A day of exciting news

If you have not read the Denver Post today let me tell you that it has been an exciting day of news for our growing up little city.

First there is an article about the new Union Station Neighborhood and the decisions going on currently about the trains. Two questions are on the table currently. First, should the commuter trains (not light rail) be buried and covered with commercial buildings or should the trains be trenched and open air. Apparently there are some security questions about terrorist risks and also the complication of ventilation. I would prefer to see them covered, both for the benefit of hiding them and for the additional businesses that could be supported. Plus I tend to say we should not change our neighborhoods or life to greatly due to things like terrorist risks. Otherwise, don’t they in a sense win. The other big decision is whether to use bio diesel trains or to go with electric. This is a big decision and one that brings in our goals of sustainable transportation, of which I am a fan of. That decision looks to be done tonight and we should know tomorrow. The photo above is just a generic example of a trench.

Second is an article about the trifecta of not just the W but three awesome hotels opening up in Denver. Their quick summary is…

The planned arrival of a W Hotel completes a trifecta of high-end hotels landing in downtown Denver.

The announcement that a W is planned for the 16th Street Mall comes on the heels of the development of a Ritz-Carlton and a Four Seasons hotel in the area. All three are being built with condominium residences.

The diversification of downtown and the millions of dollars spent in public improvements over the past 10 to 15 years deserve the credit for attracting the three hotels, said Bob Benton, a hotel analyst.

Restaurants, the ballfield and the convention center have turned downtown Denver into a thriving residential and retail haven, he said.

And lastly an article about the possible, or more accurately probable, approval of a Theater district in Denver. Just another sign of the growth and energy that is happing in our wonderful city. Wow, what a cool item.

So check these articles out and throw any discussion points out in the forum. And I recently had talked to someone from Reno where they were doing a project trenching trains for the purpose of working to bridge the two sides of the town that previously had been separated by above ground tracks. They dropped the trains down low and put bridges overhead. Here is a rendering of their design and here is the link to a website about this project. I have never been there so I don’t know much about it but if you all have some other projects to compare throw them out.