Commuting to Denver from Longmont (Westminster, Broomfield: HOA, home, construction)

[Bradf0rd]

Just how bad is the commute from Longmont to Denver? Bear in mind, before choosing Colorado, my other option was Seattle where the commute would've been 45 minutes, minimum to live somewhere affordable.

[chilaili]

It depends on where in Longmont you live. There are two main roads that join up with I-25 (the interstate that goes thro Denver): Hwy 66 at the very north end of town and Hwy 119 at the southern end which also has quite a bit of development along it and consequently several traffic lights. (Hwy 66 has lights too but not as many). And if you live on the east side of town it'll take you less time to get to the freeway. The distance between Hwy 119 and 66 is only about 3 miles. On the occasions I drive into Denver from Longmont I go at the weekend and it takes about 30-40 minutes depending on what part of Denver I'm going to. The worst bottlenecks are at the intersection with Hwy 36 and I-70. From what I've seen on the morning news, the commutes within Denver aren't too bad unless you encounter an accident.

[laurbell]

I25 is a piece of cake if your from seattle. Straight shot from Longmont. Its approx. 2 miles on 119 to I25 then 30 to 45 minuts on I25 to Denver. If your not in rush hour you can make it in 30 easy.

[livecontent]

During Rush Hour, the commute of the RTD Regional Buses is approximately 50 minutes from the Longmont Terminal, on South Main. It is Route L. A commuter rail line is now in the planning stages that will have the terminus in Longmont--completion date 2016. Check out The Regional Transportation District Home Page.

See the future in the Fasttrack build out at FasTracks Home and look for the new Northwest Line at Northwest Rail Corridor.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I-25 southbound is ALWAYS backed up during the morning rush hour from at least 84th Avenue south into downtown, sometimes even further north. I drive in from the south end of town, but the traffic report is always reporting back-ups on the north end. There are HOA lanes for part of the way, and you can pay to use them even if you don't carpool.

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

I-25 southbound is ALWAYS backed up during the morning rush hour from at least 84th Avenue south into downtown, sometimes even further north. I drive in from the south end of town, but the traffic report is always reporting back-ups on the north end. There are HOA lanes for part of the way, and you can pay to use them even if you don't carpool.

the The Regional Transportation District Home Page schedule for the "L" bus (which is a reflection of how long it takes any vehicle to get from longmont to denver) indicates about an hour from longmont to denver (direct), depending a bit on where in longmont (there are a couple stops, which usually tack on the order of seconds to a couple minutes to that commute). those schedules can be a bit underestimated relative to reality (on average) during things like rush hour or rain/snow (or accidents, or construction ...). i'd give it 1:15 to 1:30 and be happy with an hour if i got it during typical commute times.

[luckysam]

Is it too late to respond? I grew up in Longmont and live about 10 minutes East of it right now. I drive to Westminster every day and want to kill myself every time I do it. The drive down I-25 to 120th is not a problem. Once you hit 120th Avenue you can count on doing 0-15 miles per hour all the way to at least 84th Avenue. 95% of the time I get off at 120th and go south through Broomfield and Westminster. It takes about 15 minutes to get from Hwy 52 to 120th Avenue on I-25. After that it could take you another 30 minutes or more to get downtown. I don't know what is wrong with the stretch from 120th through 84th but it's awful! I'd love to get off at 92nd Avenue but I can't because traffic barely crawls. I'd say expect to spend 45 min to an hour, depending on where you are in Longmont and where you are in Denver. Traffic on 119 out of Longmont is frustrating because no one knows how to drive the speed limit which is 65 and slow people love to drive in the left lane. AUgh!

[hello-world]

Originally Posted by luckysam

Is it too late to respond? I grew up in Longmont and live about 10 minutes East of it right now. I drive to Westminster every day and want to kill myself every time I do it. The drive down I-25 to 120th is not a problem. Once you hit 120th Avenue you can count on doing 0-15 miles per hour all the way to at least 84th Avenue. 95% of the time I get off at 120th and go south through Broomfield and Westminster. It takes about 15 minutes to get from Hwy 52 to 120th Avenue on I-25. After that it could take you another 30 minutes or more to get downtown. I don't know what is wrong with the stretch from 120th through 84th but it's awful! I'd love to get off at 92nd Avenue but I can't because traffic barely crawls. I'd say expect to spend 45 min to an hour, depending on where you are in Longmont and where you are in Denver. Traffic on 119 out of Longmont is frustrating because no one knows how to drive the speed limit which is 65 and slow people love to drive in the left lane. AUgh!

do you think part of the problem is that there tends to be a solid handful of people, almost invariably, that hangs out in the passing lane going 40 MPH, or remains oblivious to merging traffic (or so the traffic would LIKE to be doing if it weren't for so many people remaining oblivious to how to handle it), or slows to a crawl due to...gravity or the sight of a car pulled WAY out of the traffic (but GOT to rubber neck! never seen a car pulled off to the side before, afterall), etc., so if you get ANYWHERE near the (designed) carrying capacity of the freeway, it BECOMES the (inadvertant) carrying capacity? i just think of those "left lane for passing only" signs that you don't see most places, and that many people seem not to pay any attention to (or those stop lights at the ... BOTTOMs of ACCELERATION ramps!). lol

here's a serious question. is there any driver's education or anything in colorado or denver metro? when i moved to the area, i never had to take any real exam or anything to get my CO license, e.g., and it seems as though people just drive according to whatever seems to make sense to THEM at the time in the area rather than to any standardized set of protocols... (more so than in most any other area i've seen). maybe that has something to do with some commute times (which are nothing compared to some cities', granted) that COULD be 40 minutes, but can tend to be more like 1 - 1.5 hours.

[COnativeJC]

Is anybody commuting from Downtown to around where the Broncos Training Center is in I think its Centennial? I just started a new job and the RTD route is hellacious.