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Light rail's success could bring extension to Highlands Ranch
RTD's light rail service to the southern suburbs is a victim of its own success.
Ridership has far surpassed even 10-year estimates, and the number of commuters using the train to get downtown grows every year. Although the Regional Transportation District is thrilled with light rail's popularity, it can't keep up with the ever-increasing demand.
By By:Tamra Monahan
RTD's light rail service to the southern suburbs is a victim of its own success.
Ridership has far surpassed even 10-year estimates, and the number of commuters using the train to get downtown grows every year. Although the Regional Transportation District is thrilled with light rail's popularity, it can't keep up with the ever-increasing demand.
Scott Weeks, RTD deputy project manager, said RTD plans to add more trains going from the Mineral Station to downtown Denver, but conceded it is a temporary fix for a long-term problem. What he and other RTD officials are proposing is a light rail extension into Highlands Ranch which would free up some of the parking at the Mineral Station and give more commuters a chance to use the train.
Weeks and Project Manager Mike Turner presented the idea to Highlands Ranch residents at a meeting Dec. 10 and were surprised about the plan's immense popularity. Those in attendance were overwhelmingly in favor of extending light rail into the community and saw few, if any, negatives to the idea.
"I think this is very important," said Highlands Ranch resident Rudy Lukez. "People are excited about it, both regular and casual users of RTD. It was interesting that a lot of people were saying they thought not only was this going to be good for getting downtown, but it's also going to encourage a reverse commute as well to help support the business park in Highlands Ranch."
Lukez and others at the meeting told RTD officials that the Southwest Extension, RTD's name for the project, was a great idea and long-overdue for the community. Bringing light rail to Highlands Ranch's doorstep is the first step in getting suburbanites to use their cars less and mass transit more.
In fact, this is one main goal of this project. A statement by RTD about the Southwest Extension states, "Existing demand for light rail had created traffic access problems and exceeded parking capacity at the current Mineral end-of-the-line station. This has resulted in congested traffic conditions for both bus and auto approaches to the Mineral station Park-n-Ride and at the Santa Fe and Mineral intersection."
Goals of this project include improving operations at the Mineral Station by providing alternate light rail stations and parking at new locations, as well as providing opportunities for transit services in Highlands Ranch near existing and future commercial and residential areas.
RTD officials presented four proposals for the Southwest Extension. The first suggests extending light rail south along Santa Fe Drive, then east on the south side of C-470 to end at Lucent Boulevard near the Highlands Ranch business park. This was by far the most popular idea with residents at the Dec. 10 meeting because it brought light rail the farthest into the community.
The second proposal follows the same route south on Santa Fe and ends at C-470. The third is the same but ends at Highlands Ranch Parkway and S. Santa Fe Drive.
The fourth proposal follows the existing railroad tracks taking light rail to the west near Chatfield Reservoir. Most residents rejected this idea for environmental reasons.
Weeks said the Southwest Extension is part of a larger mass transit package which RTD hopes to bring to the voters in the November 2002 election. The Fast Tracks package includes light rail proposals for Highlands Ranch, central Denver, Boulder, the northern suburbs, a western line and and east to DIA, as well as other mass transit issues in the Denver metro area. According to Weeks, RTD will probably ask for a sales tax hike from the current .6 cent to 1 cent in the RTD district.
In the 1997 election, RTD officials put a similar proposal on the ballot which voters rejected. Weeks said after this defeat, RTD realized the ballot question was not specific about how the money would be spent. Voters were not wiling to give RTD a blank check to spend on unknown projects, so this time transportation officials are going to specific areas explaining how the money will be spent on projects designed to enhance transportation in those regions.
Weeks and Turner are hopeful with more information this time, voters will see the long-term value of voting for the sales tax increase.
"This time we did our homework," Weeks said. "We've done studies on every corridor in the metro area to find out what the locally preferred [mass transit] alternative is as far as technology and what the people want, and now we've packaged that up and called it Fast Tracks."
The huge success of light rail's Southwest Corridor has led other communities to demand light rail service to their areas. Boulder, Broomfield, Northglenn and other metro Denver cities want a piece of the new mass transit pie, but RTD doesn't have the money right now to bring light rail service to these areas.
Again, too much success has caused problems for RTD's light rail system, and officials like Weeks and Turner think the time is right to ask voters for more money to pay for these popular projects. But first they have to convince the RTD board of directors in May. Once this has been done, then it's on to the general public.
If the Fast Tracks proposal passes in November, Weeks estimates that all the projects, including the Highlands Ranch extension, will be completed within 10 years.
By By:Tamra Monahan
RTD's light rail service to the southern suburbs is a victim of its own success.
Ridership has far surpassed even 10-year estimates, and the number of commuters using the train to get downtown grows every year. Although the Regional Transportation District is thrilled with light rail's popularity, it can't keep up with the ever-increasing demand.
Scott Weeks, RTD deputy project manager, said RTD plans to add more trains going from the Mineral Station to downtown Denver, but conceded it is a temporary fix for a long-term problem. What he and other RTD officials are proposing is a light rail extension into Highlands Ranch which would free up some of the parking at the Mineral Station and give more commuters a chance to use the train.
Weeks and Project Manager Mike Turner presented the idea to Highlands Ranch residents at a meeting Dec. 10 and were surprised about the plan's immense popularity. Those in attendance were overwhelmingly in favor of extending light rail into the community and saw few, if any, negatives to the idea.
"I think this is very important," said Highlands Ranch resident Rudy Lukez. "People are excited about it, both regular and casual users of RTD. It was interesting that a lot of people were saying they thought not only was this going to be good for getting downtown, but it's also going to encourage a reverse commute as well to help support the business park in Highlands Ranch."
Lukez and others at the meeting told RTD officials that the Southwest Extension, RTD's name for the project, was a great idea and long-overdue for the community. Bringing light rail to Highlands Ranch's doorstep is the first step in getting suburbanites to use their cars less and mass transit more.
In fact, this is one main goal of this project. A statement by RTD about the Southwest Extension states, "Existing demand for light rail had created traffic access problems and exceeded parking capacity at the current Mineral end-of-the-line station. This has resulted in congested traffic conditions for both bus and auto approaches to the Mineral station Park-n-Ride and at the Santa Fe and Mineral intersection."
Goals of this project include improving operations at the Mineral Station by providing alternate light rail stations and parking at new locations, as well as providing opportunities for transit services in Highlands Ranch near existing and future commercial and residential areas.
RTD officials presented four proposals for the Southwest Extension. The first suggests extending light rail south along Santa Fe Drive, then east on the south side of C-470 to end at Lucent Boulevard near the Highlands Ranch business park. This was by far the most popular idea with residents at the Dec. 10 meeting because it brought light rail the farthest into the community.
The second proposal follows the same route south on Santa Fe and ends at C-470. The third is the same but ends at Highlands Ranch Parkway and S. Santa Fe Drive.
The fourth proposal follows the existing railroad tracks taking light rail to the west near Chatfield Reservoir. Most residents rejected this idea for environmental reasons.
Weeks said the Southwest Extension is part of a larger mass transit package which RTD hopes to bring to the voters in the November 2002 election. The Fast Tracks package includes light rail proposals for Highlands Ranch, central Denver, Boulder, the northern suburbs, a western line and and east to DIA, as well as other mass transit issues in the Denver metro area. According to Weeks, RTD will probably ask for a sales tax hike from the current .6 cent to 1 cent in the RTD district.
In the 1997 election, RTD officials put a similar proposal on the ballot which voters rejected. Weeks said after this defeat, RTD realized the ballot question was not specific about how the money would be spent. Voters were not wiling to give RTD a blank check to spend on unknown projects, so this time transportation officials are going to specific areas explaining how the money will be spent on projects designed to enhance transportation in those regions.
Weeks and Turner are hopeful with more information this time, voters will see the long-term value of voting for the sales tax increase.
"This time we did our homework," Weeks said. "We've done studies on every corridor in the metro area to find out what the locally preferred [mass transit] alternative is as far as technology and what the people want, and now we've packaged that up and called it Fast Tracks."
The huge success of light rail's Southwest Corridor has led other communities to demand light rail service to their areas. Boulder, Broomfield, Northglenn and other metro Denver cities want a piece of the new mass transit pie, but RTD doesn't have the money right now to bring light rail service to these areas.
Again, too much success has caused problems for RTD's light rail system, and officials like Weeks and Turner think the time is right to ask voters for more money to pay for these popular projects. But first they have to convince the RTD board of directors in May. Once this has been done, then it's on to the general public.
If the Fast Tracks proposal passes in November, Weeks estimates that all the projects, including the Highlands Ranch extension, will be completed within 10 years.
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