Denver and the Metro Area

• RTD board to hold Feb. 9 special study session on Northwest Rail project (Boulder Daily Camera, RTD board meeting agendas)
• Fitch Rates RTD FasTracks Bonds ‘AA’; Outlook Negative – and lists factors that could lead to positive rating action/upgrade (Fitch)
• More on the new RTD rules for Union Station bus depot (CBS4)
• Getting There Guide app helps Denver metro area seniors and others find transportation to appointments, grocery stores, and more… which is good since news coverage of big vaccination events isn’t (9News)
  • Here’s yet another news story that does not mention people walking, biking, or riding public transit to this weekend’s National Jewish drive-up parking lot COVID vaccination event (CBS4)
  • Same thing, just with UCHealth at Coors Field (CBS4, CPR, Fox31, 9News)
• The Infamous Brown Cloud Visible To Many In Denver On Thursday (CBS4)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 10 a.m.: 89 (Moderate). Yesterday’s max: 80 (Moderate).

Centennial State

• Colorado Speed Limits Too High for Safety, AAA Colorado Study Shows (Westword, AAA Colorado)

From Streetsblog

• Thursday’s Headlines with a Side of Biden (Streetsblog USA)

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Denver and the Metro Area

• RTD announces new rules for Union Station bus depot after ‘problematic and unsafe behavior’ (Denverite, Colorado Politics)
• RTD Revamps Hiring Policy After Settling Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination (CPR, Denver7)
• National Jewish to vaccinate 1,000 people 70 and older this Saturday in a drive-up parking lot event… and here’s yet another news story that doesn’t mention people walking, biking, or riding public transit (9News)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 9 a.m.: 56 (Moderate). Yesterday’s max: 59 (Moderate).

Centennial State

• Business coalition A Way Forward – which includes Freedom to Drive but no transit, biking, or walking advocates or even burgeoning multimodal safety advocate AAA Colorado – seeks to untie knot of road funding and the governor is on board (Colorado Politics, Western Slope Now)
• El Paso County led Colorado in traffic deaths (84) and speeding tickets in 2020, state agencies say (Colorado Springs Gazette)
• How High Speeds Turned Colorado Highways Into the Autobahn… and increased fatalities (Westword)
• Exploring The Concept Of ‘Bluelining’ In Police Response (CPR)

From Streetsblog

• Wednesday’s Headlines as We Face Midweek (Streetsblog USA)
• Can An Automaker Help Your City Design a Better Intersection? (Streetsblog USA)

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Denver and the Metro Area

• Mayor Hancock and Councilwoman Sandoval (District 1) host virtual Cabinet in the Community for northwest Denver residents tonight at 6 p.m. (Zoom registration, Facebook, Colorado Politics)
• In Denver, getting the coronavirus vaccine may depend on where you live and your access to transportation (Colorado Sun)
• Another story on the UCHealth Coors Field vaccination drive-through event this weekend that doesn’t mention people walking, biking, or riding public transit (CBS4)
• As Polis pushes, RTD leaders want dialogue on long-delayed Longmont train (9News)
• The RTD Board of Directors meets tonight at 5:30 p.m. (Agenda with dial-in number and briefing from CEO Debra Johnson)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 11 a.m.: 53 (Moderate). Yesterday’s max: 66 (Moderate).

Centennial State

• CDOT: “The biggest thing we can’t mitigate isn’t nature, it’s driver behavior” (KRDO)
• Colorado driver’s license art contest includes serene mountainscapes instead of harrowing streetscapes (CBS4)
• Fort Collins: Plan for former Hughes Stadium property addresses equity in housing, transportation, child care, and health – including a transit center! (CSU)

From Streetsblog

• Tuesday’s Headlines Because You’re on a Roll (Streetsblog USA)
• What the History of Autonomous Vehicles Can Teach About Our Transportation Future (Streetsblog USA)

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Traffic Violence

• Family and friends gathered for candlelight memorial to honor hit-and-run victim Chris Baker, who was walking at 70th and Federal on January 19 when a driver hit him and fled (Denver7, Fox31)
• ROAD AWAKENING: Crashes and road fatalities soar during pandemic when fewer people are commuting, and car-centric street design that inspires speed is the primary culprit (Aurora Sentinel)

Denver and the Metro Area

• UCHealth planning to vaccinate 10,000 people age 70+ (with appointments) in their cars at Coors Field this weekend — and none of these stories mention people walking, riding bikes, or using transit (Denver Post, CBS4, Denver7, Fox31)
• A history of West Colfax area dirt roads, paving, curbs, and gutters told by 96-year-old westsider Nettie Moore (Denverite)
• The City an County of Denver is working on a pilot program that will bring bus shuttle service to Montbello, and this survey closes on Sunday (English survey and Spanish survey)
• Denver City Council meetings this week: Monday 5:30 p.m. full Council; Tuesday 9:30 a.m. Mayor-Council; Tuesday 10:30 a.m. Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure Committee; Wednesday 10:30 a.m. Safety, Housing, Education & Homelessness Committee; (Schedule, agendas, and links to watch)
• Polis ‘Extremely Concerned’ By RTD Leader’s Questioning Of Boulder Train (CPR, CBS4, Longmont Times-Call, Colorado Politics)
• The RTD Board of Directors meets tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. (Agenda with dial-in number and briefing from CEO Debra Johnson)
• Boulder Community Editorial Board: Future of transit (Boulder Daily Camera)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 9 a.m.: 66 (Moderate). Yesterday’s max: 61 (Moderate).

Centennial State

• State outlines equitable vaccine distribution plan, including partnerships with RTD and Lyft (about which we’d very much like more information) (9News, CBS4)
• The Colorado Sun has a good primer on the state budget process (Colorado Sun)
• Steamboat Springs summer construction to include sidewalks, street lighting, and a roundabout (Steamboat Pilot & Today)
• New book examines history of trains in Palisade (Grand Junction Daily Sentinel)

From Streetsblog

• Monday’s Headlines to Get You Going (Streetsblog USA)
• Commentary: Stop Subsidizing Car Ownership (Streetsblog SF)
• Study: Taking An App Taxi More than Doubles Your Roadway Impact (Streetsblog USA)
• New National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Head Was at Center of Pollution Fight (Streetsblog USA)

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Denver and the Metro Area

• “Is RTD being downsized or rightsized?” by Fox31’s digital data reporter is a data analysis abomination, so remember to breathe and don’t throw your phone across the room when you read it (Fox31)
• Meanwhile, here’s a well-researched, well-written story by Nathaniel Minor, who interviews multiple sources to provide context to numbers: RTD To Bring Back Laid-Off Drivers As State Looks Into Retention Issues (CPR)
• RTD, flush with COVID relief money, is calling back laid-off employees (Denver Post)
• Audit blames RTD supervisory, scheduling practices for high turnover that’s affected service (Denver Business Journal)
• More than 4,800 experience power outage in Denver, Lakewood, including the RTD W Line (Fox31)
• 16th Street Mall Visitors Trending Closer To Average Despite Pandemic (CBS4)
• More on the upcoming 16th Street Mall renovation, which will include 10-feet-wide sidewalks and move bus lanes to the middle (CBS4, Fox31, Denver Business Journal, Downtown Denver Partnership)
• More on Denver’s public safety department ditching the group charged with reimagining local policing (9News, Colorado Politics)
• Denver Air Quality Index:  9 a.m.: 49 (Good). Yesterday’s max: 48 (Good).

Centennial State

• President Joe Biden’s Climate Action Plan Will Have A Big Impact On Colorado (CBS4)
• Opponents urge federal board to reject revival of Tennessee Pass railroad along Arkansas, Eagle rivers (Colorado Sun)
• School Transportation News honors Jeremy Silva, Alamosa School District’s transportation coordinator, in “The Industry’s Front-Line Heroes: School Bus Drivers and Monitors” (School Transportation News)

From Streetsblog

• Friday’s Headlines As We Look to the Future (Streetsblog USA)
• Highlights from Pete Buttigieg’s Confirmation Hearing for USDOT Secretary (Streetsblog USA)

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Traffic Violence

• The Denver Streets Partnership and the nation’s largest coalition of traffic safety organizations sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to commit the efforts of the federal government to achieve zero roadway deaths by 2050 (National Safety Council)

Denver and the Metro Area

• City and County of Denver chooses PCL Construction for 16th Street Mall renovation, which will consolidate bus lanes in the middle of the mall, expand sidewalks, and create amenity zones (Denver Post)
• The RTD Board of Directors Executive Committee met today at 11:30 a.m. to discuss board operating guidelines, committee appointments, annual financial disclosures, a retreat format, and the full board meeting on January 26 (RTD)
• What to do when there’s nothing to do, specifically today at 5 p.m.? Attend a virtual RTD LiVE and Mobile Ticketing Workshop. (Boulder Weekly)
• Fresh off $38M sale, Greyhound looks to unload its other big site in Denver (BusinessDen)
• Denver law enforcement officials have left the group tasked with transforming Denver law enforcement (Denverite)
• Denver Air Quality Index:  2 p.m.: 39 (Good). Yesterday’s max: 57 (Moderate).

Centennial State

• Biden appoints Sophie Shulman (formerly of CDOT) and John Putnam (formerly of CDPHE) to U.S. Department of Transportation roles (Denver Post)
• Climate Took A Front Seat On Biden’s First Day. Colorado Experts Are Optimistic About What Comes Next. (CPR)
• Kelly Sloan’s self-professed conservative Rx for transportation is “useful over the utopic” subsidies for driving (Colorado Politics)
• Fort Collins Releases 2019 Community Greenhouse Gas Report (North Forty News)

From Streetsblog

• Thursday’s Headlines to Start a New Era… and President Biden walked to his new home (Streetsblog USA)
• Street Safety Groups to President Biden: Commit to a Federal Vision Zero Plan (Streetsblog NYC)
• The US DOT Needs an Active Transportation Czar (Streetsblog USA)
• Talking Headways Podcast: Transportation and Law, Part II (Streetsblog USA)

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Denver and the Metro Area

• Are you one of the many Denverites walking your stress away? [Me: YESSS] (Denverite)
• RTD, Boulder City Council discuss pandemic impacts on Boulder riders (Daily Camera)
• Denver Air Quality Index:  12 p.m.: 43 (Good). Yesterday’s max: 43 (Good).

Centennial State

• Bike thefts spike in Colorado during COVID-19 pandemic (Fox31)
• Less driving during COVID means less gas tax money for CDOT and legislators talk potential new fees (9News)
• Colorado Springs Police Accountability Group Wants Community Input On Racial Bias, Use Of Force And More (CPR/KRCC)

From Streetsblog

• Wednesday’s Headlines as We Get a New President (Streetsblog USA)
• Joe Biden Becomes the First Traffic Violence Widower to Hold the U.S. Presidency (Streetsblog USA)
• Dutch Lessons for U.S. Streets (Streetsblog SF)

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