Commute from Castle Rock to downtown Denver? (Highlands Ranch, Castlewood: work, housing)

[KrisluvThreePrinces]

What's it like?

Is there light rail access from Castle Rock?

[tfox]

My Castle Rock friends say about an hour on average in rush hour traffic.

As for light rail, it extends to the Lincoln station near the E-470 tollway and I-25 -- meaning you could drive about 15 minutes and then take light rail the rest of the way if you can find space in the park and ride. There is talk of RTD charging out-of-district residents to use park-n-rides, this would affect Castle Rock residents. But it hasn't happened yet.

[KrisluvThreePrinces]

Oh, that's not good. Any idea on how much they're thinking of charging?

My husband definitely wants to take the light rail. He's had enough of a long commute in traffic here in CA...

[gpraceman]

Where will your husband be commuting to? Since the T-Rex highway project was completed over the summer, the traffic flow on I-25 has improved greatly, so commuting by car may not be so bad.

[Dan6200alt]

I'm quessing that your question means you're considering living in CR and commuting to downtown for work. If thats the case, I'll make a blanket statement about that situation: You'll get very tired of it!

I live in CR and its a nice place, and the housing is a bit cheaper than Denver, Highlands Ranch, etc. I work mainly from home now, but used to work up north and my wife works downtown. We wish we would've just spent the extra $ and picked someplace closer to town like Highlands Ranch. (Still Douglas Co schools) In the end we probably spend more in gas, wear and tear, etc going to and fro than what we saved in purchasing a house down here. Trust me, you WILL drive to south metro ALL THE TIME for one thing or another. Plus if you live in the south parts of town, you can get to the light rail much quicker and easier. The stretch between CR and Lincoln blvd (the closest light rail station) gets very bottlenecked at rush hour.

If you're fixed on CR, I suggest only considering the Meadows area or better yet, Castle Pines North (pricier however). Meadows has quicker access to whats in CR and it generally nicer than most other areas short of Castle Pines. Castle Pines is closer to Denver you can get to Highlands Ranch via Monach/ Quebec rds.

tfox is about right with about 15 minutes give or take depending on where in CR you are to get to the Lincoln station. But thats assuming no traffic problems. But as I said, that stretch gets very congested in the morning rush hour and there definately will be times when it takes 1/2 hour, even an hour to get that far. Thats not a daily thing, but add some snow, rain, an accident on I-25 and there you go.

Having said that, CR is still a nice place, I don't mean to sound like I don't like it. Simply wanted to point out that if you plan on going to downtown often, CR might not be the place, logistically speaking.

a note on the light rail and downtown: its a great system, but its limited. Depending on where you are going downtown, it may not be that close, so you may have to walk a bit.

[BenWolfe]

The one hour commute time may be a little high, but much of this will depend on where in Castle Rock you are. If you are in Founders or Castlewood the 1 hour is about right, but if you are in most other areas I would estimate closer to 45 minutes. My wife used to to commute from Larkspur and it took 50 minutes and that was before TRex was completed. Several of my clients take light rail and they say it doesn't save much time, but it is much more convenient and lower stress.

I have not heard about the proposed charges, I will try to find additional information.

[KrisluvThreePrinces]

The address for the company he would be working for is on Broadway. Not sure where in Denver that is...my husband says he thinks downtown? (we'll have a better idea next week, as he is coming out for another interview.)

Right now, here in CA, my husband has been commuting an hour each way from the central valley into the San Francisco bay area. He is tired of it..that's why he was enthused about the light rail.

What suburbs do you recommend? Is it true that you shoudl try to commute east to west? Not sure where to start on what towns to consider living in.

Thank you so much!

[BenWolfe]

Broadway runs North/South from one end of Denver to the other. Do you know a cross street or address? I grew up in the bay area, traffic here is much lighter here. What are you looking for in a home/neighborhood.

[2bindenver]

what is it about castle rock do you find appealing? Parker & HR would be closer to light rail. Monthly pass $135 & no parking hassles.

[2bindenver]

Broadway separates the east side of the metro area from the west and runs from the south end of Highlands Ranch to north of the downtown area.

You can tell where the location is by the address ie 1400 Broadway is at 14th and Broadway. 14 blocks north of the north/south separation street Ellsworth.

If the address is 1400 S Broadway, it is 14 blocks south of Ellsworth on Broadway.

Broadway is at the edge of downtown. light rail to the 16th street pedestrian mall (free shuttle) to Broadway may be the way to go.

No light rail to the northern suburbs, yet.