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The "W" Line Opens in:
71 Days.
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Important:
The date of the first BIKE EIBER meeting has been moved from
Wednesday, Feb 20th to Wednesday, Feb 27th at 6:00pm
The meeting will be held at the residence of Mr. Tom Slabe, 8860 West 13th Ave, Lakewood, Colorado, 80215
RSVP to:
BikeEiber@comcast.net
if you plan to attend
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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, February 14, 2013. |
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West Corridor, Denver & Region
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Catch the Elusive W Train
Regular subscribers of TBF know that RTD is holding a photo contest to catch their test trains on the W Rail Line. Well, now RTD has just provided an interactive Google map with the most photogenic locales to "catch the trains." If your photo is selected, you'll get a VIP pass to ride the W before the line is officially open.
MayorOfGoldenColorado1.Blogspot
MultiModal Golden: Light Rail, Pedestrian Bridge & Clear Creek Management
The train is coming down the track. The "W Rail" will connect Golden with Lakewood, Denver and beyond, easing traffic congestion and reducing air pollution.
StreetsBlog
Aspen, Colorado, to Vote on "Idaho Stop" By Angie Schmitt, Feb 07 2013
Almost exactly 30 years ago, the state of Idaho enacted a traffic rule that would come to be known nationally as the "Idaho Stop," allowing cyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs. In three decades as the law of the land, the Idaho Stop has a fine safety record. READ MORE...
TheNewYorkTimes
In the Rockies, Growing Support for Renewables
By Nate Schweber, Feb 08 2013
A new poll tracking the conservation attitudes of residents of the six Rocky Mountain States shows that support is strong for greater protection of public lands and investment in renewable energy. It also offers some clues to why public policy does not dovetail with public opinion in those areas. READ MORE... |
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National
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GristDotOrg
Obama: If Congress Won't Act on Climate Change, I Will By Lisa Hymas, Feb 13 2013
Obama threw the climatespotters a bone in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. Multiple bones, even.
TransportationIssuesDaily
Reform - Don't Devolve - Federal Role in Transportation By Larry Ehl, Feb 12 2013
Everyone wants to change the federal government's role in transportation, and can be grouped into two categories: devolutionists and reformers. Fiscal pressures along with a lack of focus since the interstate highway system was completed drives both groups.
Blog.WalkScore
Top 10 Health Benefits of Walking By Jocelyn Milici Ceder, Feb 11 2013
Sitting is the smoking of our generation, according to a Harvard Business Review article. Walking is the answer. A mountain of research brings this fact to light. Walking is a free, easy, low-impact way to combat adverse health effects of prolonged sitting, and so many other health ills. You don't have to train for a marathon to combat unhealthy impacts of sitting. Just walk. It's good for the body and mind.
TheAtlanticCities
Why We Need More Research Into Cycling and Brain Science By Sarah Goodyear, Feb 07 2013
My story earlier this week about the effects of bicycling and walking to school for kids got this response from @Kyle_Moler on Twitter: "Biking to school helps kids concentrate. I think it also helps big kids who bike to work too." "I'd I'd say the same thing about grownups," tweeted @debgreenspan. "When I don't #bike to work I'm a mess." READ MORE...
Blog.WalkScore
Walkscore Ranking of the Top 10 Car Share Cities By Jocelyn Milici Cender
A transportation shift is happening across America. Gas prices continue to rise. Car sales are down. Driver's license ownership is declining. Car share use is up. And millennials, the largest demographic since baby boomers, are moving this trend forward across America.
Slate
The Myth of "Saudi America" By R. T. Pierrehumbert, Feb 06 2013
...but for me some of the most thought-provoking news came in a prestigious all-Union session with the rather dry heading "Fossil Fuel Production, Economic Growth, and Climate Change." This session dealt, in a hard-headed, geological, show-me-the-numbers way, with the claim that we are at the brink of a new era of oil and natural gas abundance.
READ MORE...TheAtlanticCities
If You Build Bike Share, Riders Will Come By Eric Jaffe, Feb 12 2013
The health benefits of riding a bike are obvious, and they seem to outweigh the risks of other city hazards - collisions, pollution, biased newspaper editorials, etc. Recent data models on cycling in the Netherlands and Barcelona concluded that the upside of physical activity was much larger than the combined downsides of traffic accidents and inhaling toxins. So in addition to improving a city transportation system, bike riding might elevate public health.
TheAtlanticCities
How to Build a Better Bike Lane (and Get More People Out on Bikes)
By Sarah Goodyear, Feb 12 2013
It's not just a bunch of "bike nuts" who see the benefits of building better bike lanes.
READ MORE...
GristDotOrg
Bike Sharing Goes Big - but Can it Get Over its Little Helmet Problem? By Daniel Penner, Feb 07 2013 Seattle crunches quite a bit of granola, hugs more than its allotted trees, and has the second highest bike commute rate for U.S cities. But, as of yet, it has no bicycle sharing system - which is what all the cool, sustainable cities are doing. (I see you, Tulsa.) READ MORE...
DC.StreetsBlog
Chattanooga Bike-Share: Lessons for Smaller Cities
By Angie Schmitt, Feb 11 2013
Chattanooga, Tennessee, was, in a lot of ways, not an ideal city for bike-sharing. It's a somewhat sprawling city, without a strong culture of cycling and walking. In addition, only a small percentage of area residents use transit to get around, so not many are leaving the car in the garage.
READ MORE...
GristDotOrg
Friends With Benefits: New tool Uses Facebook to Speed up Sharing By Claire Thompson, Feb 12 2013
The interwebs these days are packed with sites designed to help you get rid of your old couch, offload that pile of scrap lumber from the garage, and otherwise share your stuff with everyone else on the planet. Mr. Rogers would be proud. But do we really need another "sharing" tool?
TheAtlanticCities
What the Urban Coyote Can Teach Us About Nature in Cities By Charles R. Wolfe, Feb 12 2013
Successful integration of nature and the city is a hallmark of sustainability. Sometimes it occurs without effort or provocation, while other times it results from projects or plans. In both instances, the natural and artificial merge, morph and redefine urban reality going forward.
DC.StreetsBlog
Designing Communities for Longevity: The Blue Zones Project
By Angie Schmitt, Feb 08 2013
Is your neighborhood designed to make people healthy or sick? With the right characteristics, the place where you live could add years to your life.
READ MORE.,.
TheAtlanticCities
What Makes Urban Charter Schools Effective?
By Eric Jaffe, Jan 07 2013
Last month Technology Review profiled M.I.T. economist Josh Angrist, who's known for conducting "natural experiments." That's an academic way of describing research that occurs through observing the world, as opposing to being controlled in a lab. From his morning commute in Cambridge (via bike) to his interest in urban charter schools (analyzing their effectiveness), it's clear that Angrist's powers of observation are largely focused on cities
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities
10 Ways to Improve High-Density Cities By Kaid Benfield, Feb 13 2013
Getting the right city density - generally expressed in the US as people per square mile or homes per acre - to support sustainable and pleasant living is one of the trickiest problems we face as we address the future of our communities.
Time/Business
Why Parking in Cities Should Be Way More Expensive
By Brad Tuttle, Feb 08 2013
Here's an idea that'll probably be about as popular with drivers as 20 blocks of gridlock traffic.
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International
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GristDotOrg
Germany Has More Solar Power Because Everyone Wins By John Farrell, Feb 09 2013
The real reason Germany dominates in solar (and wind) is its commitment to democratizing energy.
READ MORE...
TheAtlanticCities
China Expert: China Is Fast Approaching Urban Disaster
By Debra Bruno, Feb 08 2013
It's the biggest migration in human history: China's population is moving to cities so fast that by 2030, roughly one in eight people on this earth will be a resident of a Chinese city...What this is actually doing is creating a huge urban underclass of people who can't function in the society.
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Weekly Film (If available)
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YouTube
God Created Transit" - Official NextCity.org Super Bowl Commercial
By NextCityVideo, Feb 05 2013
Next City is a non-profit organization and online media publication dedicated to connecting cities and informing the people who work to improve them. In response to the Ram "Farmer" commercial which premiered during the NFL Super Bowl XLVII.
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Things you need to know along the West Corridor
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>Lakewood, Saturday, February 16 2013, 9am to 1030am?,
Lakewood City Council members, Ward 1, Karen Kellen and Ramey Johnson, will meet with residents and considerate guests at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the 40 West Arts District, 1560 Teller St.
 | RTD's FasTracks Freddy is ready to Par-Tee for the W Rail Line's
Opening Day
Click on his logo to learn more!!!
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[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 St. Complex - Sold
>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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National Adaptation Forum
Action Today for a Better Tomorrow
Denver Marriott City Center, Denver Colorado, April 2-4 2013
You are invited to be a part of the Inaugural National Adaptation Forum: Action today for a better tomorrow. Please join us as we kick-off the inaugural convening of adaptation practitioners and experts from around the country focused on moving from adaptation planning to adaptation action.
What is the National Adaptation Forum?
The National Adaptation Forum is a national event on climate change adaptation at which the latest scientific knowledge about climate adaptation and state-of-the-art practices will be presented. It combines professional development training, individual presentation, peer networking, and working group innovation opportunities, in order to create the most productive event possible in three days!
Click Here to Learn More & Register
Colorado Foundation for Water Education - 2013 Tours!
CFWE hosts tours of Colorado's agriculture, river restoration and much more! Save the date for this upcoming tour - registration will be available two months before tour date. To be placed on a priority list, send your interest to Kristin Maharg at kristin@yourwatercolorado.org to be notified as soon as registration becomes available.
May 2 and 16: Explore how waterways are managed, restored and protected on an Urban Waters Bike Tour in Denver.
For more information: Click Here
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