About the Project

The Southwest Corridor Extension will add approximately 2.5 miles to the current Southwest Light Rail Line as well as one new end-of-the-line station at C-470 and Lucent. No planning process can be successful without input from its stakeholders, which include all of those who will either use the system or in some way be affected by it.

The Environmental Evaluation has been using public input together with technical, environmental, schedule feasibility, and cost information to evaluate and confirm the alignment for the Southeast Corridor Extension. We continue to encourage you to participate in the public process so that the outcome of evaluation is a success

Purpose and Need
The Purpose and Need Statement establishes the benchmark from which alternatives are evaluated. The statement is intended to not restrict the development of a reasonable range of alternatives. The "purpose" is essentially the reason for the project. The "needs" statement will present the current projected conditions that the project must address, received during the early stages of the public process.

Purpose
The purpose of the Southwest Corridor Extension is to provide light rail transit service south of the existing end-of-line station at Mineral to serve Highlands Ranch and the South Metro area, which is continuing to grow. Travel demand on the existing light rail lines is high, with ridership running higher than projections and parking shortages occurring on a regular basis.

Need
An extension of the Regional Transportation District's light rail transit service to Highlands Ranch would:

• Address travel demand issues along the existing light rail lines
• Address future development and growth patterns in Douglas County, the city of Littleton, and Highlands Ranch
• Provide a reliable alternate mode of transportation to the automobile
• Improve current and future mobility within the corridor, contributing improved travel times, providing more travel options, and offering better regional connectivity
• Meet the voter mandate of 2004 by completing this portion of the
  FasTracks plan