Boulder / Niwot / Longmont area without a car - possible? (Denver: how much, transfer to)

[quintabelina]

We want to relocate to the Boulder / Niwot / Longmont area and will not have a vehicle to begin with, is this doable? I've heard the mass transit is quite good, could be depend on this? I'd really like to be able to do without a car...

[nelumbo]

Doable, yes, at least in Boulder. It is helpful if you have a bicycle. You will want to carefully look over the RTD bus routes, and pick a location which is well served by buses - locations along Broadway in Boulder are probably best served by buses. In other areas, bus service may be particularly limited at night (after 7 pm) and on weekends.

Niwot is not well-served by buses, Longmont has some bus service but mostly during the day on weekdays, with limited to no service during evenings or on Sundays.

[LLRinco]

Probably easier in Boulder than Longmont or Niwot. If you have a bike, that will serve you well.

[Comedy]

Bike during most of the year but pencil in some time for the Bus during the winter. I know plenty of people who commute to work by bike from Longmont to Boulder.

[ebwolf]

Well, actually, my wife and I share a single vehicle. But she drives regularly because her schedule is erratic. We sold our second car when we moved here from Tennessee because the bus system is so good.

I learned pretty quickly that a bicycle makes a good mate to the bus system. I have been working at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I find it takes about 45 minutes to drive in, find parking and walk to my building. It takes 60 minutes to ride my bicycle the entire route. It takes 45 minutes to cycle to the bus stop, ride the Bolt into Boulder, and then ride to my building.

Around Boulder, bicycle is the preferred means of transportation. It's a little rough in the Winter if there is ice. In Niwot, if you live in the central area like I do, you can easily walk to the Niwot Market for groceries. I frequently find myself making several trips in a day because it's easier to just store things on their shelves than in my small pantry!

[Katarina Witt]

I will add that having a car is nice; it gives you some freedom to get out of town to places the buses don't go. But yes, it's doable in Boulder Co. w/o a car.

[RBBikerider]

I have commuted in Longmont for a little over 3 years, to include riding to Gunbarrel (Boulder) 3 to 4 days a week year round. Longmont has a very good, and ever improving Bicycle Infrastructure. Although the Greenway is limited to primarily east to west travel, there are plenty of streets with bike lanes. Most cars are respectful of you, and I rarely have any issues getting around.
I cant comment on the local bus system, as I have never used it. Depending on where you live in Longmont, most things are a 3 mile ride, so easily accomplished by bike. The Regional Bus system is very good. The Bolt will get you from North Longmont to downtown Boulder and you can catch a bus every 30 min. during rush hours and every hour otherwise until 11:00pm at night. A bus that runs from Longmont to Fort Collins was recently added, and is amazingly much cheaper to ride than the Bolt at $1.75 one way Vs. $3.50 for the Bolt.

I personally don't like to ride in Boulder more than I have to. Boulder has an amazing to be envied infrastructure for cycling. However, Cyclist and Car's alike seem to forget the laws apply equally to everyone, and common courtesy on on the Green-ways is rare as well.

I know of several Car Lite and Car free family's in Longmont, most with small children. Despite the attitude of most who don't live here, Longmont is really is a great place to go by bike and be car free. The number of Bicycle Commuters seems to increase everyday.

[ndk]

I've done it. You have to make the occasional sacrifice in your activities or lifestyle, but I actually find those to be more rewarding than penalizing, for the most part. Life's too damn cozy anyway.

I'm currently living car free in Estes Park, which is also eminently doable. The only problem is the relatively high $25 one-way fare to Lyons, but that's about where RTD would be without subsidies, so I don't mind it that much.

Whether or not oil prices really soar or we hit a real shortage, I think this lifestyle is going to become more widespread. Not dramatically so, but more so. Which, of course, wouldn't take much.

Go for it. You'll love it.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by ndk

I've done it. You have to make the occasional sacrifice in your activities or lifestyle, but I actually find those to be more rewarding than penalizing, for the most part. Life's too damn cozy anyway.

I'm currently living car free in Estes Park, which is also eminently doable. The only problem is the relatively high $25 one-way fare to Lyons, but that's about where RTD would be without subsidies, so I don't mind it that much.

Whether or not oil prices really soar or we hit a real shortage, I think this lifestyle is going to become more widespread. Not dramatically so, but more so. Which, of course, wouldn't take much.

Go for it. You'll love it.

I think oil is going up and away over the next few years. Bloomberg has the price of crude at 89.90/bbl as of a few minutes ago. The Chinese are buying cars like crazy; 13M units in 2010, with estimates of 17M in 2011 and 20M in 2012. The people of India are also becoming car crazy. IMO, that means oil may well be at $125/bbl by 2012, and at some point we'll hit a real tight spot between demand for oil and the ability of supplies to meet that demand.

Best short term defense is being near a good bus or light rail system, or be in a town with good cycling infrastructure.

Best long term defense is a car powered by non-gasoline means such as battery power, natural gas, fuel cell, etc.

[docwatson]

Transit is excellent within the city of Boulder itself; you have the most choice of routes and more frequent buses.

Outside of the city of Boulder you will be more limited, i.e. need to live on the right bus corridor(s) for where you want to go, but if you choose well it should be fine and its certainly better than many counties in the US. If you anticipate working in Boulder, have you considered adding Louisville and Lafayette to your list? There are express buses to Denver from Longmont, Louisville and Lafayette, not just Boulder. If you are not on the right corridor, however, be prepared to walk, bike, or transfer to get where you need to go, adding time to your travel.

Niwot would certainly be nice, if you like a more rural/small town feel, but you will have only about one bus to choose from. Gunbarrel is similar to Niwot except there are a couple buses and its a short bike ride into Boulder.

I agree that cycling is a great means of travel within the city of Boulder, into winter depends on your tolerance for cold and conditions. Boulder has an excellent bicycle system within the city, which is a bit unique in how much bicycle trails are a part of the transportation system, complete with underpasses. It also seems to me Longmont has a great system. Between cities is a bit dicier but certainly doable.