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RTD rolls into Lone Tree
Regional Transportation District directors and other dignitaries Jan. 5 inaugurated service in Lone Tree with much hope.
By By: Melissa Rivera
Regional Transportation District directors and other dignitaries Jan. 5 inaugurated service in Lone Tree with much hope.
"This is another milestone day in the brief history of Lone Tree," said mayor Jack O'Boyle.
Services include three bus routes and call-n-ride.
"I think Lone Tree is really a watershed for us. Many people say that is going to be the bellwether for the FasTracks election in November," said Cal Marsella, the general manager of RTD.
Lone Tree petitioned for the inclusion, and voters passed it by a margin of 73 percent to 27 percent in November. The ballot measure increased sales tax across Lone Tree by 0.6 percent to pay for RTD.
Sky Ridge Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer Maureen Tarrant said she had been looking forward to the service since she found out the hospital had no bus service. On average, 25 percent of a hospital's employees typically use public transportation to get to work, she said.
"It allows us to open to the entire city," she said.
O'Neill Quinlan, the RTD director of the district including Lone Tree, had a different bellwether in mind.
"The next exciting day is when we can provide a direct stop at Park Meadows [Town Center]," he said.
RTD is planning a hearing Feb. 3 to decide whether or not to annex the mall and Acres Green.
Right now, both those areas are outside bus service and call-n-ride.
Call-n-ride offers door-to-door transportation within Lone Tree, from County Line Road down past Ridgegate Circle and from Quebec Street to Interstate 25.
The first call-n-ride carried Lone Tree dignitaries to the inauguration ceremony at Sky Ridge Medical Center. Riders included O'Boyle, Lone Tree City Councilman Elton Winters and his wife, and Ed Bade and his wife, who worked on a committee to get the city into RTD.
They were impressed.
"I called them and said, 'Pick me up at 9:30; I need to go to the hospital,'" O'Boyle said. "At 9:30, I opened my garage door to see if it was there, and it was just pulling up."
The inauguration drive was the only call-n-ride service planned for Jan. 5, and so far the only pickup scheduled, said Brian Matthews, alternative service planner for RTD.
However, he pointed out that call-n-ride riders usually get attracted to the service through word of mouth. For example, on Dec. 1, Thornton's call-n-ride service started. For the first week, it attracted one to two people per day. On the first Saturday, 15 people used the service. After that, the service averaged about 20 people per day.
Matthews said many children, teens and seniors use the service to get around town.
"It will be interesting to see how call-n-Ride works once parents realize they can just put their teen on and go to the rec center, instead of driving them," said Heather Halpape, who works in public relations for Lone Tree.
Lone Tree is the 11th or 12th city to get call-n-ride, and the farthest south, said Jeff Becker, the structural development manager of RTD.
"It's difficult to envision success in Lone Tree with just one bus route. How do you come up with a route in Lone Tree?" Becker asked.
One of the city's bus routes, 402Ltd. connects Highlands Ranch with the Meridian Office Park. The other two, 26x and 473, travel along Park Meadows Drive from Sky Ridge Medical Center. The express bus runs through the Denver Tech Center to the I-25 and Broadway station.
Local bus 473 runs to the Denver Technological Center as far as I-225.
Service to Lone Tree will cost an estimated $1.5 million in 2004.
"This is another milestone day in the brief history of Lone Tree," said mayor Jack O'Boyle.
Services include three bus routes and call-n-ride.
"I think Lone Tree is really a watershed for us. Many people say that is going to be the bellwether for the FasTracks election in November," said Cal Marsella, the general manager of RTD.
Lone Tree petitioned for the inclusion, and voters passed it by a margin of 73 percent to 27 percent in November. The ballot measure increased sales tax across Lone Tree by 0.6 percent to pay for RTD.
Sky Ridge Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer Maureen Tarrant said she had been looking forward to the service since she found out the hospital had no bus service. On average, 25 percent of a hospital's employees typically use public transportation to get to work, she said.
"It allows us to open to the entire city," she said.
O'Neill Quinlan, the RTD director of the district including Lone Tree, had a different bellwether in mind.
"The next exciting day is when we can provide a direct stop at Park Meadows [Town Center]," he said.
RTD is planning a hearing Feb. 3 to decide whether or not to annex the mall and Acres Green.
Right now, both those areas are outside bus service and call-n-ride.
Call-n-ride offers door-to-door transportation within Lone Tree, from County Line Road down past Ridgegate Circle and from Quebec Street to Interstate 25.
The first call-n-ride carried Lone Tree dignitaries to the inauguration ceremony at Sky Ridge Medical Center. Riders included O'Boyle, Lone Tree City Councilman Elton Winters and his wife, and Ed Bade and his wife, who worked on a committee to get the city into RTD.
They were impressed.
"I called them and said, 'Pick me up at 9:30; I need to go to the hospital,'" O'Boyle said. "At 9:30, I opened my garage door to see if it was there, and it was just pulling up."
The inauguration drive was the only call-n-ride service planned for Jan. 5, and so far the only pickup scheduled, said Brian Matthews, alternative service planner for RTD.
However, he pointed out that call-n-ride riders usually get attracted to the service through word of mouth. For example, on Dec. 1, Thornton's call-n-ride service started. For the first week, it attracted one to two people per day. On the first Saturday, 15 people used the service. After that, the service averaged about 20 people per day.
Matthews said many children, teens and seniors use the service to get around town.
"It will be interesting to see how call-n-Ride works once parents realize they can just put their teen on and go to the rec center, instead of driving them," said Heather Halpape, who works in public relations for Lone Tree.
Lone Tree is the 11th or 12th city to get call-n-ride, and the farthest south, said Jeff Becker, the structural development manager of RTD.
"It's difficult to envision success in Lone Tree with just one bus route. How do you come up with a route in Lone Tree?" Becker asked.
One of the city's bus routes, 402Ltd. connects Highlands Ranch with the Meridian Office Park. The other two, 26x and 473, travel along Park Meadows Drive from Sky Ridge Medical Center. The express bus runs through the Denver Tech Center to the I-25 and Broadway station.
Local bus 473 runs to the Denver Technological Center as far as I-225.
Service to Lone Tree will cost an estimated $1.5 million in 2004.
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