Traffic Violence

• Driver hits and kills woman walking on East Hampden near South Akron (CBS4 and Fox31, which say the driver stayed on scene / Denver Post, which says the vehicle stayed on scene, apparently on its own volition)

Denver and the Metro Area

• Around 1 a.m., Denver City Council votes 11-2 to pass group living amendments to zoning code, which will expand some residents’ access to walking, biking, and transit (Westword, Denverite, Fox31, CBS4, 9News)
  • Sometime around midnight, City Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval said, “I did not run to represent cars, I ran to represent people.”
  • Related: I apologize to my neighbors for my loud cheering around midnight.
• Tonight: Denver launches planning process for 155-acre Park Hill land protected from development (Denver Post)
• Denver wants to reimagine Civic Center — and here’s how to get involved (9News)
• Car-centric “What’s Driving You Crazy” question: Can the far right lane on E. 29th Ave. at Central Park be used as a turn lane? Answer: If you’re on a bike, yes, since that’s a bike lane. (Denver7)
• Repairs to last through April at Aurora’s Nine Mile Park-n-Ride (9News)
• Former Longmont Mayor Julia Pirnack: RTD has betrayed Longmont (Longmont Times-Call)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 11 a.m.: 74 (Moderate). Yesterday’s max: 70 (Moderate).

Centennial State and Beyond

• Bicycle Colorado’s Moving People Forward virtual conference starts today, and you can still register (Bicycle Colorado)
  • Opinion by keynote speaker Dr. Destiny Thomas: Urbanism is Complicit in Infra-Structural Racism — And Reparations Have a Place in the Built Environment (Streetsblog USA)
• Colorado Springs’ most dangerous intersections (KRDO)
• Eagle County: Railroad firm has ’no intention’ to run oil over Tennessee Pass,  will focus on commuter and passenger service (Vail Daily)
• Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus ridership plummeted in 2020 but $19.3M in federal relief anticipated this year (Aspen Times)

From Streetsblog

• Tuesday’s Headlines for the People of Our Nation (Streetsblog USA)
• Hit-and-Runs Against Cyclists Surge During Quarantine (Streetsblog USA)
• Study: Balancing Equity & Density with Scooters (Streetsblog SF)
• Op-Ed: Could Street Parking Technology Help Make Our Cities More Equitable? (Streetsblog USA)
• Lithium Mining and the Hidden Environmental Costs of EVs (Streetsblog USA)

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Denver and the Metro Area

• Denver City Council will vote tonight on a zoning change to allow five unrelated adults in a Denver household (instead of two), which would expand people’s choices for walking, biking, and transit (Denver 7)… and opponents continue to cry “but parking” (Colorado Springs Gazette)
• Denver City Council meetings this week: Mon 5:30 p.m. Full Council Meeting (including group living vote); Tue 9:30 a.m. Mayor-Council; Tue 10:30 a.m. Land Use Transportation Infrastructure Committee; Tue 1:30 p.m. Finance Governance Committee; Wed 10:30 a.m. Safety Housing Education Homelessness Committee; Thu 9:30 a.m. Budget and Policy Committee (Agendas and links to watch)
• RTD launches app that fully integrates regular bus and rail services with FlexRide service (RTD)
• Rail~Volution podcast episode, “Latina Leaders in Transit” features RTD Board Chair Angie Rivera-Malpiede (RTD)
• RTD Board meetings this week: Tue 5:30 p.m. Study Session/Financial Administration & Audit Committee/Operations & Customer Service Committee; Thu 5:30 p.m. Executive Committee (Agendas and links to watch)
• CU on the Air podcast interviews Wes Marshall, CU Denver professor of civil engineering with a joint appointment in urban planning, about what constitutes safe streets and neighborhoods for pedestrians, [people using] wheel chairs, bicyclists, autos and even [people using] scooters; and why the old ways in some ways are way better (CU on the Air)
• Streetlight Data report praises Denver for bicycling gains (Living On Earth)
• WalletHub ranks Denver #9 in 2021 report of Healthiest Cities in America and cites walking and biking (CBS4)
• Yet another drive-up vaccination story with no mention of walking, biking, or transit (CBS4)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 9 a.m.: 54 (Moderate). Yesterday’s max: 53 (Moderate).

Centennial State and Beyond

• Stay-at-home order changed the way Coloradans work. But is it improving emissions? (Colorado Sun)
• Jon Caldara: “to improve our neglected roads we’re supposed to pay off the rail and bike Shiites first” and Bustang is “a gateway drug to build statewide transit” (Colorado Politics, Colorado Springs Gazette)
• COVID In Eagle County: Face Masks Required In Airports, Bus, Rail Stations, Public Transportation (CBS4)
• Railroads changed much more than transportation (Grand Junction Daily Sentinel)
• A Shot in the Arm for Transit (Railway Age)

From Streetsblog

• Monday’s Headlines to Get Back to the Grind (Streetsblog USA)
• Memo to Buttigieg: Fix Our National Traffic Control Standards (Streetsblog USA)
• Opinion: An ‘Active Transportation Administration’? No, Thanks (Streetsblog USA)

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Traffic Violence

• Aurora Police seek the driver of a dark-colored sedan who hit a child walking at Havana Street and East First Avenue last night and then fled the scene (Fox31, 9News, Denver Post)

Denver and the Metro Area

• RTD CEO Debra Johnson talks to Colorado Matters about the challenges ahead for public transit (CPR)
• RTD and 20+ other transit agencies to Congress: We need $39.3 billion in relief to address COVID-19-related deficits and prevent further service cuts and delays to capital projects (Railway Age)
• RTD to fund FasTracks program with Climate Bonds Certified green bonds, which finance projects that promote progress on environmentally sustainable activities that benefit emissions reduction or the fight against climate change (RTD, Colorado Politics)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 9 a.m.: 41 (Good). Yesterday’s max: 45 (Good).

Centennial State

• Colorado State Patrol CSP using public opinion survey to find ways to “save lives on Colorado roads” after 609 people were killed on Colorado roads in 2020 [and we hope one of those ways involves CDOT and safer infrastructure, instead of simply more ticket writing] (Fox31, Colorado State Patrol news release)

From Streetsblog

• Friday’s Headlines to Round Out the Week (Streetsblog USA)
• A Look Back at Bezos’s Dirty Legacy on U.S. Roadways (Streetsblog USA)

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Happy Transit Equity Day!

Denver and the Metro Area

• Hancock: “This city is already built for cars. We need to build other modes of transportation.” (Denver Business Journal)
• Group Living Proposal Would Finally Legalize Communal Homes in Denver… and opposition cries “but parking” (Westword)
• After RTD banned sitting, lying, and eating at Union Station, activists went there to sit, lie and eat (Denverite)
• Neguse urges completion of RTD’s Northwest Rail passenger train service (Longmont Times-Call)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 9 a.m.: 42 (Good). Yesterday’s max: 52 (Moderate).

Centennial State and Beyond

• State lawmakers preview 2021 legislative session proposals, including transportation issues, in meeting with Longmont City Council (Longmont Times-Call)
• More on how Weld County cut fatal vehicle crashes in half in a year with traffic enforcement, but still no racial breakdown on ticket recipients (Fort Collins Coloradoan)

From Streetsblog

• Thursday’s Headlines Across Our Great Big Land (Streetsblog USA)
• Former RTD CEO Phil Washington will leave Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority when his contract expires in May (Streetsblog LA)
• Give Biking, Walking, and Transit a Fair Share of Federal Transportation Funding (Streetsblog CAL)
• Why Buttigieg’s Midwest Roots Might Make Him a Great USDOT Secretary (Streetsblog USA)
• Talking Headways Podcast: COVID-19 on the Streets (Streetsblog USA)

Do you like to write? Would you like to write about a Denver or Colorado mobility issue?

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