RTD

Mayor Michael Hancock has been quick to tout Denver’s status as a post-recession boom town, but not so quick to use the city’s bulging purse to fund transit and active transportation. That should change, if elected officials follow through on their recently announced budget priorities. According to the City Council’s budget priorities, “transit infrastructure and safety” top the list. The City … Continued

Denver’s transit network is growing, but no government body has taken responsibility for improving access to train stations and bus stops — not RTD, not Denver Public Works, not the Colorado Department of Transportation, not Denver’s elected officials. It’s the city’s low-income residents who bear the brunt of this failure. Those are the findings from a report released today by the transit advocates at Mile … Continued

The tiny smart cars in Car2Go’s fleet sit unused much longer in neighborhoods outside of Denver’s urban core than inside it, so the car-share company will shrink its “home area” —  the places where car2go drivers can pick up and drop off the vehicles — to exclude neighborhoods like Athmar Park, Wash Park, and Park Hill. The change begins September 14. … Continued

It’s been about seven years since RTD set out to provide its passengers with what the agency calls a smart card — a modern, streamlined way to pay for transit. At least the idea was modern in 2008, when the strange, long trip began. It’s 2015 and Denver transit riders still can’t add, store, and spend money for fares … Continued

West Colfax Avenue suffers from an identity crisis. It was designed to move motor vehicles in and out of the city as fast as possible, but it’s also a neighborhood street where bus riders, families, and shoppers abound. The result is a thoroughfare that caters to motorists, but not to the people who actually live, work, and walk there. … Continued

Casa Bonita Station? The Colorado Rapids Line? These names are completely speculative, but maybe not far from reality if RTD gets its way. The transit agency is trying to lure corporate sponsors to buy naming rights as it prepares to open four new rail lines next year. Each sponsorship could haul in as much as $1 million a … Continued

The Aurora Sentinel published an editorial yesterday that missed the point on parking rates at RTD stations. The Sentinel claimed that charging $3 to park at Iliff Station will make transit inaccessible to lower income residents, which in turn will diminish ridership: Redrawn zones mean that if you board Aurora’s R Line at the Iliff station, a … Continued

For the most part, Regional Transportation District’s board members are politicians, not transportation planners. And when they have to make important decisions about transit, it shows. Those decisions aren’t always based on what’s best for transit riders or the region. The RTD Board’s leadership has produced a system where rail lines cater to suburbanites and exurbanites more than Denver residents. But when it comes … Continued

The Denver Post published a story today by Megan Mitchell that depicts an uprising of sorts against smart street design near the Iliff Avenue Rail Station, which will open next year. Some residents, including Albert Melcher, president of the local neighborhood association, want to nix a planned bike lane and widen a nearby street to handle traffic from the … Continued