Man rides a bike in a bike lane

Friday’s Headlines

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From Streetsblog Denver

  • A Farewell From Andy Bosselman as Streetsblog Denver Lays off Only Staffer — but It’s Not the End (Streetsblog Denver)
  •  Introducing Streetsblog Denver 2.0 (Streetsblog Denver)

Traffic violence

  • Denver Police investigate two cases of car drivers hitting people walking, with serious injuries, yesterday at the intersections of S. University & E. Harvard and 16th & Wynkoop (Denver Police)

Denver’s 125 miles of new bikeways

  • Denver officials unveil a map showing where 125 miles of new bikeways will go over the next five years as part of the City’s Vision Zero action plan (Denverite)
  • Denver is Laying 125 Miles of Groundwork for a “Bicycle Revolution” (Westword)
  • 125 miles of new bikeways coming to Denver by 2023 to make biking in Denver a safer and more comfortable commuting option (9News)
  • Department of Transportation and Infrastructure speeds up bikeway buildout (DOTI news release)

Other news

  • State Senator Mike Foote proposes stronger protections for people on bikes, giving them the right of way in bike lanes (The Denver Post)
  • RTD releases public comment opportunities — in English and Spanish — about five candidates to fill interim general manager/CEO position (Colorado Politics plus RTD news release)
  • RTD provides options for this weekend’s events (RTD news release)
  • State Health Officials Have Sent A Clear Message: Colorado Needs Better Air Quality Monitoring (CPR)
  • Metro Denver residents drive more despite rise of transit services; Colorado air quality and transportation commissioners stress need to reduce number of vehicle miles traveled and cut air pollution (The Denver Post)
  • More –with visuals — on the 30-story tower proposed to replace the parking lot at 19th and Lawrence/Arapahoe (DenverInfill)
  • People in Lakewood’s Belmar neighborhood say crosswalks are dangerous, especially for people with disabilities (Denver7)
  • Lakewood holds public hearing on future former White Fence Farm, which could bring more housing density (CBS4)
  • Opinion: Boulder residents favor e-scooters. Officials should listen. (Boulder Daily Camera)
  • Florida man writes, “The ultimate act of patriotism would be to drive less” and cites “pedestrian deaths in cities like New York and Denver are on the rise” (Opinion, The Florida Times-Union)
  • Streetsblog Denver will no longer employ a full-time reporter and the site will continue under the auspices of the Denver Streets Partnership, a coalition of advocacy groups (Denverite)
  • Denver Air Quality Index: 7 a.m.: 61 Moderate. Yesterday’s max: 57 Moderate.
  • National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

Headlines will return on Tuesday after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

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Photo - passengers board the W Line train at Union Station

Thursday’s Headlines

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From Streetsblog Denver

  • RTD in Crisis Part 3: Here’s How to Fix RTD and Face Colorado’s New Urban Reality (Streetsblog Denver)

Other news

  • Denver Police seek a black 2003 GMC Yukon, Colorado license plates 039-ZJC, and its driver, who injured a person walking in a hit-and-run at 22nd and Curtis yesterday (FOX31/Channel 2)
  • RTD survey shows employees enjoy their work and lack confidence in the agency’s leadership (CPR)
  • Denver Post editorial board tells RTD board: “aim high” and “stop the deterioration” in search for new general manager/CEO (The Denver Post)
  • Denver changes timing on traffic signals downtown to help people using all modes of transportation (9News)
  • Aurora evaluates changing timing on traffic signals (Denver 7)
  • Uber to record audio of rides in South America and some U.S. cities (Denver 7)
  • Developers propose turning 19th & Arapahoe parking lot into a 30-story building with 628 parking spaces (DenverInfill and Denver Urban Review)
  • 2020 statewide ballot measures could fund transportation (The Colorado Sun)
  • Fort Collins residents debate possible new urbanist community of nearly 1,000 acres (CPR)
  • Governor Polis talks climate change on Colorado Matters (CPR)
  • Oil and gas industry and pollution from vehicles cause serious ozone levels on the Front Range (5280)
  • The Earth “has a fever” and records the hottest decade on record (The Denver Post/AP)
  • Denver Air Quality Index: 7 a.m.: 46 Good. Yesterday’s max: 59 Moderate.
  • National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

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Passenger boards RTD 15 bus

Wednesday’s Headlines

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From Streetsblog Denver

  • RTD is in Crisis Part 2: A Failure of Leadership. A failure of leadership caused the current crisis at the Regional Transportation District. Gov. Polis, members of the Colorado General Assembly and RTD’s board of directors are to blame. (Streetsblog Denver)

Other news

  • RTD predicts a continued labor shortage even with proposed service cuts (The Denver Post)
  • Road construction workers fear for their safety as a CDOT worker remains in critical condition (FOX31/Channel 2)
  • Transportation missing from “big ideas” for 2020 legislative session by governor and legislators (The Colorado Sun)
  • National Western Center plan includes new roads, bridges, and light rail stop (5280) and the City wants to fund it with a public-private partnership (Denverite)
  • Lyft opens a support and maintenance center in Aurora for its drivers and their vehicles (The Denver Post)
  • RTD buses will detour this weekend as people walk in the street at the Saturday Womxn’s March and Monday Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Marade (RTD)
  • Colorado law enforcement officers arrested fewer people for DUIs during 2019 enforcement periods than in 2018…except in El Paso County (KRDO-TV)
  • Boston researchers study marijuana users in a driving simulator and CDOT prepares its next public awareness campaign to prevent marijuana-related traffic fatalities (9News)
  • Broomfield residents like the direction of bus rapid transit and highways and want more public transportation, better environmental quality (Broomfield Enterprise)
  • Western Slope leaders want a leadership role for their representative to the Colorado Transportation Commission, which has power over transportation funding (Grand Junction Daily Sentinel)
  • Denver Air Quality Index: 6 a.m.: 57 Moderate. Yesterday’s max: 70 Moderate.
  • National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

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RTD buses wait in traffic on East Colfax Ave. on Dec. 12. Photo: Andy Bosselman

Tuesday’s Headlines

By Andy Bosselman | | No Comments

From Streetsblog

  • RTD is in Crisis: Part 1. People in the Denver Metro are ditching public transportation as a growing list of problems at the Regional Transportation District have become a full-blown crisis. (Streetsblog Denver)

Other news

  • Police identified Barbara W. Williams as the driver who hit and seriously injured a CDOT worker. (Denver7, Denver Post)
  • RTD cancelled buses and more than 80 light rail trips yesterday as it implemented service changes related to its driver shortage. (Denver Post)
  • Eulois Cleckley, head of Denver’s DOTI, was named vice president of the board of NACTO, the professional organization for city transportation officials. (NACTO)
  • Denver Air Quality Index: 6 a.m.: 62 Moderate. Yesterday’s max: 56 Moderate.
  • National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

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RTD buses wait in traffic on East Colfax Ave. on Dec. 12. Photo: Andy Bosselman

RTD is in Crisis: Part 1

By Andy Bosselman | | No Comments

This is the first in a three-part series about the crisis at RTD and how the governor and state legislature should fix it. 

People in the Denver Metro are ditching public transportation as a growing list of problems at the Regional Transportation District have become a full-blown crisis. Now is the time for Gov. Jared Polis and state legislators to own up to their role in the agency’s problems — and step up to offer help.

In 2018, 6 million fewer trips happened on Regional Transportation District buses and trains than in 2014. The decline in ridership continued in 2019, according to the agency’s reporting. 

Many former transit riders moved into private cars and SUVs, cramming more vehicles onto roads already congested after Denver’s population grew by 20 percent over the last decade. 

When you consider Denver’s goal to ease traffic congestion and cut greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of trips where people drive alone, RTD’s falling ridership should be seen as an urgent failure. Especially knowing that use of public transportation is growing in cities around the world, including in Portland, Seattle and Salt Lake City.

RTD’s riders can’t be blamed for finding other options.

They have been left waiting for vehicles that never arrived as the agency’s drivers quit their jobs faster than they can be replaced. RTD has repeatedly been forced to cut service, which has made the system less useful to the people who want to use it. The agency charges some of the highest fares in the country. And a discount program used by many thousands was replaced with a new system so confusing and complicated that only 2,767 people have successfully signed up since July.

RTD’s leaders also refuse to consider critical ridership information that could make the system more useful to larger numbers of people without raising costs. 

And these are not the agency’s only problems. 

RTD is forced to operate with a budget that can’t keep up with growing needs. It’s CEO resigned. Governor Polis said nothing about public transportation in his State of the State address last week. And the Colorado General Assembly, which created RTD 50 years ago, is now largely made up of politicians who want no responsibility for the agency’s problems. Worse, some in the legislature’s leadership are spreading lies and openly expressing hostility toward RTD. 

Add up the agency’s numerous problems and it’s clear: RTD is in crisis.

Check Streetsblog for Part 2 of this series, where I will call out Governor Jared Polis and the state legislature for a failure of leadership. I’ll also discuss why it may be time to disband RTD’s board of directors.

We’re a nonprofit and we rely on the donations of our fans and readers. Give $10, $25 or $50 now.

Monday’s Headlines

By Andy Bosselman | | No Comments
  • Boulder police identified Dean Cunningham as the 85-year-old man who was hit and killed by an RTD bus. (Daily Camera)
  • Police arrested the driver suspected of hitting and seriously injuring a CDOT worker before fleeing the scene. (9 News)
  • A ban on mobile phone use except when a hands-free device is used was again introduced in the state legislature. (Denver Post)
  • Denver DOTI adjusted downtown traffic signal timing to improve the flow of cars and people on foot and on bikes. (9 News)
  • The Cherry Creek Mall eliminated free parking. (CBS4)
  • More on the “Save The 99L” petition to keep an RTD bus route. (CBS4)
  • Aurora approved a potential development of single-family homes within half a mile of DIA, despite the airport warning them not to. (Denver Post)
  • The new Poudre Express bus will connect Greeley, Windsor and Fort Collins. Fares are free this month. (North Forty News)
  • Winter Park could open its new transit center as soon as next month. It will serve as a hub for local buses, the ski train and Bustang. (Sky-Hi News)
  • Denver Air Quality Index: 6 a.m.: 56 Moderate. Yesterday’s max: 56 Moderate.
  • National headlines at Streetsblog USA.

We’re a nonprofit and we rely on the donations of our fans and readers. Give $10, $25 or $50 now.

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