transit-oriented development

When older people can easily reach important places like the doctor's office or the grocery store without a car, they're more mobile and independent. "Transit oriented development" -- walkable, compact homes and businesses clustered together near high-quality rail and bus service can offer that independence.

Just as the streetcar lines shaped neighborhood development in the first part of the 20th century, automobiles shaped the city in the second. But while streetcars encouraged close-knit, walkable places, cars encouraged sprawling, drivable development.

If the people running these localities don't embrace new people, there's good reason to believe that low suburban ridership will stay low, because the people running these localities don't seem to want new people moving in.

Housing is in short supply in Denver, and that applies to the areas near transit stations, where people are willing to pay a premium. Will the new transit-oriented development at 48th and Race be affordable to Denverites on the lower half of the income spectrum?

The two RTD stations are along the E, F, and H lines and combine for more than 9,000 trips per day. But ridership could be much higher if the stations were accessible.

Only 8 percent of Denverites live within a half-mile of a rail station -- about a 10-minute walk -- "despite growth in rail transit in Denver over the last 15 years."

It makes a lot of sense to build walkable development around transit stations. Otherwise, few people will be able to live near transit, and you’ll never have a transit system that enables people to get to work or do their shopping without a car. But as the convenience of good transit access becomes more highly valued, how do you … Continued

There are two Denvers, Mile High Connects Executive Director Dace West said Tuesday: The one portrayed in the media as the best place to live, and the one that’s now too expensive for longtime residents to afford. West spoke during the transit advocacy group’s “regional call to action to address our gentrification and displacement crisis.” … Continued

On Wednesday the Denver Planning Board approved a plan to transform the area around Broadway and I-25 Station so people can get to the station safely and conveniently without driving. Under the plan, a new mixed-use neighborhood would rise around the station. Instead of a park-and-ride surrounded by car-first streets, Broadway and I-25 Station would be accessible via new pedestrian and … Continued