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Cold temperatures got you down? Can't wait for decent temperatures to tempt you to get on your bike and get out there? Well, we may not be quite there yet, but maybe if you think about this -- it will help!
In just 38 days the Colorado Rockies will hold their first spring training game with The Arizona Diamondbacks,
Feb 23rd at Salt River Fields Stadium, Scottsdale, Az.
Click here for tickets. , and if you're like me and can't afford to go, then we'll just have to get our gear ready and think warm thoughts.
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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:
99 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 the Weekly Edition, January 17, 2013. |
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West Corridor, Denver & Region
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BizJournals/Denver
Old St. Anthony Central Hospital Site Sold By Dennis Huspeni, Jan 15 2013
EFG Brownfield Partners LLC has purchased the 19-acre site of the old St. Anthony Central Hospital in northwest Denver, paving the way for demolition of the hospital and new development.
[Note to above: As I look into my crystal ball, I can see the high-quality, high-density condos rising through the mist just south of Sloan's Lake - the future development is located 0.6 miles from the West Rail Line's Perry Street Station at 1199 Perry St. -- an 11 minute walk, or 4 minute bicycle ride. From the Sheridan Street Station, the site is located 1.1 miles, or a 22 minute walk & 7 minute bicycle ride].
DenverInfill... A 2012 Retrospective
By Ken Schroeppel, Jan 14 2013
It's that time of year again! Let's take a look back at 2012 and reflect upon our accomplishments during the year in making Denver's urban core the best it can be...The intensity with which private-sector investment in central Denver came roaring back in 2012 was amazing....OK, let's say it: The boom is back!
READ MORE... [Note to above: We have to understand that if downtown Denver is booming big time, it's a mathematical inevitability that a certain percentage will drift westward along the West Corridor's West Rail Line. Stay tuned].
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GoverningDotCom
U.S. Needs to Invest $1 Trillion More in Infrastructure
By Ryan Holeywell, Jan 16 2013
At a time when governments across the country continue to struggle to fund transportation and infrastructure, a new study warns that the country's inadequate spending in that area will have damaging economic impacts for businesses and residents over the coming decades.
TheHill Transit Group: Large Majorities Support Public Transportation By Keith Laing, Jan 14 2013 More than three-fourths of Americans support increasing funding for public transportation systems, the American Public Transportation Association said Monday.
READ MORE...
DC.StreetsBlog
GAO: Mileage Fee Could Be More "Equitable and Efficient" Than Gas Tax
By Tanya Snyder, Jan 14 2013
While governors debate raising (or eliminating) their states' gas taxes, buzz is building about mileage-based fees, or a vehicle-miles-traveled charge...And a new report from the Government Accountability Office says that would be a good idea.
READ MORE...
Xfinity.Comcast/finance
Infrastructure Woes Could Cost 3.5 Million Jobs by 2020: Report
By Doug Palmer, Jan 15 2013
Imagine a future of broken bridges, roads, sewer systems, power grids, airports and not enough money to fix them or to build new ones to serve an expanding population. What would that cost the United States in terms of lost jobs?
READ MORE...
TheNewYorkTimes
2 Makers Press the Case for Electric Cars By Bill Vlasic, Jan 15 2013
The greenest cars on the market - electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids - have attracted very few buyers so far.
TheAtlanticCities
Would More Drivers Use Mass Transit if It Mimicked Private Cars?
Emily Badger, Jan 15 2013
Personal Rapid Transit is probably best described as a hybrid between the private car and public transit, with some more familiar elements of the taxi and elevator thrown in...Engineers and researchers have been fantasizing for several decades now about the concept, which would personalize public transit in small vehicles - perhaps running on or hanging from an elevated track - that would transport you straight to your destination without any of the stops and delays of a bus route, or without the cost of a taxi ride.
READ MORE...
GristDotOrg
A new Grand Strategy for the U.S., Built Around Sustainability
By David Roberts, Jan 11 2013
Let's just accept it: America's current political and economic systems are incapable of responding adequately to climate change. As things stand, reducing carbon emissions - or more broadly, shifting to sustainability - is a kind of add-on, a second-tier consideration, bolted onto systems and institutions that were built for other purposes. READ MORE...
InternationalBusinessTimes
Discount Bus Lines...Are 'Building Empires' Across America As Intercity Travel Booms.
by Mark Johanson, Jan 12 2013
As massive train-building schemes take shape across the globe, a different mode of transportation that's neither flashy nor particularly fast is booming in the United States: intercity buses.
READ MORE...TheAtlanticCities
Does Human Capital Tend to Cluster in Center Cities or the Suburbs? By Richard Florida, Jan 14 2013
It's now conventional wisdom that human capital (what economists call educated people) is a key factor in the growth of cities and metro regions. Cities are engines of economic development, and the skilled people are the high-powered fuel that drives them. READ MORE...
GristDotOrg
Climate Change Set to Make America Hotter, Drier, and More Disaster-Prone
By Suzanne Goldenberg, Jan 11 2013
Future generations of Americans can expect to spend 25 days a year sweltering in temperatures above 100 degrees F (38 degrees C), with climate change on course to turn the country into a hotter, drier, and more disaster-prone place.
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities
How Economic Segregation Spreads Crime Like a Virus
By John Roman, Jan 11 2013
In my last blog post, I wrote about how much we may be able to learn about effective crime prevention by comparing experiences across cities. The following week, I had a fascinating exchange with Richard Florida about which elements of city life are most important in preventing crime.
READ MORE...
GristDotOrg
Ask Umbra: Can I Have a Kid and be Car-Free?
By Ask Umbra, Jan 14 2013
Q. Dear Umbra...My husband and I are extremely lucky to live in a walkable neighborhood with necessities nearby - supermarket, library, bilingual preschool, and I can bike/bus to work...Is it better to leave a smaller carbon footprint and make a moral statement my son might be proud of one day, or to have additional experiences with him/relationships with kids and moms across town that I will treasure until we all go up in flames?
READ MORE...
GristDotOrg
Sustainable Communities Give Glenn Beck Nightmares
By Susie Cagle, Jan 15 2013
Beck is currently stirring up fear/promoting his new Agenda 21 novel, which imagines a future where only one young couple can save America from a violent and tyrannical government that promotes things like social justice and greenways, the horror.
READ MORE...
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International (when available)
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TheNewYorkTimes
On Scale of 0 to 500, Beijing's Air Quality Tops 'Crazy Bad' at 755 One Friday more than two years ago, an air-quality monitoring device atop the United States Embassy in Beijing recorded data so horrifying that someone in the embassy called the level of pollution "Crazy Bad" in an infamous Twitter post. That day the Air Quality Index, which uses standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, had crept above 500, which was supposed to be the top of the scale.
READ MORE...
TheNewYorkTimes
'Mexsicko City' Turns a Corner in Its Clean Air Marathon
By David Agren, Jan 11 2013
This megacity of more than 20 million rang in the New Year with a pleasant revelation: the region registered 248 days in 2012 in which the air quality considered good.
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities
What We Can Learn From the Largest Gathering in Human History By Logan Plaster, Jan 14 2013
This week, the city of Allahabad in northern India kicks off the Kumbh Mela, a 48-day Hindu festival that is expected to be the largest human gathering in history. In addition to the more-than 30 million pilgrims descending upon the flood plain of the Yamuna and Ganges rivers, the Kumbh will host a team of Harvard researchers in what is likely the school's more inter-disciplinary project ever READ MORE...
DC.StreetsBlog
Will Driverless Cars Add Another Color to Australia's Heat Maps?
By Tanya Snyder, Jan 10 2013
Here's the big news of the day: Autonomous cars are making a big splash at the Consumer Electronics Show right now. Audi is testing its self-driving cars on Nevada roads. Google's already done it in California. Toyota and Lexus are getting ready too. READ MORE...
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Weekly Film (when available)
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[Note to below: You may want to view this video as it has information about "smart card" usage].
KWGN TV
Light Rail Service to, From Golden Scheduled to Begin in April By Will Holden, Jan 10 2013
RTD will be rolling out its new light rail service to and from Golden in 2013. At the moment, the route is scheduled to begin service on April 26. The trip is expected to last 35 minutes. In the video above our Jacki Jing provides a sneak peek at the new route, along with more information about the new smart cards that RTD pass holders will have to acquire by the end of January.
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Things you need to know along the West Corridor
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RTD US 6th Ave Bridge Lighting Ceremony!
January 23rd, 6pm -7pm
In the parking lot of:
Lakewood Fordland
11595 West 6th Ave 80215
(NE corner of US 6th Ave and Simms St)
On January 23, 2013, RTD will host a ceremonial lighting of the 6th Avenue Bridge. Join them for this exciting event as the switch is pulled and the bridge is illuminated for the first time. The ceremony marks the end of construction activities and signifies the start of testing and countdown to the Grand Opening on April 26, 2013.
From RTD's online newsletter send on Jan 16, 2013
West Rail Line Bicycle Lockers
The West Rail Line is set to open April 26, 2013 and bicycle lockers will be available for lease at the following new stations: Decatur-Federal, Sheridan, Lakewood-Wadsworth, Oak, and Jeffco-Golden. You can put your name on the waiting list for a locker at one of these locations by calling the Civic Center Station customer service desk at 303-299-2288. Lockers are currently available with no waiting at the existing Federal Center Station. Bicycle lockers cost $30 for a six-month renewable lease with a one-time padlock fee of $20. An RTD-issued padlock must be used on these bike lockers. First time renters will need to turn in a lease agreement in person at the Boulder Transit Center, Civic Center Station, or Market Street Station. Lease agreements are available at each of these customer service locations.
[Note to below: I'm enclosing the full text of one section from a 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
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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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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.
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>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
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Residential Real Estate Agents
who get the "big picture" of
transit-oriented living of
walkable, sustainable
neighborhoods.
JIM SMITH REALTOR, GOLDEN
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Things You Need to Know Around the Region
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The Transit Alliance Citizens' Academy is now Accepting Applications for the Spring 2013 Class!
Please note that the Academy application process is competitive as they only have 50 slots available and usually have 100 applicants or more. Please be sure to answer all questions thoughtfully and thoroughly as the selection committee selects participants primarily upon application responses. The Spring 2013 Citizens' Academy will be held on Wednesday evenings for seven weeks beginning on March 6th and ending on April 17th. Classes will be held at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM each week.
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| The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of William A. Spriggs and no one else. |
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