Project Background

The first published plan for mass transit in Denver in the early 1970s indicated that a solution was needed to better connect Denver and Golden, an area commonly called the West Corridor. Since then, RTD has completed a number of studies to look at various options for this area.

Major Investment Study
The Major Investment Study (MIS) for the West Corridor was completed in 1997, and concluded that LRT along the old Associated Railroad and Denver Interurban Transit Line adjacent to 13th Avenue provided the most transportation benefit with the fewest negative impacts to the community. This alignment, known as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA), was based on input from neighborhood residents, businesses and local elected officials and adopted by the RTD Board and later the Denver Regional Council of Governments.

Environmental Impact Statement/Preliminary Engineering
In June 2001, RTD kicked off a comprehensive study to consider the positive as well as negative impacts of Light Rail Transit (LRT) from Denver to Golden (known as the Locally Preferred Alternative or LPA) along the old Associated Railroad and Denver Interurban Transit Line. The finished product of this study is the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The goal of the EIS is to understand the technical, environmental and community challenges and opportunities associated with using Light Rail Transit (LRT) to mitigate the tremendous growth and congestion expected in the West Corridor over the coming decades. Since one of the key criteria used to evaluate this project is its cost effectiveness, Preliminary Engineering (PE) is conducted at the same time as the EIS in order to develop a much better cost estimate for construction, implementation and operation of the light rail system extension and roadway improvements.

The first step in conducting the West Corridor Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was to define the scope of the study. This was done by soliciting input from government officials, local elected officials and the community itself about any and all issues that were to be addressed in the study.

The West Corridor's "Scoping Process" gathered input from agency representatives as well as community members in late 2001. Through multiple small community briefings and three formal Scoping Meetings, the project's scope was defined by the end of 2001.

As a result of the Scoping Meetings, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) conducted a full analysis of the feasibility of using Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) as an alternative technology to Light Rail Transit (LRT). In the spring of 2002, the BRT alternative was eliminated for a variety of reasons including that, in order to offer equal ridership capacity, BRT would have created significantly greater impacts than LRT.

The technical team then began work on the "Alternatives Analysis" portion of the study. This included analysis of a variety of subject areas including traffic-demand forecasts, environmental issues and noise/vibration topics. In addition, the technical team began the preliminary analysis of other issues including community impacts, parking demands, and anticipated traffic patterns in and out of stations. To ensure that preliminary station designs reflected the desires and needs of those living near them, a series of hands-on, interactive Station Enhancement Group workshops were held between November 2001 and April 2002. In these workshops, more than 40 community members participated directly in the preliminary planning and design of transit stations along the West Corridor. Click to see a table of recommendations from the Station Enhancement Group and their status in Final Design.

In addition to addressing their community's interests, desires and concerns, workshop participants considered the role of Art-in-Transit to reflect the rich cultural diversity in the communities along the proposed corridor when designing the stations.

In early 2002, the technical team narrowed the list of potential maintenance facility locations down to three. The Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) gave their consensus to the location of the maintenance facility between Harlan Street and Sheridan Boulevard and between W. 11th Ave. and the proposed alignment. (Note:  This maintenance facility was eliminated when the FasTracks plan passed)

In 2002, the Jefferson Economic Council, Jefferson County, the City of Golden, and the technical team worked together to select a preferred end-of-line location. After detailed analysis, a specific location, just northwest of the Jefferson County Government Center was selected for the end-of-line station. (Note:  This location was changed during final design. Current Jeffco end of line station)

After detailed analysis and input from the community, the technical team prepared an internal draft of the Environmental Impact Statement in November 2002. That month, two Pre-Draft EIS Public Information Meetings were held to inform community members about what would be included in the Draft EIS.

On March 14, 2003 the West Corridor Draft EIS was officially available for public review. This date started a 45-day public comment period which ended on May 5, 2003, during which members of the community were encouraged to review and comment on the Draft EIS.

On April 16, 2003, a Public Hearing was held in Lakewood to receive comments on the Draft EIS. Over 150 people from the community attended. RTD collected oral and written comments throughout the evening. All comments received during the public comment period were be evaluated and responded to in the Final EIS, which was submitted to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in late 2003.

Throughout the EIS public involvement process, RTD held over 158 meetings, including public meetings and small group briefings.

The FTA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) in April 2004 which finalized the EIS process.

FasTracks
Funding for the West Corridor was solidified with the passage of the FasTracks plan in November 2004, along with five other new rapid transit corridors, three extensions of existing corridors, the redevelopment of Union Station, the addition of over 21,000 new parking spaces and a revised bus feeder system.With the passage of FasTracks, the maintenance facility originally planned along 13th and Harlan Streets was moved out of the West Corridor so that it could serve additional light rail lines.