Traffic violence

• The driver of a dump truck who hit and killed bike rider Alexis Bounds in a bike lane pleaded guilty to careless driving resulting in death and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and one year of a suspended driver’s license (Denverite, 9News, CBS4, Denver 7)

RTD

• Denver Post follows up on Streetsblog Denver’s RTD in Crisis series and gets Governor Polis’ take (The Denver Post)
• More on how Colorado’s historically low unemployment rate might be too much of a good thing as labor shortage challenges RTD (The Denver Post and FOX31/Channel 2)
• Rocky Mountain Rail company wants to complete RTD’s promised Denver to Longmont train by 2025, if BNSF will play along (The Denver Post)
• The RTD board of directors meets tomorrow to appoint an interim general manager/CEO a to budget up to $400,000 for the search for a new GM/CEO (RTD board agenda)

Other news

• Boulder B-Cycle faces funding shortage — again — that City of Boulder and CU Boulder could help; city staff approves of e-bikes but says e-scooters would impede Boulder’s Vision Zero safety goals (Daily Camera and Boulder Beat)
• Guest Commentary: Solve the I-70 ski-traffic nightmare with mountain trains by Andra Zeppelin (The Denver Post)
• Eldora ski area wants to build 805 more parking spaces and Boulder County Planning Commission suggests charging fees for cars with two or fewer passengers, increasing shuttle buses and RTD service (Boulder Daily Camera)
• Boulder Editorial Advisory Board members weigh in on Senate Bill 20-065, which would would outlaw holding a cell phone while driving (Boulder Daily Camera)
• More on Parker’s plan for volunteers to enforce parking ordinances (Denver 7)
• Loveland’s largest sculpture –that one with three horses — is being dismantled for I-25 expansion (North Forty News)
• More on proposed state legislation to fund transportation (Colorado Springs Gazette)
• Construction begins on One Platte five-story office development at 1701 Platte Street former parking lot, a short walk from Denver Union Station (Denver Infill)
• Going car-free could save you $9,000 a year, and data say it’s doable in Denver (The Motley Fool)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 8 a.m.: 42 Good. Yesterday’s max: 47 Good.
• National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

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From Streetsblog

• Traffic Violence Report: Three Killed on Denver Streets Since January 1 (Streetsblog Denver)

Other news 

• On Virginia Avenue, a few Denverites and City Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer want to throw a speed bump under a planned bike lane and are concerned about 1) mostly unused free street parking in front of houses with driveways and garages and 2) a too “fast” public process that started eight years ago (Denverite)
• Boulder kids designed the first child-friendly city maps in the country. Kids like smooth paths for strollers, walking, biking, public transit, and visiting water features. (Colorado Matters/CPR)
• Aurora students ask school board for bus passes to put more college classes and internships within reach (Chalkbeat Colorado)
• Opinions about free car parking as an entitlement and (now-City Councilman) Chris Hinds’ lawsuit over parking spaces for people with disabilities, by former political science profession/congressional candidate Hal Bidlack (Colorado Politics)
• Lafayette moving “slow down” speed radar signs to new poles because Xcel wants the signs off the utility poles (FOX31/Channel 2)
• Grand Junction business owners advocate for connectivity and safety for people walking and biking as CDOT plans to widen the Interstate 70 Business Loop  (Grand Junction Daily Sentinel)
• A Democrat Speaker of the House and Republican Senate Assistant Minority Leader walk into a… business roundtable and talk about raising state taxes on gas and electric vehicles (Colorado Politics)
• Amtrak gets federal approval to test a high-speed train in Colorado… to then serve passengers between Boston and DC. Sorry if that got your hopes up. (Progressive Railroading and Railway Technology)
• But! Passenger rail service from Fort Collins to Pueblo could happen in seven to 10 years if the Southwest Chief and Front Range Passenger Rail Commission is successful. (Left Hand Valley Courier)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 10 a.m.: 54 Moderate. Yesterday’s max: 59 Moderate.
• National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

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RTD

• State lawmakers propose major changes for RTD board seats, transparency of meetings, and financial structure (9News)
• The RTD Board of Directors executive committee meets today at 2 p.m., and you can bet they’ll talk about the story in the line above (RTD board meeting schedule)
• Adams County leaders: “Going forward, we expect RTD to meet milestones, communicate in a fashion that is timely, accurate, and credible, and deliver on its promises” for N Line train, bus rapid transit, and FasTracks Internal Savings Account (Commerce City Sentinel)

Other news 

• Family argues poor lighting risks safety for people walking on pedestrian bridge over I-25 near Evans Avenue, and the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure says it follows industry standards and “there’s drivers that are driving underneath the bridge on the highway, so we have to keep the lighting at certain levels” (CBS4)
• Denver Police Districts’ Crime Report Card: 59 people died by homicide in 2019… compared to 71 who died by traffic violence (Westword / Denverite)
• KOA Radio’s Mandy Connell talks to Bicycle Colorado staff about road safety, bike laws, and motorists who are upset about bike lanes (KOA/iHeartRADIO)
• Thanks to a lawsuit over parking spaces for people with disabilities, Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds is Colorado’s “first elected official who uses a wheelchair for mobility in the history of the state” (Colorado Politics)
• Denver’s Civitas Urban Design and Landscape Architecture Studio recognized in top five U.S. firms “Putting the Public Back in Public Space” with projects including the 5280 Trail (Curbed)
• CDOT and Glenwood Springs Take a Minute street safety advocates have a message to drivists: For safety’s sake, clear snow and ice from your vehicle before driving  and drive slower (Post Independent)
• Survey says… Colorado is the fifth worst state for drivers. Survey does not say… Anything about ranking states for walking, biking, or transit. (The Denver Post)
• Vail Town Council discusses e-bike networks, covering or moving I-70, and the dangers of high-speed rail making Vail “a bedroom community for Denver” (Vail Daily)
• AAA study: 43 percent of electric car owners say they drive more now than when they owned a gas-powered car, and owning a new compact electric vehicle costs about $600 more annually than its gas-powered counterpart (AAA news release and Colorado Politics)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 7 a.m.: 55 Moderate. Yesterday’s max: 106 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.
• National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

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News

• Thursday morning: You can influence safer streets and learn political process with Safe Streets Day at the State Capitol (303cycling)
• Need a repair on your bike? Try the local library. (Colorado Community Media)
• RTD N Line nears arrival in Thornton and Northglenn (La Voz Colorado)
• Crashes are down on I-70 mountain stretches, maybe due to drivers following the new tire traction law(?) (The Denver Post)
• Rep. Matt Gray of Broomfield and Sen. Faith Winter of Westminster introduce bill to let Colorado communities fund roads locally; Sen. Paul Lundeen and Rep. Terri Carver of El Paso county introduce bill for more state funding of highways and local road projects (Denver Business Journal and Colorado Springs Independent)
• Sun Valley land swap will allow Denver to build housing where Broncos fans have been parking (Denverite)
• No more free parking at Cherry Creek Shopping Center, and pricing is still at or below market rate (CBS4)
• Parker council member says people would rather walk farther in the Walmart parking lot than they would in downtown Parker, plus citizen group to monitor downtown parking (Elbert County News)
• State health officials look at ways to reduce auto emissions as Colorado’s goal to rein in ozone misses federal deadline by two years (Colorado Independent)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 8 a.m.: 97 Moderate. Yesterday’s max: 103 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.
• National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

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Traffic violence

• A man died Saturday after reportedly running to catch an RTD bus and getting caught under the bus,  Denver Police are investigating, and some media outlets think the bus was driving itself (Denver 7, The Denver Post, FOX31/Channel 2, CBS4)

RTD

• 1.6 percent: RTD light rail riders in 2018 without a valid fare… and it’s even less on commuter trains (CPR)
• Outgoing general manager/CEO Dave Genova reflects on his time with RTD (RTD news release)
• RTD to hold 18 public forums about proposed temporary service reduction, which will save about $12.4 million over a year and alleviate mandating six-day work weeks for operators (RTD news release)
• More about ways for public comment on who should be RTD’s next interim general manager/CEO (Colorado Politics)
• RTD operator/retired rapper ‘Big Sexy’ switches from G Line back to A Line (9News)

Other news 

• More on Denver’s plan to build 125 miles of new neighborhood bikeways by 2023 (CBS4 and Colorado Politics)
• More on State Sen. Mike Foote’s bill that would create a new traffic offense for car drivers who fail to yield to bike riders in the bike lane (9News)
• Snowstang ridership to Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, and Steamboat exceeds expectations, plus CDOT to discuss a permanent Denver-Estes Park Bustang (Steamboat Pilot and The Denver Post)
• The I-70 coalition believes carpooling apps can reduce traffic congestion and pollution, but the Colorado Public Utilities Commission said cease and desist (Summit Daily, 9News, and CBS4)
• State health officials want more transit systems: “Transportation” (AKA single-occupancy vehicles) is the second-largest source of Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions (The Denver Post)
• El Paso County Commissioner — and candidate for District Attorney in El Paso/Teller Counties — Mark Waller wants to equate cost of full-day kindergarten to lane miles when discussing transportation funding (Colorado Matters/CPR)
• January 28: Public meeting in Pueblo about current Southwest Chief Rail service, potential Front Range passenger rail, and Pueblo Station Area Plan (La Junta Tribune-Democrat)
• Could unsolicited proposals from private partners help CDOT build better infrastructure? (Denver Business Journal)
• When is the right time for older drivers to hang up the car keys for good? How could better public transit help older residents, and everyone, get around and make streets safer? (Denver 7)
• Before and after photos: The decade in improving Denver’s parking lot-riddled urban core (DenverInfill)
• Local MBA students and real estate professionals compete to evaluate development opportunities for 60 acres of Denver International Airport land near RTD’s 61st and Peña station (Colorado Real Estate Journal)
• Developers plan affordable townhomes near 38th & Blake RTD station in Denver Opportunity Zone, and neighborhood will manage the land trust (Mile High CRE)
• Bonnie Brae Tavern site could become a three-story project with ground floor restaurant/retail, two floors of condos, and underground parking (BusinessDen)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 7 a.m.: 84 Moderate. Yesterday’s max: 78 Moderate.
• National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

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