 30 2012 Urbanization brings with it all sorts of effects on human behavior, but sometimes lost in the mix are the corresponding effects on plant and animal life. Understanding this ecological impact will become increasingly important as cities expand their environmental footprint and implement policies to address climate change. To date, however, the field of "urban ecology" has remained relatively quiet.
READ MORE...
GristDotOrg
The Blue Book on Bikes: Everything You Need to Know and Then Some
By Daniel Penner, Dec 04 2012
At some point in your life, I bet you've looked at yourself in the mirror and said, "Hey, I should take up biking. It seems so fun and cool and dammit, I bet the exercise'd be good for me."
READ MORE... TheNewYorkTimes Rail Plan Stirs Distrust Among Black Angelenos. By Ian Lovett, Nov 28 2012 "When it comes to requests from South L.A., the answer is always no, we can't afford it. And, conversely, when it comes to the West Side, the answer is always yes, because they're so politically empowered and so wealthy."
READ MORE... |
|
International (when available)
|
TheConversation.edu.au
For a Truly Sustainable World, we Need Zero Waste Cities
By Steffen Lehman, Nov 03 2012
The current state of worldwide urban development is depressing. We are not moving towards environmentally sustainable design and reduced consumption quickly enough.
[Below: Some good tips from the UK's top female cycling blog].
Cycletta.co.uk
Our 10 Top Tips for Riding in Winter
Mornings get frosty and evenings are dark, so what can we do to stay safe and stay warm? As always, Cycletta has the answers and here are some top tips to keep you on your bike during winter.
READ MORE...
|
|
Wednesday's Film (when available)
| |
Icy Bike Winter Commuting Challenge
By Chain Ring Films, Dec 2012
Icy Bike Winter Commuting Challenge is not designed to be a competition... more, a challenge to those willing to put on some gloves and shoe covers, get out there to show what you're made of and keep the pedals turning through the winter.
 | | Icy Bike Winter Commuting Challenge |
|
 |
Things you need to know along the West Corridor
|
[Note to below: I'm enclosing the full text of one section from the recent Friday Report from the City of Lakewood because it involves an important built environment connectivity change along the West Corridor adjacent to the West Rail Line.]
Preparing for a roundabout
The City received funding, including a $1 million grant from the state, to build a roundabout at the intersection of Lamar Street and West 14th Avenue and to add a section of sidewalk and bicycle lanes. The work will improve safety at the intersection and provide better access for pedestrians and bicyclists to the upcoming Lamar Station for the West Rail Line. This intersection has an unusually high rate of accidents, and they are some of the most dangerous kind, which are collisions at a right angle. The roundabout will eliminate these kinds of accidents and slow vehicles in the intersection. Properly designing the improvements to match the surrounding area will require collecting land survey information along 14th for 400 feet east and west of Lamar and along Lamar for 400 feet north of 14th to south of West 13th Avenue. The City needs residents' help by allowing surveyors to collect information on their property. Residents with concerns can contact Ken Nyhoff, Lakewood's engineer for the project, at (303) 987-7939/kennyh@lakewood.orgAdded Information. See the short video below
How to use a roundabout Michagan DOT Aug 10 2011  | |
How to use a roundabout
|
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.
|
|
Commercial Real Estate Assemblages, Land or Buildings Available on The West Corridor
Please note: TBF does not
own or sell any real property.
Prices displayed may not be correct.
| |
>4917 West 11th Ave Assemblage [sold]
Sold, See Press Release
>10th Avenue Light Rail Assemblage
>1010 Sheridan Blvd TOD Site
>5310 West 10th Ave TOD opportunity
>13th Ave & Newland, Ideal TOD property
>5830 West Colfax Ave
>1025 Ammons Complex
>6990 West Colfax Ave Pad Site
THE BACK FENCE supports a corridor wide, regional vision, with individual nodes of unique "places" within that corridor. We hope that the listing of commercial properties available will help to speed this vision to fruition sooner. Learn more about this vision below from the Center for Transit-Oriented Development.
West Corridor Vision
|
| |
Residential Real Estate Agents
who get the "big picture" of
transit-oriented living of
walkable, sustainable
neighborhoods.
JIM SMITH REALTOR, GOLDEN
|
|
|
Things You Need to Know Around the Region
|
|
|
|
|
|
