tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-331208942024-03-06T22:41:03.602-08:00Colorado MusingsThoughts and news about issues affecting Colorado.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-63491370870788383232008-11-30T10:17:00.000-08:002008-11-30T10:53:01.546-08:00Shame On The Voters?" The public expected the impossible, in other words, and by gosh someone had better deliver. "Yes, that's right, a recent Rocky Mountain News editorial took the time to chastise the voters for expecting the impossible. Are the voters expecting the impossible? They seem to think so. The main problem I have with this claim is that they never touch on why it is the voters have come to expect theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-69749131362850869582008-07-14T11:34:00.000-07:002008-07-14T11:34:00.909-07:00Sales Tax Money For RTDKeep this in mind every time you buy something.Denver Post :FasTracks is the nation's largest transit expansion program, one that metro Denver voters backed in 2004 when they approved an additional 0.4 percent sales tax to build the project. The increase was on top of the 0.6 percent sales tax that RTD relies on to run the bulk of its existing transit system.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-57192045067794595812008-07-07T11:21:00.000-07:002008-07-07T11:21:00.940-07:00Colorado Construction Cost Increases in 2007http://www.masstransitmag.com/web/online/Top-Transit-News/FasTracks-Price-Tag-Swells/3$6318The Colorado Construction Cost Index, a measure of costs for transportation projects maintained by the Colorado Department of Transportation, increased 6.1 percent last year.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-89766788140851356932008-07-02T11:28:00.000-07:002008-07-02T11:28:00.648-07:00Fastracks West Corridor : 40% Higher Cost And Less Than PromisedAs mentioned previously, the West Corridor for RTD's Fastracks is being stripped to the bone. They're single tracking part of the line, building smaller stations, building lines that will require more ongoing maintenance after storms, putting riders at risk in delaying security measures and a slew of other less-than originally promised features. RTD has locked in contracts for the line so that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-101666523617443472008-07-01T11:26:00.000-07:002008-07-01T11:26:00.551-07:00Fastracks North Corridor 50% Over BudgetThe West Corridor isn't the only FastTracks line in trouble. The North Corridor is already 50% over budget.http://www.masstransitmag.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=6318&pageNum=3For example, planners on the Fastracks North Metro Corridor from Denver Union Station through Commerce City and Thornton completed a noise analysis this year indicating they will have to include more than 10 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-3247217352782409372008-06-28T10:16:00.000-07:002008-06-28T11:10:43.589-07:00Fastracks Costs : More Than Construction InflationSeeing Reuteman at the Denver Post arguing that the tax payers should give RTD even more money for Fastracks was annoying to say the least. Reutman's argument is based on the semi-false claims that RTD has been trumpeting this whole time. That is, the aren't getting as much in sales tax revenues as they told the voters they would and that their large construction cost increases were unforeseen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-76140116680013602842008-06-17T20:19:00.000-07:002008-06-17T20:21:58.228-07:00RTD's Hail Mary PassI'm a little curious how an operation that's 80% funded by tax payers has "profits".Denver Post :"This is the largest developing market in public-private partnership infrastructure," said Crooks, who was in Denver last week at a national conference on public-private partnerships, or PPPs.RTD expects private companies to bring at least $500 million of their own financing to the DIA train/Gold LineUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-32423368204562322042008-06-11T18:51:00.000-07:002008-06-11T19:25:37.932-07:00West Corridor : 38% Over BudgetRTD's 12.1 mile West Corridor, part of the Fastracks project, is nearly 40% over budget. Last year RTD's budget for the line hit $744 million. They reduced it to by $634 million through several cost cutting measure such as :Single track the few miles of the line, reducing rush hour frequency to a train every 15 minutes instead of 5Number of LRT cars a station can hand from 4 to 3.Build less Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-81136245223396709352008-05-21T07:18:00.000-07:002008-05-21T07:56:26.045-07:00Renewables Are Cheaper?So while the weirdos at the Independence Institute and the rest of the Republican Party insult our intelligence with bizarre and unsubstantiated claims of higher prices from renewable energy,Seeing this one threw me back for a moment. I haven't ran across renewable supporters before that would actually claim renewables are less expensive. Nor have I seen someone straight up claim that claims ofUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-14983541779986041162008-05-14T07:21:00.000-07:002008-05-14T07:27:03.971-07:00Denver's RTD likes to tell us that their cost over runs with FasTracks are as simple as an "unforeseen" rise in construction costs. Those are a large part of the issue for them. In itself isn't an excuse since their are financial instruments they could use to help mitigate those risks much like Southwest Airlines does with buying heating oil options to mitigate their jet fuel cost changes. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-26737974542264531502008-05-11T08:26:00.000-07:002008-05-11T08:29:10.812-07:00Fastracks Pricing "Optimistic"At what point to the voters put an end to the project? It looks like it'll soon by 50% over budget and before it lays it's first rail.Denver Post :"Overall, the capital construction estimate of $6.1 billion is probably at the optimistic," or low side, DRCOG said, adding that "upward cost adjustments are likely" and "future increases to the cost of the FasTracks system should not be surprising."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-50396504111990819742008-04-13T22:53:00.001-07:002008-04-13T22:53:28.441-07:00An Old ONe"But with a 30 percent drop-out rate, low college attendance rates, some of the most restrictive Medicaid eligibility, and a massive backlog in transportation projects, that simply is not the case."But when has spending $$$ translated directly into fixing these issues? How much of the issue of drop-outs and college attendance is due to that it's likely 18-25% of the state's population are Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-82791386896550356102008-03-23T11:01:00.001-07:002008-03-23T11:02:02.786-07:00A Wrong Doesn't Make A RightThose opposing the Front Range Toll Road (aka Praire Falcon Parkway Express) have been pushing Colorado House Bill HB08-1343. One of the glaring problems with the bill is it severely restricts citizens ability to start a new railroad. Unfortunately, those opposed to the toll road give in to NIMBYism and support such irrational restrictions. I can't blame them for their opposition to eminent Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-72804404882671479962008-03-09T12:46:00.000-07:002008-03-09T13:09:55.469-07:00Colorado Health CareI'm glad to see others out there weighing in on the health care debate. To me the fundamental flaw of it lies at the core premise that so many people automatically assume, that the problem is a lack of health insurance. Health insurance in and of itself doesn't guarantee good health care. Doctors can choose to not to be a part of the plan. We can see that already with Massachusetts where Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-12408909564751750702008-02-10T23:34:00.000-08:002008-02-10T23:37:50.481-08:00Transit Needs CarsFunny how a transportation project that is supposed to relieve congestion and reduce pollution is completely dependent on the very cars that are causing so many issues. Why again are we planning on constructing a system that plans on people inefficiently transferring from one mode to the other? Why can't we just get them where they're going efficiently and directly..... in their cars that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-16664961043856121842008-01-02T06:59:00.000-08:002008-01-02T07:01:20.455-08:00Colorado Monorail Is DeadIt's been over 4 years since they've updated their web site. Can we now say that the idea of building a monorail along I-70 is dead?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-38038410041372112542007-12-31T21:05:00.000-08:002007-12-31T21:26:27.606-08:00Time For A Beltway Around The SpringsSeeing that COSMIX, the $150 million project to expand I25 through Colorado Springs, is about to finish I found myself wondering why Colorado Springs doesn't have have a freeway forming a ring around it. Surely this isn't a new idea on my part. Sure enough with a few Google searches it was apparent this has been talked about for decades with some of the most recent talk being The Springs Toll Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-35874366968172394272007-12-28T09:59:00.000-08:002008-06-28T11:23:24.370-07:00RTD Says Happy New Year With 17% Fare HikeDenver's RTD is ringing in the new year with a system wide fare hike that includes a 17% on local fares. One of the interesting things that came out of this was that RTD is not using local sales tax forecasts but statewide forecasts and assuming they would hold true for the Denver metro. How much would a Denver metro economic forecast cost them? $10,000? $40,000? $100k? Surely that's Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-42931860199326544732007-12-27T09:45:00.000-08:002007-12-27T09:47:55.228-08:00Why People Voted For FasTracks?So how many people who voted for FasTracks did so because, like Mr. Ballard, they felt they're neighbor would be riding the train and free up more space (or gas) on the streets for them to keep driving?http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/oct/25/making-most-rails-potential/"I'd have been all for it," said Ballard, offering us some pop and water. "The more people that take light rail, the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-71343081863984850742007-12-26T11:05:00.000-08:002007-12-26T11:06:49.094-08:00Home Okay; Church BadAm I understand this correctly? Colorado law doesn't limit how close a gas or oil well can be drilled next to a home but it does limit how close they can be to a church?http://cbs4denver.com/local/church.oil.drill.2.617867.htmlGarfield County is challenging an energy company's plans to drill near several homes and a church south of Rifle, even though the company is backing off for now.State laws Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-8094238160990129012007-12-24T15:01:00.000-08:002007-12-24T15:07:16.731-08:00Only A Lawyer And A JudgeRemember the couple in Boulder that used an obscure Colorado law to take land from their neighbor without needing their neighbor's approval nor needing to compensate them? It turns out that the couple had been a lawyer and a judge. And judging from the letter they put out, they still don't get the point of the uproar is not over the legality of what they did but the morality of it. We know Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-28131040252147503242007-12-15T09:33:00.000-08:002007-12-15T09:37:29.495-08:00Rail to Denver's Airport.... WHY?By far the least expensive solution to congestion to and from the airport would be to add capacity to our freeways. And it's also the least expensive. Why are we spending 20% more to get 1/2 the delay savings from rail? Cost Delay SavedNew freeway lanes $305 61,200HOV lanes/BRT 337 41,900Diesel rail 374 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-46165435315768434462007-12-15T08:16:00.000-08:002007-12-15T08:18:20.530-08:00SLUT Going To Improve Business?One local business owner doesn't believe the SLUT in Seattle will improve his business in the long run. And why should he? As I mentioned there aren't any studies showing that trolleys do.Less than two weeks before today's opening, BluWater Bistro owner Bart Evans says he was still charting new ways to work due to blocked-off streets and intermittent fencing. While he understands the promise Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-39017258758467323382007-12-12T07:00:00.001-08:002007-12-13T07:32:58.938-08:00Seattle's SLUTSeattle is close to opening it's South Lake Union Trolley line. The 1.3 mile line cost $50.5 million to build. That is correct folks, Seattle spent $52.1 million on a rail line route that could be walked in less than half an hour, one that was already being served well by buses, and one that has not scientific proof that the existence of the line itself will improve businesses along it. You Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33120894.post-38916544959391973192007-12-02T18:56:00.000-08:002007-12-02T19:20:36.605-08:00Denver's GDPAccording to Carpe Diem, Denver's GDP if it were a country would be worth $118 billion. How big is that? It's as large as Nigeria's economy. It's larger than Egypt and New Zealand's economies, also.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0