On the GO

Create your own custom vision for transit in Boulder! The Design...

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:38:00 -0600

Create your own custom vision for transit in Boulder! The Design Your Transit tool (LINK BELOW) lets you prioritize investments such as service, fares, access and connections, amenities, and many more. So get to it … design YOUR ideal transit system. Your response and participation will inform the city’s 2013 Transportation Master Plan Update.

http://bouldertransitdesign.com/

RTD bus service changes are now in effect. Check the new...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:55:42 -0600

RTD bus service changes are now in effect. Check the new schedules before riding the bus - http://t.co/TvhQiPjlvW

Table Mesa Pedestrian Bridge Opens April 28 RTD’s...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:43:48 -0600

Table Mesa Pedestrian Bridge Opens April 28

RTD’s FasTracks program achieves another milestone with the opening of the Table Mesa pedestrian bridge, bus slip ramp and other elements on Sunday, April 28. A celebratory ceremony will take place at the Table Mesa Park-n-Ride on Friday, May 3, at 10 a.m. on top of the parking garage.

The new bus slip ramp and pedestrian bridge will allow commuters to safely cross over US 36, and is estimated to save Denver-bound transit riders three to five minutes of travel time. The bridge and slip ramp are an integral part of the US 36 Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

For more information about the completion of the bridge and bus slip ramp, visit www.rtd-fastracks.com/us36_14.

The City of Boulder needs YOUR face! We’re collecting...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:44:00 -0600

The City of Boulder needs YOUR face!

We’re collecting portraits of Boulderites, past and present, to include on the decorative glass panels in the new bus stop shelter at southbound Broadway and 16th Street/Euclid Avenue. The Carnegie Branch Library for Local History is supplying numerous historic photographs, but portraits of current Boulder residents are also needed!

Please come have your picture taken at any of the three available dates and locations to participate in this community art project!

• The Boulder Farmers’ Market, 13th Street between Arapahoe Avenue and Canyon Boulevard, on Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to noon.
• The bridge inside the Main Boulder Public Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave., on Monday, April 22, from 4 to 7 p.m.
• The southbound Broadway bus stop at 16th Street/Euclid Avenue on Thursday, April 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. If there is inclement weather, this site will be moved to the bridge inside the Main Boulder Public Library.

For more information about the community art project, contact Noreen Walsh at walshn@bouldercolorado.gov.

CDOT and HPTE Select Concessionaire to Complete the US 36...

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 08:22:34 -0600

CDOT and HPTE Select Concessionaire to Complete the US 36 Express Lanes Project to Boulder

April 5, 2013 - Denver Metro Area/CDOT Region 6 - DENVER - Today, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the High Performance Transportation Enterprise (HPTE) announced the selection of Plenary Roads Denver as the Concessionaire for phase II of the US 36 Express Lanes/Bus Rapid Transit project between 88th Street and Table Mesa, which will complete improvements to the entire US 36 corridor between Denver and Boulder. The project is CDOT’s first public-private partnership (P3), an innovative partnership where the public and private sectors team together to provide transportation improvements and services to the traveling public.

“We are extremely excited to have a partner on board to complete the final phase of the US 36 improvements that will address the needs of this vital corridor and support continued economic growth in the area,” said Mike Cheroutes, Director of the HPTE. “We wouldn’t be here today without the dedication and hard work by our local, state and federal stakeholders.”

CDOT and HPTE will enter into a 50-year agreement with Plenary Roads Denver who will:

Construct Phase 2 of the US 36 Corridor which includes:

Constructing an Express Lane in each direction of US 36 between 88th Street and Table Mesa for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) and tolled Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOV);
Reconstructing two general purpose lanes in each direction between 88th Street and Table Mesa
Widening the highway to accommodate 12-foot-wide inside and outside shoulders;
Replacing the Coal Creek Bridge and rehabilitating and widening the S. Boulder Creek bridge and widening the McCaslin Boulevard bridge to accommodate a diverging diamond interchange;
Adding Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) improvements, including new electronic display signage at stations and bus priority improvements at ramps. The improvements also will allow buses to operate on the shoulders of US 36 between interchanges to decrease bus travel time;
Installing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for tolling, transit and traveler information, and incident management;
Installing a separate commuter bikeway along the rest of the corridor; and
Improving the RTD station at McCaslin Boulevard.

Operate and Maintain the following highways, which includes snow and ice removal:

The entire US 36 corridor between I-25 and Table Mesa
I-25 Express Lanes between downtown Denver and US 36

“The ability to construct large-scale roadway improvements has become more and more challenging as construction dollars are limited and we must look for ways to be more economical, efficient and effective with those limited resources,” said Trey Rogers, Chair of the HPTE Board of Directors. “The public-private partnership allows us to do just that, and as a result, we are able to move into the final phase of construction years ahead of schedule.”

About two-thirds of the Phase 2 Project costs are funded through private sector equity and non-recourse debt. The project delivers much-needed capacity, while shifting operations and maintenance and replacement obligations to the private sector for the next 50 years. And, the P3 arrangement enables the project to be completed 20 years sooner than originally planned.

The Concession team includes the following partners:

The Plenary Group- team lead and managing partner
Ames Construction, Inc.- construction
Granite Construction- construction
HDR- engineering design
Transfield Services- maintenance
Goldman Sachs- financial advisor

The second phase of the US 36 Express Lanes project is expected to begin construction in late 2013 and will be complete by late 2015.

About the US 36 Express Lanes/Bus Rapid Transit: The US 36 Express Lanes build upon the success of the existing I-25 Express Lanes by extending the regional Express Lanes system to form a continuous network from downtown Denver all the way to Boulder. It is a priority regional transportation project in one of the highest growth corridors in the state.

US 36 Express Lanes Project – Phase I CDOT selected the Ames Granite Joint Venture team as the design-build contractor for the $312 million project, and they began construction in July 2012. The project will open to the public in January 2015. The project is a multi-modal project led by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) to reconstruct and widen US 36 from Federal Boulevard to 88th Street in Louisville/Superior.

Phase I Project Details:

Adds an express lane in each direction of US 36 for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) and tolled Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOV);

Widens the highway to accommodate 12-foot-wide inside and outside shoulders;

Replaces the Wadsworth Parkway, Wadsworth Boulevard (at 112th Avenue), Lowell Boulevard and Sheridan Boulevard bridges, and the US 36 bridge over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

Adds Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) improvements, including new electronic display signage at stations and bus priority improvements at ramps. The improvements also will allow buses to operate on the shoulders of US 36 between interchanges to decrease bus travel time;

Installs Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for tolling, transit and traveler information, and incident management;

Installs a separate commuter bikeway along much of the corridor; and

Improves RTD stations along the corridor, including new canopies with enhanced weather protection.

Table Mesa pedestrian bridge opens April 28

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:06:08 -0600

Table Mesa pedestrian bridge opens April 28:

Table Mesa pedestrian bridge opens April 28

RTD’s FasTracks program achieves yet another milestone with the opening of the Table Mesa pedestrian bridge and associated elevators, stairs and boarding plaza. The bridge, which opens to the public on April 28, was set in place last September and connects the Table Mesa Park-n-Ride with eastbound bus connections, saving three-to-five minutes of travel time for commuters heading to Denver from Boulder.

The bridge is an integral part of the US 36 Bus Rapid Transit project. A collaborative partnership between RTD and CDOT, the BRT project will provide 18 miles of bus rapid transit service between downtown Denver and Boulder along Highway 36. Watch for more updates on the US 36 Bus Rapid Transit project.

The City of Boulder is putting together a feedback panel of...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:57:00 -0600

The City of Boulder is putting together a feedback panel of “interested but concerned” cyclists, and would like you to participate!

We want to hear from everyone, but we are especially interested in hearing from women of all ages.

Be actively involved in making Boulder’s bike system more safe and complete.

Please contact us today: Marni Ratzel Ratzelm@bouldercolorado.gov

Anna Nord Norda@bouldercolorado.gov

Visit www.BoulderTMP.net to learn more about the City of Boulder Transportation Master Plan Update and ways to get involved!

Smart Growth America ‘Cool Planning’ workshop to help kick off...

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:14:34 -0700

Smart Growth America ‘Cool Planning’ workshop to help kick off Transportation Master Plan Update Open House

On Monday, March 4 from 4:30 to 8 p.m., residents are invited to join city officials and representatives from Smart Growth America to discuss innovative travel, land use and accessibility strategies that will help prime the Boulder community for the year-long 2013 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) Update.

The event will begin with a TMP Update open house (from 4:30 to 6 p.m.) where residents can learn about the transportation challenges that face the Boulder community, followed by Smart Growth America’s Cool Planning: Local Strategies to Slow Climate Change presentation (from 6 to 8 p.m.). Both events will be held at the Hotel Boulderado Conference Center, 2115 13^thSt. Light refreshments and a cash bar will be provided.

The open house starts the community collaboration phase of the 2013 TMP Update, which includes five focus areas (with embedded key topics):

· Funding (Key Topic: Transportation Maintenance Fee);

· Complete Streets (Key Topics: Transit Vision and Bike & Pedestrian Innovations);

· Transportation Demand Management (Key Topic: Exploration of a Community-Wide Eco Pass);

· Regional Travel; and

· Integration with Sustainability.

Throughout 2013, the city will engage and collaborate with the community to ensure the update reflects the community’s transportation vision. Stay tuned for opportunities to provide feedback and plug into the update effort at www.BoulderTMP.net.

City seeks community feedback on potential Transportation...

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:05:38 -0700

City seeks community feedback on potential Transportation Maintenance Fee options

As part of the 2013 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) Update, the Transportation Division of the Public Works Department is exploring funding mechanisms to better maintain the city’s extensive transportation system.

Since 2001, transportation funding has decreased while inflation and construction costs have increased. This scenario creates a substantial gap in transportation’s purchasing power. In 2012, council directed staff and the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) to form a community task force to study and formulate options for a potential Transportation Maintenance Fee (TMF) and to consider other options to address the city’s significant unfunded transportation operations and maintenance needs.

Beginning today and continuing through early March, the Boulder community will have a number of opportunities to provide input on potential TMF scenarios including:

InspireBoulder.com – A series on transportation funding, priorities and the TMF.
Outreach meetings with community stakeholders, including the University of Colorado, Boulder Valley School District, NOAA/NIST, the Boulder Chamber, Plan Boulder and Downtown Boulder Inc; and
2013 TMP Update Kick off and Open House – From 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Monday, March 4, the public is invited to the 2013 TMP Update Kick off and Open House, followed by a presentation (from 6 to 8 p.m.) by Smart Growth America’s “Cool Planning: Local Strategies to Slow Climate Change.” This event will be held at the Hotel Boulderado, 2115 13th St.

All feedback collected will help inform council’s discussion at the TMF Study Session on April 9, 2013. At the study session, council will consider potential options regarding a TMF.

For more information about TMF, including background and study information, visit www.bouldercolorado.gov/transportation/funding.

About the 2013 TMP Update: The 2013 TMP Update is a year-long community planning effort to advance and innovate Boulder’s transportation policies, programs and facilities for generations to come. This master plan update will also integrate the city’s Sustainability Initiatives and Climate Commitment goals to ensure coordination and thoughtful planning with other large city initiatives.

RTD FasTracks’ 2012 Annual Video shows an inside look at...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:08:35 -0700

RTD FasTracks’ 2012 Annual Video shows an inside look at FasTracks from the perspective of RTD General Manager Phil Washington and RTD staff members.

Community Bicycle Share in Boulder Boulder B-cycle has funding...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:50:00 -0700

Community Bicycle Share in Boulder

Boulder B-cycle has funding for 10 new stations in 2013.Where do you think they should go? Let us know at InspireBoulder.com

B-Cycle is Boulder’s public bike share program. B-cycle was built to make getting around your city easier. It’s for people on the go. Whether you’re grabbing coffee or commuting to work, B-cycle is a quick, easy, and cheap alternative to being stuck in a car. B-cycle is a next-gen bike sharing system. In layman’s terms: B-cycles are there when you want one and gone when you don’t. Just swipe your card, grab a bike, and get to where you’re going.

Currently, there are 21 B-Cycle stations around town. Station locations are chosen based on the following criteria:
• Near pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, transit, and/or eGo car locations
• Great visibility from a variety of transportation modes
• Near high residential and employment density
• Near existing annual members
• Near a destination
• ¼- ½ mile from existing or planned B-stations
• Environmental factors (hills, flood plains, etc.)

Where would you like to see a B-cycle station? Visit InspireBoulder.com let us know what you think and see what locations other people are suggesting.

Winter Bike To Work Day is tomorrow! (Wednesday Jan. 23rd...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:55:00 -0700

Winter Bike To Work Day is tomorrow! (Wednesday Jan. 23^rd)

Boulder is celebrating its fifth annual winter bike to work day to reward those who ride their bike all or part of the way to work, school or another destination around town.

Ride your bike and receive a FREE Breakfast at the following locations:

Alfalfas at 1651 Broadway St
Community Cycles at 2805 Wilderness place, Suite 100
(just north of the Goose Creek path west of the Foothills Parkway underpass)
CU Bike Program at the Broadway underpass at Euclid Avenue/University Memorial Center (UMC)
Dushanbe Teahouse at 1770 13th Street
Ideal Market at 1275 Alpine Avenue
Moe’s Broadway Bagel at 2650 Broadway
Moe’s Bagels on Arapahoe at 3075 Arapahoe
Moe’s Bagels 28th Street at 3267 28th Street
Page Two at 6565 Gunpark Drive in Gunbarrel
Pedal to Properties at 1948 Pearl Street
Rally Sport Health and Fitness at 2727 29th Street

If you’re still not registered Sign Up Today!

New RTD Bus Pass for CU Students All current CU bus passes...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 11:46:00 -0700

New RTD Bus Pass for CU Students

All current CU bus passes expire Jan. 31. In efforts to avoid disrupted transit service, all students are encouraged to pick up your new CollegePass from Jan. 7-25 at the large tent in the east courtyard of the C4C near the Buff OneCard office, M-F 8:30-5:00pm.

Students must pick up their new CollegePass in person and have their current Buff OneCards on them.

Click here For addition pick up locations and times: http://www.colorado.edu/node/2308511

Help Ease Traffic Along US 36 In efforts to reduce the amount...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:32:00 -0700

Help Ease Traffic Along US 36

In efforts to reduce the amount of Solo Driving during the peak of US 36 reconstruction, 36 Commuting Solutions will be offering incentives to promote the use of public transit along the US 36 corridor.

Some incentives include:

A Free RTD 10-ride Ticket Book, valued at $45
Telework training sessions, starting Feb. 20 at the First Bank Center
$2,500 available for establishing new telework programs

Give your new commute option a try!

For more information on the subsidies and incentives available, visit 36commutingsolutions.org/commuting-us-36/incentives/, email info@36commutingsolutions.org, or call 303-604-4383.

The January 2013 RTD service changes are now in effect. Learn...

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:43:35 -0700

The January 2013 RTD service changes are now in effect.

Learn how the changes affect your bus routes and schedules at http://bit.ly/13eOXEE.

All RTD bus routes listed have undergone some change in service, such as schedule adjustments, service improvements or reductions, school service changes, etc.

For those who want to learn to ride safely and comfortably,...

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:36:51 -0700

For those who want to learn to ride safely and comfortably, check out the Community Cycles Winter Riding Workshop on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013 from 9 to 11 a.m. To register and for more information, visit www.communitycycles.org.

Check out additional winter cycling tips from Bicycle Colorado.

Winter Cycling Workshop
Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013
9 to 11 a.m.
2805 Wilderness Pl., Suite 1000
Boulder, CO 80301

Cost: $10
Cost for members: $5
Work-trade available: No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Reserve a spot at the Winter Cycling workshop.

Winter poses special challenges to the utilitarian cyclist. If you ride purely for fun and fitness, you may tend not to ride when it’s dark, cold and snowy. If your bike is your primary transportation, you don’t necessarily have this option. After all, you’ll still need groceries in February! But don’t worry, 80 percent of cyclists in Copenhagen, Denmark keep on biking all winter long, and you can too, with a little bit of extra knowledge and experience.

There are three main differences between fair weather and winter cycling: darkness, the cold, and snow and ice on the roads. In this workshop, we’ll cover what it takes to ride safely and comfortably in Boulder all winter long, from making sure you’ve got lights bright enough to see, not just be seen, to keeping your fingers, toes and nose from going numb. We’ll also talk about riding techniques to keep you upright on snowy and icy surfaces, and the additional maintenance your winter steed may require.

Winter riding may be challenging sometimes, but you’ll never have to scrape a windshield, and occasionally it’s downright magical. There’s nothing quite like riding home through a silent, snow-clad night as the flakes slowly drift by, and discovering a fox bounding along beside the trail.

This workshop will be led by Ann Haebig and Chris Ringer. For more info, check out the Winterbike Workshop Notes on the Flat Iron Bike blog.

RTD Service changes take effect on Sunday, Jan. 6 We want to...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:32:02 -0700

RTD Service changes take effect on Sunday, Jan. 6

We want to remind you that this month’s RTD bus service changes take effect on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. For details, please see the Final January 2013 Service Changes brochure at stations, on buses and trains, or online.

League of American Bicyclists visit Boulder, Colorado The...

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:44:52 -0700

League of American Bicyclists visit Boulder, Colorado

The Pursuit of Diamond Status: Boulder and Davis Say “I Do”

Earlier this month League President, Andy Clark, and I traveled to Boulder, Colo., and Davis, Calif. — but I was transported back to my college years in Germany.

Bicycling along the network of paths and bike lanes in these two Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Communities, I was able to comfortably ride for miles and miles without the need to bike on a high-speed road to meet up with city staff at the town hall, grab some food with local bike advocates at a downtown restaurant or attend an evening function at a museum.

In Davis, I got nearly run over by a large group of junior high school students on bikes, trying to pedal to class in time. In Boulder, we witnessed a frolicking group of young men riding around town in the evening with a boom box on the rack and lights in their wheels. These two Platinum BFCs really seem to have it all — the infrastructure, the bike culture and a compact and mixed land use that allow destinations to be quickly reached by bike.

Can it get any better than this? Well, though a good number of people bike in Davis and Boulder, more than half of the residents in cities like Copenhagen in Denmark or Utrecht in the Netherlands have adopted the bicycle as their main form of transportation. To challenge our own top cycling cities to move beyond Platinum and compete with world-class cycling cities, the League developed a new Diamond-designation. Andy and I traveled to Boulder and Davis to kick off their Diamond challenge. (Next month, we’ll pedal that challenge in the third Platinum city: Portland, Ore.

Boulder received us with overcast skies but heart-felt enthusiasm. We checked out two bright red B-cycle bikes for the duration of our stay and got quite a few miles out of them. We met with local government officials and staff, community and advocacy representatives and were treated to a three-hour tour of the city. The Diamond challenge will require the local government and the community to work together to address any remaining obstacles to cycling to encourage an additional 5 percent of commuters to bike to work or school — for Diamond designation, a 15 percent bicycle mode share among the minimum requirements.

Go Boulder Manager Kathleen Bracke is confident the city is ready to step up: “The City of Boulder/GO Boulder is excited to continue our partnership with the League and the Boulder community to advance bicycling as a way of life and look forward to working together to achieve the new Diamond level Bike Friendly Community designation.”

Mayor Matt Appelbaum agreed: “Recognition by the League energizes us to aim even higher. Boulder is looking forward to celebrating as the first Diamond-level Bicycle Friendly community in the future.”

One of the highlights of our visit in Boulder was a tour of the newly constructed 42-acre Valmont Bike Park, which is a one-of-a-kind natural-surface facility that allows residents and visitors of all ages and abilities to practice their mountain biking, BMX and cyclocross-skills. Our B-cycle bikes were unfortunately not made for this type of facility (though some have tried!), otherwise I would have taken a spin on the inviting singletrack course.

Davis greeted us with a bike light in our hotel room from Davis Bicycles! and two shiny, black city-owned bicycles. Since I arrived a day early, I got the chance to witness the installation of a new bike corral downtown, which featured a prominently displayed QR code that, when scanned with a smart phone app, takes you to the city’s bicycle website. During our stay we got to meet with Mayor Joe Krovoza, council member Brett Lee and city staff. We also caught up with local bicycle advocates, and representatives from the business community, the University of California at Davis and the Capital Corridor Joint Powers Authority. And got a great tour of the city’s bike infrastructure from Davis Bicycles! members and active transportation coordinator David Kemp.

Fortunately our rather packed schedule allowed us to stop by a city council meeting to present the City of Davis with a Silver Bicycle Friendly Business award on our way from the Bicycle Advisory Commission meeting to the holiday festivities of the Davis Bike Club. But hands down the highlight of our visit in Davis was to see the Active 4 Me program in action at a local elementary school that tracks children that walk or bike to school through bar code technology. The system also automatically informs parents that their child has arrived safely at school, addressing a real or perceived parental safety concern.

“The League’s trip to Davis truly complemented a new renaissance of pro-bicycle energy in Davis,” Kemp said. “After meeting with our elected officials, the business community, city staff, UC Davis, and bicycle advocacy groups, Andy and Nicole provided our community the positive charge and constructive feedback we needed to advance our city to the next level: Diamond! Pair this with the new, Beyond Platinum – Bicycle Action Plan and we’ll strategically propel our community, over the next five years, to work together to make Davis a world-class Bicycle Friendly Community.”

The next step for Boulder and Davis toward Diamond status will be a public survey to allow the community to chime in on the comfort and convenience of the bicycle network, perceived safety and other issues that influence people’s daily transportation and recreation choices.

“Given the City of Boulder’s ethic of ‘continuous improvement,’ we appreciate the League’s challenge for communities like Boulder to reach beyond Platinum Level to the new Diamond designation,” said Director of Public Works for Transportation Tracy Winfree. “Diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend; Diamond Designation is.”

Click here to learn more about the Beyond Platinum program.

Winter Cycling WorkshopSaturday, Jan. 12 9 to 11 a.m.2805...

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:00:03 -0700

Winter Cycling Workshop
Saturday, Jan. 12
9 to 11 a.m.
2805 Wilderness Pl., Suite 1000
Boulder, CO 80301

Cost: $10
Cost for members: $5
Work-trade available: No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Reserve a spot in the Winter Cycling workshop.

This workshop will be led by Ann Haebig and Chris Ringer. For more info, check out the Winterbike Workshop Notes on the Flat Iron Bike blog.

Video

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 09:34:25 -0700