There was standing room only in the RTD Administration Building basement meeting room on the evening of November 18 as this was the date established several months ago when the Board had agreed to decide whether or not to formally approve FasTracks and refer it for voter approval next November. The loud and intense conversation around the room almost drowned out Board Chairwoman Mary Blue's (Longmont) call to order.

Twenty elected local officials, members chambers of commerce/economic development councils, and representatives of environmental and citizen interest groups made statements in strong support of the FasTracks initiative. Six representatives of local officials, from Aurora, Northglenn, Thornton, and Adams County indicated their overall support for the project but strenuously objected to the suggested time line of FasTracks construction which placed their projects last.

Two former RTD Board members criticized the plan. Jack McCroskey (Central Denver) thought that the expansion could be paid for with existing RTD revenues and Dave Bishop (Aurora) said residential and employment centers could change over the next 20 years making rail lines to those centers obsolete. One gentleman speaking on his own behalf expressed the view that RTD should have a one hundred year time horizon for FasTracks and construct the entire network underground.

Ken Feldman speaking as Chairman of the Metro Denver Mayors Caucus strongly supported FasTracks but added as Mayor of Arvada, "We do understand that some (rail) corridors will be done first and some will be done last. We would just like a little more equity."

Many local officials had been assuming that transit buildout of all corridors would occur more or less simultaneously but a Board study session with RTD planning staff on November 13 changed that notion. Because of availability of funding some corridors have earlier starting and completion dates. The West Corridor (Denver-Lakewood-Golden) is slated to be completed first in 2012. Both the US36 (Denver-Boulder-Longmont) and the East Corridor (Denver-DIA) commuter rail lines will see service in 2013. The North Metro Corridor (Denver-Commerce City-Thorton) follows in 2016 and the Gold Line (Denver-Arvada), Interstate I-225 Corridor through Aurora, and the US36 Corridor bus rapid transit route (Denver-Boulder) will begin in 2017. (Since the meeting a revised FasTracks schedule has been proposed with all six corridors being completed within a two year period during 2013-2015.)

Realizing the political difficulties this issue could create, many members of the Board publicly and privately expressed the desire that no one corridor be left behind and vowed to work with RTD staff to remedy this problem. Dir. Dave Rose (Brighton) speaking on behalf of his Adams County constituents suggested RTD staff could take a look at streamlining the construction schedule process in order to make the start times more equitable across projects.

With Dir. Rose's comments in mind, the Board unanimously approved the measure. The FasTracks proposal now goes to the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) for review and approval. It is possible during DRCOG's five month review that the proposed construction schedule will be modified.

Almost forgotten in the passage of FasTracks was the approval of RTD's 2004 budget.The budget assumes the opening and staffing of the new Elati light rail maintenance center in 2004. Routine maintenance will be done there while heavy maintenance for light rail vehicles (LRV) will be done at the existing facility at 10th and Osage which will also have an enlarged train control center. Initial segments of the Southeast Corridor Light Rail Line (SE LRT) will be completed in 2004 and the new LRVs will be tested during the year as they are delivered. The budget also includes a call-n-Ride service for the City of Lone Tree whose citizens voted to join RTD earlier this month.

Dir. Wally Pulliam (Arvada), Board Finance Chair, reported RTD experienced a 2.5% increase in September boardings compared to the previous year. Unfortunately, sales tax receipts and farebox revenue continue to be below last year's levels.

Dir. Steph Millard (Conifer), Board Customer Service/Marketing Committee, said that Fannie Mae is giving consideration to providing mortgage rate incentives for homeowners who live within a quarter of a mile from public transit in the Denver Metro area. The assumption is that a lower level of automobile ownership is required by a homeowner if he/she lives close to transit. Since car payments are less, these homeowners can take on more mortgage liability. This approach is currently in use in a number of other cities.

General Manager Cal Marsella announced that Representatives Mark Udall and Scott McInnis introduced resolutions in the US House of Representatives congratulating RTD on its selection last month as the best transit agency for 2003 by the American Public Transit Association. He reported that discussions are underway with various construction and real estate development firms to initiate a private/nonprofit group which would "form a balance of requests" for transit oriented development (TOD) projects once FasTracks was approved by the voters next November. He said he thought there was a need for a regional plan so that business development of TOD sites could be coordinated with need.

Commenting on the need for political cooperation across the District to pass FasTracks, Mr. Marsella said, "Without FasTracks, we would have to wait 25 years to start the next (transit) corridor; then we would have a real fight on our hands about which corridor is chosen."

Responding to some of the directors comments about recent media criticism of the public art along the T-Rex project on I-25, Mr. Marsella remarked, "I've been associated with a lot of public art projects and it is very hard to get unanimous positive consent about any of them." Dir. Rose suggested, "One can get use to it. As you drive the art flows at you." All this discussion led Dir. O'Neill Quinlan (East Arapahoe/Douglas Counties) to quip, "If a driver has an accident looking at the art, are we liable?"

In other business the Board approved a sale of 6 acres along the TREX SE LRT just south of County Line Road for TOD as well as annexation of 930 acres in unincorporated Arapahoe County just south of Smith Road and the Union Pacific (requested by the owners of this property). The Board also approved a plan to create a cooperative arrangement with private bus contractor, First Transit, to inspect and repair RTD buses assigned to the contractor. The quality of maintenance on buses owned by RTD and operated by private concerns has been an ongoing issue for some time.

Finally the Board agreed to make light rail station name changes which have been made to more accurately reflect the area or function served by the facility. Convention Center/Performing Arts Station is the new name for the station inside the new Colorado Convention Center which will replace the current "D Line" stations on 14th and California. Arapahoe at Village Center replaces Arapahoe Station on the Southeast Corridor Line at the request of Greenwood Village officials who envision this station as being a center for commercial and social activities for their community.

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The Colorado Transportation Commission (TC) met at C-DOT Headquarters on November 20 for its monthly meeting. The meeting was called to order by its new chairman, Joe Blake (Denver). Com. Steve Parker (Durango) now serves as vice-chairman.

Commissioners gave individual reports about meetings with local elected officials, transportation planners, and the public in the various commission districts around the state.

Com. Joe Jehn (Golden) mentioned he made a presentation in Washington, DC on towing. He added that the Texas legislature had found a way to creatively raise millions of dollars for highway repair/construction by increasing all moving violations in the state by $30.00. He joked about recently getting a speeding ticket in Wyoming.

Com. Greg McKnight (Highlands Ranch) who chairs the Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) Committee reported C-DOT expenditures fell 3% below C-DOT's 10% target for disadvantaged businesses. The actual monetary difference was $21 million.

Chairman Blake recognized the retirement of Owen Leonard, Region 3 Transportation Director (SW Colorado) who is retiring after 26 years with C-DOT. In accepting various tributes, Mr. Leonard recalled that his interest in civil engineering and C-DOT began at the age of nine when he saw his father sworn in as a Colorado State Trooper in the same room the TC holds its monthly meetings.

In his Executive Directors report, Tom Norton mentioned that he and RTD officials attended a construction roundtable with national leaders who had come to view T-Rex. He made a trip to Taiwan for an international exchange on transportation infrastructure projects. He briefly described the reduction of transportation alternatives in the I-70 Mountain Corridor environmental impact statement (EIS) study. A passenger rail option and an option for a advanced guideway system (monorail technology favored by the Colorado Intermountain Fixed Guideway Authority) were eliminated in favor of expanded highways lanes and possible guided diesel or hybrid bus service. He mentioned the Colorado, Kansas, and Pacific Railroad, which leases the 122 mile state owned Towner Line, is looking at a transfer of stock to another company in order to help with the continuation of financing for the cash-strapped railroad.

Craig Siracusa, Chief Engineer, reported that a former railroad bridge crossing the Maroon Bells Creek near Aspen which now serves SH-82 was closed for five days recently because the original foundation was discovered to be eroding away. The bridge built in 1888 was converted for highway use in 1930 and widened in 1963.

Diane Koller, Government Liaison Director, stated that $80 million, which represents the current year full funding amount for the T-Rex project, is contained in a federal omnibus transportation spending bill. The TEA-21 legislation which had provided for six years of highway and transit programs expired in September and was replace by the omnibus bill which funds projects at current levels until February. Reauthorization of TEA-21 must take place at by that time. This will be a difficult proposition for the Congress because some members want to pay for it with an increase in the gasoline tax, something that will be hard to do in an election year. ________________________________________________________________ Jon Esty, President Colorado Rail Passenger Association