RTD needs to double down on what is working
Re: “RTD’s head in the sand approach does not inspire confidence,” July 26 editorial.
Your contention that RTD needs to face up to the reality of its budget shortfall is right but falls short of providing a complete vision for RTD moving forward.
Yes, start with relying on reserves — combined with cuts to its least utilized service routes. Then redirect resources to create corridors of affordability where car-light living can become realistic.
A monthly RTD pass costs $88, barely more than a tank of gas, not to mention car payments, depreciation, maintenance, and insurance — an increasingly expensive combination.
RTD can make car-light living preferable and boost ridership generally by investing in more frequent (every 10 minutes or less) bus service in target areas to better connect its rail lines with neighborhoods and key amenities.
Start with RINO. Boost bus service between 38th and Blake Station to Union Station and to grocery stores in downtown and uptown to make car-light living viable for those who prefer it or need it.
The Central Park neighborhood also provides an opportunity for the region. It has an abundance of grocery stores but lacks fast, frequent connections to existing and planned retail amenities for those living in many areas along the A Line.
Denver’s path to prosperity can be rebuilt by doubling down on the pieces of RTD that are working well (such as the A Line) and focusing on approaches that have proven to boost ridership elsewhere ( more frequent bus service to critical amenities like grocery stores).
Mark Mehringer, Denver
I would like to share two comments regarding the recent editorial on RTD.
RTD’s ridership and budget problems are closely tied to the high vacancy rate for downtown office space. Denver currently ranks at or near the top of major U.S. cities with a downtown office vacancy rates of 36.5%. Because RTD’s ridership depends so heavily on a robust downtown work environment, returning to pre-COVID ridership levels will be difficult without a broader government and private sector commitment to revive downtown employment.
RTD’s $200 million budget shortfall nearly matches its $190 million commitment to the Front Range Passenger Rail (Colorado Connector) project. With just three round-trip trains per day, this project will provide redundant/parallel service to highly successful bus rapid transit lines like the US 36 Flatiron Flyer, which offers nearly 100 round-trips per day, and the upcoming CO119 Diagonal Flyer.
Failing to deliver on the original FasTracks commitment to the northwest metro area is not a sufficient reason to continue funding a “set up to fail” project. RTD should strongly consider withdrawing its funding from the Colorado Connector. That money would be better spent on enhancements to the existing bus rapid transit lines serving the NW metro area, albeit not a politically popular course of action.
Karl Buchholz, Broomfield
Recent coverage of RTD’s budget and ridership crisis completely ignores the elephant in the room, public safety. Until city leaders and RTD officials address the rampant, dangerous behavior at our transit stops, everyday citizens will continue to avoid the bus system.
My office sits at the corner of Lafayette Street and Colfax Avenue, right next to an RTD stop. Every single day, I watch our public transit infrastructure double as an open-air drug market and encampment. I routinely have to ask individuals to stop smoking crack and meth on our building’s steps, only to be met with aggressive and hostile threats.
Our property is consistently littered with trash, discarded pipes, and human feces. These same aggressive, heavily intoxicated individuals then board the Colfax buses. It is absurd to wonder why ridership is plummeting when commuters are forced to fear for their physical safety before they step on board.
RTD does not need more marketing; it needs a spine. We need an immediate zero-tolerance policy for aggressive behavior and open drug use, alongside an active and unannounced security presence on transit routes–like federal air marshals. Ridership will only return when RTD and the city finally prioritize the safety of law-abiding, fare-paying citizens.
Max Odom, Denver
Leave my green lawn alone
Re: ”Don’t make your neighbors resentful. Let your grass go dormant,” July 26 commentary.
Ten years ago, after twenty-five years living in a well-maintained weed patch that turned to mud every winter, over five consecutive summers I started putting in a lawn at 600 sq ft per year. Hand weeding, rototilling, regrading to fill low spots, adding soil enhancements (manure) and finally seeding and watering. All by hand.
I chose grass seeds of ryes and fescues formulated for arid, high-altitude applications. My grass is very well suited to the application. Being retired, I have the time and inclination to water my lawn with a single hose, by hand. I obey the letter and spirit of the law regarding water restriction times and days, and I am allowing my backyard to suffer in comparison.
My lawn is an oasis for my grandkids and itap a luxury I’ve earned after a life without. My neighbor’s petty “resentments” regarding my lawn are as irrelevant to me and my lawn care regimen as Arizona squandering its Colorado River shares, watering most of their irrigated golf course acreage and allowing unrestricted residential swimming pool permits, with cost being the only impediment to having one in your backyard. If your conscience eats at you, Xeriscape your yard if you want. When more of you do so, it leaves more water for us that love our lawns.
I refuse to be shamed for my choices on this matter by my neighbors or Krista Kafer. Perhaps Krista Kafer could stop using her Denver Post-sanctioned “soapbox” to advocate for the politics and politicians that regurgitate the lies of climate denialism if she wants to make a specific contribution to our community, and to humanity in general. Leave me and my lawn out of it.
Paul Barnkow, Arvada
Re: “Will residents face more severe water restrictions?,” July 26 news story.
I’m reading with interest the articles regarding the water restrictions imposed by Denver Water and that the restrictions aren’t generating the reductions requested.
In my HOA, in southwestern Centennial, south of Greenwood Village, the HOA waters twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the entire day. Watering begins in the morning and continues throughout the day, all day each of the two approved days. Additionally, the HOA has made no move to remove grass in the 75 acres that comprise our community.
As recently as 10 years ago, Willows Water, our local provider, could be notified of unintentional watering of streets and sidewalks at midday, and they would note the information and notify the user. The watering would stop. In the last few years, when Willows Water was notified about the non-approved hours of watering, they indicated they no longer want to receive that information.
It will be interesting to see what next year’s watering schedule brings. A small amount of grass in the backyard was kept, making my house viable for future sales; however, the lack of water will likely make that grass extinct.
Unfortunately, with the current administration stating, “climate change is a hoax” there will be fewer efforts to recognize and mitigate the issue. For those of us who recognize the reality of climate change, these hot, hot summers will be the norm, not the exception.
Polly Archuleta, Centennial
If you have an issue with a neighbor, you should talk to them before calling the cops, or in the case of our current water shortage, Denver Water. Filing anonymous complaints against one’s neighbors does not promote community.
We have lawns in our neighborhood that are suspiciously green, for sure. But if someone is ignoring watering restrictions and using far more water than is recommended, the water department has precise numbers taken from residential meters.
The water department established the restrictions and enforcement, and is the water department’s responsibility. Let’s not add “water snitch” to the list of all the things that already divide us. If the department is serious about cracking down, we will see the evidence. So far, there is no evidence the water department takes its own restrictions seriously.
Barry Noreen, Denver
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