Light Rail (Denver, Lakewood, Golden: price, airport, safe)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by tfox

Charles,

Castle Rock's decision to pull itself out of the RTD district means that Lone Tree will probably be the end of the line for the foreseeable future. (Although there is a short 2 mile extension as part of Fastracks planned; it will terminate near Sky Ridge Hosptial).

However, parallel to RTD's efforts are an organization variously called RangerExpress or Front Range Commuter Rail, or Rocky Mountain Rail Authority. They are planning on submitting a plan for intercity high-speed rail, along the I-70 and I-25 corridors. Monument is a member of Rocky Mountain Rail Authority, so doubtless they expect to have a station in the proposal.

Unfortuantely, the expected tab of the efforts is going to be about $13.5B, about half of which is going to I-70 and the other half to I-25. RMRA is trying to get some federal funding for it, but the voters will likely have to pony up a good portion of the money.

My take is that I think it will be a tough sell to voters. There's a lot more support, at least in the metro area, for I-70 transit than there is for I-25. $13.5B is a lot of money. (Fastracks in comparison is about $6B, albeit over a much smaller area).

I personally think it's worth the investment for the next 100 of transportation in this state, but on the other hand, I think about 40% of the voters will not vote for ANY tax increase for any reason at all, no matter how justified. It'll be a tough sell to win over enough support from the other 60% that might be open to it.

Got it..Thanks. Will do a little googling on this..

[oberon]

Yeah.. I am all for smaller government. But instead of neglecting transportation infrastructure, why not neglect our already-oversized military? $13.5 billion is peanuts to them. We could fund a LOT of great transportation projects in this country just by cutting the military budget in half for 1 year.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by oberon

Yeah.. I am all for smaller government. But instead of neglecting transportation infrastructure, why not neglect our already-oversized military? $13.5 billion is peanuts to them. We could fund a LOT of great transportation projects in this country just by cutting the military budget in half for 1 year.

I'd rather stop the 51-cent a gallon ethanol subsidy. It takes MORE energy to make a gallon of ethanol that you get FROM a gallon of it. Its a fad. Wind and nuclear are the fuels of the future, so are electric cars and mass transit for dense areas.

[oberon]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

I'd rather stop the 51-cent a gallon ethanol subsidy. It takes MORE energy to make a gallon of ethanol that you get FROM a gallon of it. Its a fad. Wind and nuclear are the fuels of the future, so are electric cars and mass transit for dense areas.

That's debatable. So far, it looks like most research says ethanol from corn has a slight positive energy balance. But it is not much more than 1:1. However, ethanol made from other sources, such as sugar cane and algae, have much better energy balances. So I would not write off ethanol altogether, as it is a means of reducing reliance on oil, which we badly need to do. So although it's less helpful towards that goal than improving mass transit or increasing reliance on nuclear and renewable energy sources, it can still play a role, particularly if we use high-energy sources... i.e. a crop other than corn.

I do agree with the rest of your post.

[Katarina Witt]

Another problem with corn ethanol is that if corn is grown for fuel, the amount available for food will decrease. The price of food will go up.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by oberon

That's debatable. So far, it looks like most research says ethanol from corn has a slight positive energy balance. But it is not much more than 1:1. However, ethanol made from other sources, such as sugar cane and algae, have much better energy balances. So I would not write off ethanol altogether, as it is a means of reducing reliance on oil, which we badly need to do. So although it's less helpful towards that goal than improving mass transit or increasing reliance on nuclear and renewable energy sources, it can still play a role, particularly if we use high-energy sources... i.e. a crop other than corn. I do agree with the rest of your post.

Yes, there is testing now being done with a tall-growing grass, that needs LITTLE water or fertilizer (hello CO farmers...) and produces more fuel than corn. My gripe is mainly the tax subsidy, it seems politically aimed to buy the farm vote. I'm not thrilled that using corn for fuel drives up food & feed prices. The ranch behind me has 90 horses; his price of corn for feed almost doubled last year. Beef prices almost certainly will rise, and things that use corn syrup.

Like boom/bust cycles in the CO oil patch that Jazz speaks of, we may see a boom/bust cycle in ethanol too. Wouldn't that be ironic. I recall reading that one ethanol plant in eastern Colorado is already idled. When I drove east this summer, it was wall to wall with corn fields, where they gonna put it all. The national corn crop this year is bound to be immense. A great book on energy is "The Oil Factor" by Leeb, expensive gas is here to stay and we are really over a barrel for the next 20 years.

[ColoWeb]

livecontent,
Thats a lot of great info. Thanks.

[mikalabrynn]

If I live in downtown denver and work in centennial is it possible to take the light rail a few days a weeks to save on gas? knock on wood that i get the job...

[tfox]

Originally Posted by mikalabrynn

If I live in downtown denver and work in centennial is it possible to take the light rail a few days a weeks to save on gas? knock on wood that i get the job...

Oh, yes, very possible. RTD has a service called call-n-ride that will take you door to door from the station to your office doorstep and back to the station again. In fact, if your office is large, there's probably a whole contingent every morning and evening that is met by the call-n-ride shuttle. The city of Centennial is largely served by the Arapahoe station (even though the station itself is actually in Greenwood Village), and also the Dry Creek Station.

[mikalabrynn]

Thanks for the info!