With much fanfare, the group of community representative and transportation officials that have been evaluating options for transit, road and bike improvements inthe US 36 corridor, the Preferred Alternative Committee (PAC), agreed on a package to take through the Final Environmental Impact Analysis (FEIS) process.  The agreement, known as the US 36 Combined Alternative Recommendation, was […]

In case you didn’t see these in the Daily Camera, both Steve Pomerance and Bob Greenlee responded to my opinion piece, “Rising Above the Transit Paradox.”:
FasTracks derailed (Greenlee): http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/jul/13/fastracks-derailed/
Funding transit with market forces (Pomerance): http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/jul/06/funding-transit-with-market-02/
You will notice that Bob takes the opportunity to offer another criticism of the FasTracks program, tying the tax revenue for […]

At the end of February, RTD staff and US 36 corridor officials got cross-wise over portions of a FasTracks report concerning the implementation of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Corridor officials identified a number of instances in the FasTracks report that appeared to indicate RTD was back pedaling on its commitment to important elements […]

For those of you who ever wondered how a bus rapid transit (BRT) system works, the following video is a must-see:
www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/28/streetfilm-brt-in-bogota/
The Bogota experience is compelling and paints an exciting vision for the BRT system we are designing for the US 36 corridor.

There has been a significant public outcry regarding the potential for increased horn noise when the the Northwest Commuter Rail line begins operation.  Addressing these concerns is a top priority for me.
One possible method for reducing these noise impacts, as well as the noise from Burlington Northern’s existing freight traffic, is to garner “quiet zone” […]

In a previous post, I shared the opinion piece I drafted regarding our efforts to keep the FasTracks program moving forward, “Let’s Keep FasTracks on Track!”
The beauty of having your opinions printed in the local newspaper is the broad audience that you can reach.  But, on the flip-side, it is that same broad audience that has […]

As part of the ongoing effort to promote communication about progress on the FasTracks program and associated transit enhancements, I drafted the following letter with a broad cross-section of local leaders: http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2008/01/16/opinion/our_take/ourtake1.txt. 
Unfortunately, given the available space limitations, it was not possible to address every criticism of the FasTracks program.  Still, in the face of many […]

For those who didn’t already see it . . .
Here is how the Daily Camera covered last night’s Boulder City Council study session concerning the Northwest Rail line:  http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/dec/12/commuter-rail-problems-raised/.
As the story indicates, the Councilmembers focused a great deal of attention on noise issues, chiefly from train whistles.  They have a very legitimate fear that, unmitigated, the addition of […]

Many of you probably are familiar with the recent series of columns that former Boulder Mayor Bob Greenlee wrote challenging the cost-effectiveness of the planned Northwest Rail commuter rail line:
July 29 Column: http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/jul/29/bad-decisions-need-revisiting/
September 23 Column: http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/sep/23/clogged-arteries/
December 9 Column: http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/dec/09/all-aboard-rail-questions-that-matter/
Also, in a recent Guest Opinion, former Camera Editor Sue Deans questioned whether Boulder County residents are […]

Maybe you already heard, but . . . here is how the Camera covered last Tuesday’s vote on the vehicle technology issue for the Northwest Rail line:  http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/oct/17/diesel-trains-get-ok-by-rtd/.
You may remember that I was the only Board member to vote against the staff recommendation for diesel vehicles (diesel-multiple-units or DMU) during the initial FasTracks Monitoring Committee discussion of […]