Family in Commons Park on the 4th

What makes a neighborhood a great neighborhood to raise a family? Which criteria matter the most? Would you say it was the school system, the public parks and playgrounds, or simple safety. What about the value of a dollar towards your real estate, because let’s face it people usually make the transition from “There are so many great restaurants around here and check out this view” to “Yeah, but it’s got a lot more square feet” when they start thinking about families.

It’s too bad that the American way of life has created a situation that pushes people away from the heart of their cities when it comes time to think of families. Sometime during the suburban rush of the 70′s and 80′s everyone decided that you want to live in cookie cutter lots outside of the city. The money flowed there, and so did the education driven by the taxes to follow. But what did we sacrifice? That’s a great question and one that is being answered every day as the number of urban parents continues to grow. They say they don’t want their children to grow up sheltered and away from the culture, the diversity, and the education offered by living in a downtown environment. Pushing this growth along at a grass roots level are a myriad of web site forums and communities such as Urban Baby and DC Urban Mom and Dad.

But now with gas prices going through the roof and commutes becoming more painful I believe a lifestyle choice of urban living is gaining in appeal. Not to mention the financial impact this real estate market is taking on the suburbs. Downtown areas and Resort areas have, at least in the Denver marketplace, held onto their value better than most of the suburban areas. And why not, if you have a family a choice to live in the suburbs may mean long and possibly expensive (hopefully you can take the light rail) commuting and less time with your children. Will this new market mean a new financial incentive to live downtown. I think so.

Now not every urban center is the same. I was reading the LA Times blog discussion about the possibility that gas prices will drive real estate buyers downtown. One commenter made a great point in discussing the differences between such cites as Los Angeles and New York and how far apart they are in providing a family friendly environment. The commenter posts…

Downtown LA is a long way from Urban Living. I just spent a week in Manhattan with my wife and realized the many many differences between the two cities. Parks everywhere (not just Central Park), total access to everywhere through public transportation, and a market, deli, chinese, italian, american, pizza, mexican resturaunt, pharmacy, chain store, hardware store, bookstore, bakery, bar within walking distance so you actually don’t even need public transit to do anything except go to work! LA has essentially none of this. There is no comparison.

Reading this I ask myself, how do we ensure Denver becomes more like the New York scenario. The other comments on this blog point out other worries as well. Sure, the gas price increase might encourage buyers to move downtown, but it might only motivate those buyers who are sensitive to the price increases. If we don’t continue to get diversity in our downtowns we might miss out on the tax base needed to provide funding for better schools and other services. Or should the city step in and put education as a priority first and use it to draw in the audience. Maybe a developer will take that leap speculating that they just increased the price per square foot they can sell that next townhouse for. Better build them bigger then. A number of different sites offer viewpoints from parents who say they may have enjoyed their own youth in a suburb, but they were bored and felt disadvantaged in that way. Others who grew up in cities like New York talk about the education and exposure to the arts, culture, people, and activities that they want their own children to have. Which is better, are we missing out. If we look at Europe we see huge societies raising their families in cities. Are their schools better downtown?

When I look at Denver a couple new areas seem to be creating a unique opportunity for a new family focus. First there is Riverfront Park and the proposed Union Station Neighborhood in the Central Platte Valley. They have created a system that addresses one core point of parental concern, safety. Every resident in Riverfront Park pays into a master HOA. That’s a little bit of money from everyone over a very large area. This pays for their own private security in the form of off duty police officers who patrol and respond to even the smallest “I locked myself out” to the highest safety concern. It’s like an Ungated Community. There are no gates but the security stops at the property line. It’s a great idea and helps to provide the residents with security above and beyond their tax dollars. Sure it costs money, but it’s spread across the who area. This area has more than it’s fair share of what most would consider yuppies. And guess what, those yuppies are having fun together at night and making babies. So now you have an area with folks in start up family mode who have figured out safety. Now its a matter of figuring out the schools which could work just like the security does. More on that in a later post.

Just like Riverfront Park, the Highlands are has also become the starter family route. This area offers the best of downtown living plus you might actually have a yard, or a half yard. Plus you have your Mayberry style main street right at 32nd and Lowell. You can have coffee in the morning, pick up flowers for the table, maybe some wine from Mondo Vino or some cheese from next door. There are plenty of little cafes and restaurants and of course some baby or children’s clothing stores. Yep, this area is growing its starter family base. I have heard a couple stories of stolen cars but it seems theft is the biggest crime issue right now. They have nailed down community pretty well because when you walk down these streets you see a number of strollers and couples. And what is one thing parents want for their children? Someone for them to play with. The socialization might just prevent them from growing up to be the next hillside strangler and just might give the parents a reprieve during their day. Most of the other neighborhoods offer some great family communities as well. Wash Park is often mentioned for families and Cherry Creek comes up for schools. You notice pretty quickly that access to a park or green space becomes a priority. Riverfront Park has tons of strollers and children around with the vast expanse of Commons Park and the Skate Park, but I am not sure most of them live there.

So here are three poll questions for you today. Here is the first… What is the most important element of a neighborhood in a downtown for it it be family friendly. In other words, if you could sit down with the Mayor and say “I’ll raise my family downtown if you prioritize fixing this”.Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

And the second, if the city or a developer invested in an urban neighborhood such that it had the reputation of being the best school district in Denver, would you move to or buy your home in that neighborhood? Would that influence your purchase decision?Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

And finally, with how things are today, what is the most family friendly Denver neighborhood? Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

For more of the polls on Denver visit the Best of Denver page.

Related Post: Babies Downtown

Today Oil prices jumped over $10 a barrel, although I really don’t know how big that is but according to the New York Times it is the BIGGEST JUMP EVER. Just Frakking Great.

How did I know something was up, I noticed the stock market was taking a nose dive. So now everyone’s savings, 401K, and the overall economy is taking a hit because of some black tar stuff. But don’t forget is was up a ton yesterday as well. I am not annoyed by the economy, we’re tough. What annoys me is how dependent the market is on oil price fluctuations. Wouldn’t it be nice not be so oil dependent? Isn’t say… food, more important.

So that’s it, I am going to do my best to turn my back on oil. I already don’t drive much at all so my new goal is to let my car get dusty sitting in the garage. I’ve got all the bikes, mountain, cruiser, road, beater that no one would want to steal. I’m prepared. And of course I’ll take public transportation. Light rail rocks, the 16th street shuttle does me just fine.

For speed or when I need to get somewhere quick I’ll use my scooter, that will be my indulgence. But with an average of between 70 and 75 mpg I really don’t mind the whole $3.89 it took me to fill the tank last week. It’s still a frak of a lot better than any car.

The area that I haven’t figured out yet is the occasional dressy event out where we all jump in a cab across town. But for that I wonder if I can request specifically a hybrid cab.

And of course. My feet work just fine. Pedestrian friendly all the way. So I’ll keep a tally of how many days it has been since I drove my car. Just a simple goal really. Do my part for reducing my carbon footprint and having a little fun, getting a little healthier, along the way. The last time I drove my car was on Sunday June 1st. So I’m not doing too bad. I have even researched some options for cargo trailers to go on the back of my bike. Anyone else care to cut down on their car use or share how things are going. Look at it like an improvised support group. Do you think going cold turkey on a car is easier or tougher than smoking or heroin. Let’s find out. Here is the Forum Link…

http://www.theurbanbrain.org/viewforum.php?f=6

How much can you cut down on car use and how? Share your story there. ;-)

And if you want to listen to something interesting, but not cheerful, here you go.

And yes, for those who recognize the word Frak… It’s from Battlestar Galactica.  How clever that they created this word and it STUCK but they don’t get in trouble with the censors.

It isn’t often that I get behind the wheel to drive on the roads, but every time I do I ask myself the same question…. “is it time for a new car”.

I don’t really have much in the way of driving. I cruise around Denver by foot, cruiser bike, by my ages old mountain bike, by bus, by light rail, by cab, and by scooter. I rarely drive my automobile (make that, my giant SUV). What drives me to get behind the wheel (get it) is usually a trip to the mountains which may or not have some bad snow conditions or carrying alot of stuff.

My auto, as I mentioned above, is a monster gas guzzling SUV. It’s a 2000 Dodge Durango that I originally bought when I lived in Vail and wanted to be able to get around regardless of the weather or the type of road. It was also a priority to have space for a 125 lb pup. Priorities you know.

But now that I don’t live full time in the mountains I wish I had a nice hybrid to feel better about that drive between here and Vail when I do go to the mountains. At the same time I feel better when I drive in a snow storm (which is often the case as I chase powder days) to have my trusty SUV. I should mention that this SUV has roughly 130,000 miles on it, gets roughly 17 mpg, and just passed it’s emissions test with flying colors.

Here is the question that I have gotten many answers to. Am I more environmentally responsible to keep driving my gas guzzling SUV that I rarely drive anyway until it either fails an emission test or stops working or should I buy a new hybrid now. If you don’t know why this is even a question, you have to understand that there is an argument that one of the biggest damages we are doing as a culture is to be constantly consuming and disposing of everything all the time. We fill up landfills, we create a non stop flow of trash, and we don’t keep something that isn’t shiny and new. There are also arguments being made that the best green technology is just around the corner in 2010. Whatever my green car choice is today may not be as green next year. Also, some people say the greenest car I could buy is a used car for just that reason.

Don’t get me wrong. You can’t put off doing something greener just because the technology will be better tomorrow because (hopefully) the technology will always be getting greener.

But if “Big Red” is still chugging along fine and getting minimal miles at all… is it better to wait. Will my lifetime carbon footprint be lower for not churning through the products I buy treating it all as disposable.

Or perhaps it’s from my upbringing in the Midwest where everyone I knew bought a car and drove it till it simply wouldn’t go another mile. Mind you, no one I knew growing up believed in leasing a car either. And no, we didn’t go cow tipping every weekend.

But I digress.

Ideally I’d love a green vehicle that was a little better suited for deep snow. Maybe the Prius isn’t the best pick, but there has got to be a better option. If I wait, will the options get better? Or is it better to get the big gas guzzling SUV I have now off the road immediately? Does it depend on how much I am driving now, or doesn’t it?

I am keeping my limited drive time gas guzzler for the time being. Especially considering how little I drive. But beat me up, change my mind, or tell me your thoughts. I pose the question because alot of folks may be asking it. Keeping it sure hurts at the gas tank. But does throwing it away really help?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Now I know we got some snow last night. Let’s face it, last night rocked. After taking my very happy Alaskan Malamute for a snow romp we went to grab dinner at the Avenue Grill and watch the snow fall through the big glass windows. Cab’s both ways saved us from driving, but the wait to get the return cab was a bit long.

But nevermind that, I’m off topic from my friend’s trip into the office today.

First let me set the stage for you. She works downtown and lives in Highlands Ranch. That’s a long enough hike on a normal day but with the weather today… ouch. Her husband sets out for his day much earlier and gave her a warning call just before she left “I’m still not to the office yet” he let her know. This means close to two hours on the road.

So she quickly changed her plans and decided to take the light rail. Her usual 7 minute trip to the light rail station took her 30 minutes. No telling what a trip all the way downtown would have been. She missed her first train because apparently it was High School trip day and the machines were clogged with fun loving teens experimenting with their freedom and trying to learn how to use the system for the first time (this I actually find funny) and she catches the next train with no major issues. She thought about jumping on the train that was just sitting there and that she eventually missed waiting for the high school students to wrap up their purchases but didn’t want to risk getting ticketed.

Then on the way across Colfax WHAMMO a car collided with her light rail train. I guess the hit was pretty hard (and loud) with passengers on the train screaming and jolted from their peaceful trip. And what does the idiot who hit the train do… they run away. Can you imagine someone thinking they can get away with a hit and run on the light rail. Apparently no less than 50 people got their license plate numbers. I am just fascinated with how people think, or don’t think, sometimes. I can’t even imagine what will happen to that fool. My guess is the person wasn’t on the way to their job as a rocket scientist or molecular genetic engineer, but I’ve been wrong before.

The train announcer was a bit confused. Ordinarily the train needs to sit and wait to swap information with the other car but since the driver did a hit and run there was no one to swap info with. Good news for those train passengers as the train went back on its path. After finally arriving to downtown she decided to make a pit stop at the bank at Lawrence with the intention of taking the 16th street shuttle the rest of the way. That, of course with Murphy’s law, turned out to be a big mistake as the shuttles were only running one way… for her the wrong way. And of course this means the last leg of her trip was on foot slipping and sliding every step of the way.

If anyone has a better trip into work story for today… bring it.

I didn’t really think our snow was that bad last night but it sure seems to have the ability to grind our streets to a halt. Good thing we all have a sense of humor (or at least most of us).

Photo credit from CBS website.

I had a wonderful little surprise in my mailbox the other day. A new program that is being promoted by the Downtown Denver Partnership called “Drive Less Denver” is promoting, simply put, an effort to drive less in Denver.

As they phrase it, “Creative Ways to Maneuver Downtown Without a Car” the site promotes the bus system, light rail bike paths, and walking paths throughout downtown. The site also has its own Drive Less Denver Blog that documents various people’s efforts to embrace the automobile free lifestyle. In my opinion the blog is the best part of the site giving a story and a personality to this “drive less” challenge.

The site also offers info and maps for all the routes around town and the Mayor’s challenge itself. Plus some other informational features about RTD and more. Check it out and enjoy. Every little bit helps.

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.

Yesterday we were going to a friend’s house for a dinner party. Now you have to understand that we have a great policy of always taking a cab when we expect to be having a glass or two of wine. Usually that means less than ten dollars and a trip across town. Sometimes it’s more if we are going to the burbs for dinner and we can’t take the light rail. Either way, taking a cab is the right thing to do.

However this dinner party was in Evergreen. But we stayed with the same plan. The farther away it is, the worse it would be to drive. And since I lived in Vail for all those years and we took cabs across town all the time, I didn’t think there would be a problem.

I was wrong.

It took quite some time to get there, which we expected. But then when we started climbing some of those mountain roads I learned that the city cabs are just not cut out for this. These are not my Vail cabs, and these cab drivers are not familiar with mountain snowy driving. It has been so long since I was in a rear wheel drive car I forgot how bad they are on even the smallest patch of ice. And you can exponentially increase how bad this is when you add an uphill grade to the problem.

it was truly a hilarious situation. While trying to find the turn off the cab lost traction on the uphill climb and we came to a halt. The we realized we lost all cell signal and couldn’t call for directions. We slowed down to look for street signs and started sliding backwards down the hill. As the driver tried to move forward we slide sideways, we fishtailed, we spun our tires, but we could not gain any progress forward. Our cab driver was about to have a heart attack. But he was a great sport for most of it with a very nervous laugh that let me know he was not at all comfortable in the situation.

Finally we found ourselves completely unable to move up the hill to find the party, unable to get any cell phone signal on all three of our phones, and rapidly wearing down the patience of our cab driver. So we did the only thing we could do, we went down the hill backwards, inch by inch, in the cab until we could turn around. Then of course we had to drive almost entirely down the hill and away from the party just to get a cell signal.

When we finally did get a signal we called our host immediately to apologize. They were kind enough to offer to come and pick us up, but the last thing we wanted to do was have them leave their party to pick our urban butts up. There was also the fact that our cab driver, who was laughing too at this time, said there was no way in heck that any cab driver would come back to get us. Our host got the biggest laugh out of it as well. Which is good because we felt terrible for missing the event. We are already putting together a better plan for our rain check.

So what could we do next? All we could do was take the cab back to the city and grab some dinner. We ended up taking the cab to Vita, within walking distance of where we started (we did walk home after dinner).

I had to take a picture of our cab meter (and we tipped him big for being such a good sport and trying to treat his cab like an SUV) for the longest cab ride I have ever taken. And all to get to a spot we could have walked to. If it didn’t make such a fun story it would be more painful.

And as a side note… we asked our cab driver if we were the longest fare he had. We were surprised to learn that we were not even close. He took a couple to Kansas City Missouri once. That fare was about a grand. He has taken folks repeatedly between DIA and Colorado Springs, Vail, and Breckenridge (although they only do that in the summer because the cabs have rear wheel drive).

We still believe in taking cabs, but the Evergreen location may require a special solution. I am still holding on to the gift bottle of wine for my friend who’s dinner we missed, but hopefully we gave the dinner party a great story to laugh about.

Cheers! Anybody have a story that can beat this one?

With a chicken and the egg question, planners look at urban sprawl and automobiles as partners with this problem. No one can answer which causes which. Urban sprawl creates the need for more cars. Cars allow urban sprawl to expand. Let’s look at this chicken and the egg.
On the chicken side, when we build urban sprawl and when we build farther and farther from our cities and transportation system we create the need for cars. As people move to or live in these sprawl locations they become dependent upon cars, usually one car for every person in the household at or over the age of 16. No trains, public buses, or other services go to these remote suburbs, so everyone needs a car to go shopping, to get to work, to enjoy entertainment, or to get children to school.
On the egg side, cars create the ability to develop urban sprawl, allowing projected new development projects to be located far from cities or other transportation. Who cares if you are 40 minutes from the city, the light rail station, or public transportation. All you need to do is give everyone in your home a car and you’ll be fine.

Whether it is the chicken or the egg that is the cause, both are creating a problem.

This problem in Europe is the same problem here in Denver. More cars, more motorways, more cars, more motorways, and ultimately more emissions. Since 1990 greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland have increased more than 140%. Another sad thing is that while car ownership increases, using a car is not becoming more enjoyable. Using a car on our roads is becoming worse and worse of an experience. A household that might have had one car 20 years ago now has 3, 4 or 5 cars. What does that mean… Traffic.

Traffic is simply a headache that increases every day. And from a local perspective Denver is reported to be one of the worst traffic cities in the country. So what do we do, we build more homes away from the city and the light rail. Spiffy!

This problem is repeated across other European countries, in the United states, and the world. That is alot of emissions.
Solutions? Different countries have tried different things. Some countries have treated cars as a luxury, imposing taxes up to 200% of the cost of the car. Rome restricts access to the city to low emission cars or charge large surcharges on gasoline. Some cities in Europe have a surcharge to operate a car in the city.

But in my opinion the best solution is exactly what Denver is doing. Building more light rail and heavy rail tracks, working to get people out of their cars, and helping developers build new homes on these planned arteries. Try and get folks out of their cars.

I try to bike or use public transportation when I can to avoid driving. But most folks complain about the weather for biking, the timing for public transportation, and many other things. Get over it, because the automobile path has a limited lifespan.

Want some ideas to comment on or think about…

Some European cities and town make sure the roads support more than just bikes. Picture large bikes with storage, bubbles to protect from the elements, and more. You should check out their websites as they talk about transporting 6 children with room for luggage to spare. Some examples include the Nihola bike or the Christiana bikes. Just imagine how good of shape you would be in then. And to think some folks drive to the gym so they can get on a stationary bike.

Or perhaps we should share our cars. Just like partial ownership in charter planes, I really only need a car every blue moon if I really think about it. Maybe me and 20 friends can go in on one and we all share it.

Maybe someone can make a business out of this, like netflix or FedEx there could be a new enterprise solution.  Lets expand the rental car market, and you can buy a share of a rental car from a nationwide service.  When you need it, you just put your start time and location into a web page and whammo… it awaits you.  You drive it while you need it and you drop it off when and where you are done.  Of course its hopefully a fleet of hybrid or other green cars that support this service.  But ideally you drive less and don’t even need a garage anymore.  Not sure this gets us far enough out of the emission game, but perhaps there is an idea here someone can expand on.  And maybe save the consumer a ton of car payments.

Hopefully there are some better answers out there, and I’d love to hear yours so comment away.

Happy walking and biking my friends!

[Poll=6]

I have been back in Denver for less than 24 hours and the snow is falling again. Reports started at 8 to 12 inches and now I have heard quotes of one to three feet. I only have one thing to say about that.

Awesome!

I am a true snow lover. I love the pure white, the falling flakes, the blanket across the city. I love it so much that I think I may be a snow beacon. A snow beacon is someone who calls to the snow, when they are there the snow will fall. When I still lived up in the mountains last October, November, and December we got some major, and I mean major, snow dumps that allowed me to enjoy one of the most spectacular ski months of my life. I had just wrapped up one chapter of my life and had time in December to do nothing but ski, and so I called to it. And the snow came.

Then… I move to Denver and the winter comes and I miss the snow. So I call to it and we get a terrific snow storm just before I leave town. Then I get back and miss the snow and I must miss me too because it has returned. I have been told that this snow is unusual for Denver, not since many many years past has it been like this. And hence, I think I am a snow beacon. And I am loving it, so don’t mess with my fantasy.

That is not the real purpose of this post. This post is all about people, not snow. It is merely snow that draws people out and makes them a bit more real, pure, and approachable. The best description I heard was someone commenting on all the good will that existed in the streets, the cafes, and the gathering places around our city. I saw people helping others shovel their cars out, helping others push their car our of stranded trenches, and helping others by holding open doors and welcoming them to their table for a cup of tea. And the observation someone made, which stayed with me, was how wonderful everyone seems to be with each other when we are all in contact with each other, by foot, by sharing a table, sharing a seat on the light rail, by passing on the street compared with the attitudes and distance that exist when we travel inside our steel automobiles. Can we learn something from this blizzard?

During Blizzard #1 my lady and I got a chance to play in the snow. We cross country skied to breakfast at Gallop Cafe, using the streets as our trails and getting a few chuckles from folks we passed. We relaxed in their cozy environment with open faced sandwiches and what has to be the best bloody mary I have had in Denver. No kidding, it was huge with a literal vegetable garden inside (pickes, peppers, veggies, yum) and it was also served with a small beer chaser. Talk about cozy, I was in heaven. And everyone was so nice… everywhere. People were on the streets, walking to get coffee, or food, or perhaps stocking up on spirits for an evening by the fire. Whatever they were up to they were right there and they was a real connection with them as we traveled the city by foot. And that mattered.

For dinner we hiked back across the new Highland Pedestrian Bridge and hit Z Cuisine for some cozy dinner, a glass of wine, and some delicious food with our friend Pat. Pat had hiked her butt down from farther up the Highlands after being stranded in DIA for over 24 hours and had similar stories of meeting total strangers and bonding, sharing a meal and a glass of wine. I think she even got a date out of it.

So, my point is to welcome this second snow storm and wish with all your might that we get three feet or more. And if that does happen, go out and xx ski, snowshoe, or hike across your cubby in the city. Explore the local restaurants, meet your neighbors. Remember that two types of restaurants seemed to be open in the first round. One was the hotel restaurant, which is a fail safe that takes care of its lodgers. The other and even more special spot is your true local bistro. The staff and owner usually live within a few blocks, and they tend to be there for their neighborhood. As the folks at Z cuisine said, this is their neighborhood and it was important for them to be open. You wont find that with the big chains (except Starbucks, they are ALWAYS open and do get some kudos for that).

So go enjoy a Gallop Bloody, go have a french dessert with a congnac, go laugh with friends and walk home in knee high snow.

And when the snow has all melted and the roads are open again, try and remember what was so special and keep repeating it.

Happy skiing folks, and lets hope it really dumps.

Commuters fill the early-morning 90X bus from Aurora to downtown Denver on Thursday, the route s second-to-last day. Commuters will now be able to take light rail downtown. Today after 11 a.m., rides on the new southeast line will be free. On Saturday, the entire light-rail system will offer free rides. (Post / RJ Sangosti )

VIPs celebrate completion of T-REX
Karen Jackson waited Thursday in a long line of fellow commuters to catch the 6:30 a.m. 90X express bus from RTD’s Nine Mile park-n-Ride to Civic Center station.
After today, the 90X and many other express routes will be eliminated and replaced by the Regional Transportation District’s new southeast light-rail line, feeder bus service to rail stations and a new, taxi like call-n-Ride service.

Not everyone is pleased with the changes, but for Jackson and some other commuters, the switch from express bus to rail is advantageous.

She works near 13th and Lawrence streets in downtown Denver, just a few blocks from a light-rail station. She’ll have an easy walk from the train to work. Using the bus, she’d often take the 16th Street Mall shuttle to get to Lawrence.
“I’m excited about it,” she said. “It will be better in bad weather, when the buses are never on time.”

But other commuters say the replacement of express and regional buses with light-rail service will add time and hassles to their trips.

Joann Goss, another RTD bus rider, typically has taken the 90X from East Hampden Avenue and South Chambers Road to Civic Center, only two blocks from her job. It’s about a 33-minute trip.

With the elimination of the 90X, Goss expects to catch a feeder bus to Nine Mile from Chambers and East Yale Avenue, take light rail to 16th and California streets, and then get on the mall shuttle to work.

“It’s not quite as convenient,” Goss said. She said she’ll have to start her commute at 5:45 a.m., about 15 minutes earlier than the current routine.

Some riders at Nine Mile have counted the stairs at the station, calculating whether they can descend 52 stairs from the train platform and walk 50 yards or so in a tunnel under Interstate 225 and through the Nine Mile garage in time to catch the local bus.

Bus rider Dee Charlifue said she’s worried about stairs to the Nine Mile rail platform that are open to the weather and likely to be slippery in winter. There are elevators for those who need them.

Agency spokesman Scott Reed said that with the start of new train service, “the vast majority of people will have an improved commute, either from the thousands of additional service hours in the southeast area or the actual time saved.”

And, he added, “light rail doesn’t get bogged down in traffic.”

RTD is counting on expanded call-n-Ride service in the southeast area to help funnel many commuters to light-rail stops. Call-n-Ride vehicles will pick travelers up at home who call to arrange a trip, RTD said.
Commuter Lesa Robinson, who also rode the 90X Thursday,

Early-morning commuters take the 90X bus Thursday. Starting Monday, 90X riders will take light rail instead.

Robinson needs to be at work near 17th Street and Broadway at 6:30 a.m. and has been taking the 5:50 express bus that gets her to Civic Center at 6:15.

The 5:48 train from Nine Mile will get her to 16th and California at 6:21, Robinson said, and then she’ll have to jump on the mall shuttle. “That’s cutting it close.”

Metropolitan State College of Denver freshman Austin Schult didn’t have to do any math to know that his commute will get easier Monday.

Schult missed the 7:39 express bus downtown Thursday morning from Nine Mile and waited quite a while for the next bus, the 8:14. Had the train been running, he said, “I wouldn’t have missed my first class.”

Bus routes change
Starting Sunday, many express and regional bus routes will be replaced by local routes that connect to the new light-rail stations. There are some new local routes, and others have been modified to better mesh with light rail. For details, visit southeastlightrail.com/ schedules-commute.cfm or call RTD at 303-299-6000

DISCONTINUED BUS ROUTES
Express: 11X, 17X, 23X, 24X, 25X, 26X, 35X, 39X, 78X, 85X, 89X, 90X, 91X Regional: P, T, W
Local: 46L, 169, 426, 473, Link, B Line

ROUTES ALTERED IN SOME WAY
Express: 6X, 63X
Regional: U
Local: 11, 12, 15L, 21, 24, 27, 35, 40, 52, 56, 65, 66, 73, 77, 79L, 83L, 105, 121, 169L, 401, 402L, 403, 470L
Source: RTD