A city of Denver task force studying the possible introduction of streetcars to Colfax Avenue has determined a dual-track segment between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard, costing about $105 million, could be a “viable” first phase of the project.
The East Colfax corridor already has some of the strongest transit ridership in the country — anchored by RTD’s 15 and 15L bus routes — and that high transit volume might make a Colfax streetcar a good candidate for winning federal money, the study said.
The report looked at a longer Colfax Avenue Corridor from Interstate 25 on the west to Syracuse Street on the east, but it focused on the Broadway-to-Colorado Boulevard segment for the initial phase.
Replacing a portion of the Regional Transportation District’s 15 local bus service with a streetcar would likely increase total transit ridership in the Colfax corridor over the next 25 years, the study found.
Ridership estimates “far exceed other streetcar projects being considered across the country in the federal funding cycle,” it said.
“We would clearly be the top-rated streetcar proposal in the country,” said state Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver.
Daily ridership on the 15 and 15L buses totals about 24,000 passengers.
Romer recently introduced a bill in the General Assembly that explored ways of funding a Colfax Avenue streetcar line between the Auraria Higher Education Center and the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
In December, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it would make available $130 million for local streetcar and other “urban circulator” projects around the country, with a maximum award of $25 million per project.
Denver’s Colfax streetcar study was not far enough along for the city to bid for this round of funding, but Denver hopes other federal dollars will be available if, and when, the Colfax project advances to a financing phase, said Crissy Fanganello, director of policy and planning for Denver’s Public Works Department.
The final report on the feasibility of a Colfax streetcar is due in May or June, but “preliminary modeling indicates a streetcar replacing at least some of the 15 route could increase ridership substantially, far exceeding the majority of other streetcar projects being considered across the country.”
Denver’s study identified nearly a dozen sources of possible financial support for the Colfax streetcar in addition to direct federal grants.
They include “tax increment financing” that sets aside new tax revenue generated by streetcar-induced economic development in the corridor and directs it to the transit improvement. Other funding sources could include fees generated from formation of a local improvement district, parking revenues and possible sales tax or property tax increases.
Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.cam
