View from Denver

Toll roads: Fees don't cover the costs

2006-06-05T22:21:00.000-06:00

This editorial points out that toll roads in Colorado are not successful in that the tolls aren't covering the costs. The editor supports a mixed model of financing, public fees as well as user fees. This mixed model is really the most realistic. Everyone pays something so that the resource can exist. The users then pay to use it.

Time for the Independence Institute to give up another poorly thought out position.

Scrape offs more common

2006-05-31T22:23:00.000-06:00

Denver has a problem in that a lot of its housing stock is really old and constantly being patched. I lived in a duplex on Capitol Hill that had terrible windows and was little with major appliances. On the flip side, it was cheap. Replacing old homes with mansions doesn't seem to be the answer. I think we should look to Europe for ideaS, particularly Munich, which has a great village feel that I think Denver needs as it slowly updates its housing stock.

New Urbanism stalled in Colorado Springs?

2006-05-30T17:28:00.000-06:00

The GT has an article that surveys the state of New Urbanism in Colorado Springs and why it hasn't moved forward quite as rapidly as some thought. Interesting that there is plenty of demand from residents, it's the businesses that are hard to attract. But New Urbanism, I think was always about small retail businesses, cottage industries and local professional offices. It's difficult to find a place for megaboxes and strip malls. Moreover, Colorado Springs is just way behind in it's thinking there. I have a hunch that the TND zoning is not quite as easy to work through as it is in other places, and there is a culture among developers, that until a new thing succeeds, you're a moron for trying it. And where are the good sights in Colorado Springs to do TND? Downtown is where it's need most, to add housing to the area, but that involves tearing down old homes, some of which are not in good shape. The Old Colorado City project sounds like a good bet.

Delays on coal deliveries responsible for increased utility rates

2006-05-27T10:16:00.000-06:00

This article points out how vulnerable Colorado electricity is to delays in coal shipments. It appears that Xcel switches to natural gas generated power when coal runs low, and gas is much more expensive.

"It has become increasingly difficult to maintain
adequate coal stockpiles," Wilks said. "We have several plants that are
struggling to maintain even 10 days of coal on the ground."
Utilities typically seek to have at least 30 days of coal
supplies on hand. Deliveries by BNSF Railway, formerly Burlington
Northern Santa Fe; and Union Pacific Corp., the two biggest railroads,
fell as much as 20 percent short of demand last year because of storms,
weather-related derailments and maintenance. Much of the delivery
shortfall was from Wyoming's Powder River Basin.

New green, tony building going downtown

2006-05-24T20:38:00.000-06:00

A new addition to the intensifying dowtown scene.

Trolley line added to Fastracks

2006-05-14T14:58:00.000-06:00

Looks like a trolley line is the answer to hooking up the line out of downtown to the to-be-built line to the airport. Wasn't this section of the light rail a reward from former mayor Webb anyway?

Denver changes zoning codes

2005-06-01T11:32:00.000-06:00

A very important day for Denver. The City has moved forward with changing the zoning code, which will remarkably change the face of the city in the next century, ironically making it look more like it did in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Now that the emphasis is on redeveloping Colfax, Broadway, Federal and hopefully Colorado Blvd., Denver will have some very interesting cityscapes. Lodo won't have an exclusive hold on the"City". Apparently, enough of the City Council understand what's been written in the past twenty years about making successful cities. A bigger debt is probably owed to Peter Park, our long awaited planning guru.

Denver moving forward with light rail

2005-03-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

Great news for light rail fans in Denver. Denver is considering going beyond the Fastracks Light Rail system approved by voters last November. This new line would go from Broadway and I-25 up Broadway to the Civic Center Station at Colfax and Broadway. It would then head out Colfax to Colorado Boulevard, and then south to I-25 to connect with the line there.

To me this is an obvious need for Denver. It connects three of the main commercial corridors in the city, and should do wonders for the redevelopment of these areas. Over time I hope it will speed the redevelopment of Colfax and fill in the parking lots and single story suburban style development that gives Colfax that gritty but really boring aesthetic. The same goes for Colorado Boulevard. Although doing better than Colfax, Colorado could use some urbanization as well as an alternative to getting through there than the road, which is a congestion nightmare twice daily. I think Broadway has huge potential for adding to the city's housing stock.

I'm surprised to see the merchants on Broadway lining up to oppose this. Surely there is a way to work out their concerns and improve the area. Light rail can only help them if the stops are done right.