RTD is famous for getting state, federal and local entities to spend ever increasing amounts of money to fund bus and light rail projects that people do not want to utilize. The latest and greatest project is the East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The project runs 9.9 miles from Union Station in downtown Denver to the R Colfax Station in Aurora.
It will put a center running lane dedicated to bus lines while cutting back automobile lanes. It will have 26 outdoor stations along the way. In 2022 it was estimated the cost would be a quarter billion dollars that the federal and state governments and the two municipalities involved are funding.
By making automobile traffic even more inconvenient on East Colfax, RTD hopes that will result in increased bus usage. The alternative of course is that people simply avoid East Colfax all together thereby having a disastrous affect on all the businesses along East Colfax and congesting traffic on such streets as 13th, 14th, and 17th Avenues.
Will it be the Lady or the Tiger? Betting that RTD knows what it is doing has not been a good wager over the decades.
Andy Bosselman wrote in 5280 Magazine an enlightening three-part article “RTD is in Crisis — What Went Wrong.”
It can’t be said that RTD rushed into this project with work on the matter starting in 2008. The basic problem is that Denver wants people living in and travelling to the city to give up the automobile and take public transportation. But the pesky residents and visitors don’t seem to want to comply. Ridership for the buses and light rail has been steadily decreasing while operating costs have risen.
The East Colfax BRT is different than most other RTD projects. For example, RTD’s B Line project which was supposed to get residents to use RTD vans up and down Colorado Boulevard and to and from Cherry Creek Shopping center was an expensive flop but it did not cause any business in the affected area to fail. If East Colfax BRT causes residents to avoid East Colfax it will destroy scores of businesses along the road to fail.
Here’s hoping that RTD finally has gotten one right for the sake of East Colfax businesses if no one else.
— Editorial Board