This weekend, we are going to have a special Sunday version of our DenverInfill walking tour of the Denver Union Station project. Normally, our tours are on Saturday mornings.
Please join me this Sunday, May 19, 2013 for relaxing stroll around the DUS project area and an informative discussion about this major transformative project. Remember to bring your camera!
Here’s how it works: Head on down to the LoDo side of the historic station at about 9:50 AM—meet at the corner of 17th and Wynkoop. Whoever shows up, that will be our tour group. We’ll start promptly at 10:00 AM and conclude around 11:15 AM at the light rail/mall shuttle station by the Millennium Bridge. The suggested donation for the tour is $10 per person and all proceeds go to the non-profit Student Chapter of the American Planning Association at the University of Colorado Denver, but you are absolutely more than welcome to take the tour whether you make a donation or not.
After this Sunday, our next tour will be Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Ken,
Really enjoy your hard work on this blog. I’ve consulted on a lot of these projects so it’s interesting to see the progress, other neighboring projects, and the bigger picture.
Just wondering how long you plan to continue the tours? haven’t made it out yet, but it’s still on my to do list.
Thanks, Joe. I will probably do the tours through the fall. By late 2013, the Union Station project will be less then six months from opening so at that point, most of the major construction will be finished. However, I will likely invent some new downtown/urban walking tour or series of tours to continue spreading the good news about what’s happening in Denver’s urban core.
Thanks,
The next 4 months will probably be one of the biggest construction booms in that area’s history. we will see almost 2 dozen 10+ story buildings go up in a short timeframe.
Best Regards,
Joe
Still concerned about auto traffic in the new CBD. A Rockies game at rush hour crushes north side traffic flow. Light rail is better than nothing but does not reach across downtown.
I agree. The downtown circulator will help some, but it is time to start the discussion/planning for some kind of transit connector between Union Station and Civic Center, other than the MallRide down 16th. High capacity streetcar replacing MallRide on 16th (eventually tying into a route north to the Highlands and east down Colfax), a light rail tunnel underground along 17th (possibly tying into a surface or underground line down Broadway or to Capitol Hill/Cherry Creek), or both need to be vetted as viable options for the long term future of downtown..
In the short term, I think you are right. In the long term, as more parts of our public transportation system get connected to Union Station the traffic situation downtown will improve, especially related to Rockies games.
In only a few years, we will have more rail lines from more parts of town, easier bus access directly to Union Station via dedicated bridges, and a significantly easier pedestrian connections via the 18th street pedestrian bridges. The public transportation available to Rockies games alone will be dramatically different in 2015 compared to today’s messy jumble.
Ken, I was along with more than 30 others on your first Sunday Walking Tour of Union Station this weekend. You tied it all together, with your broad knowledge of the city’s development, especially in the Platte Valley. Union Station is the most important project for Denver since DIA — and the East Line will link Downtown and the airport in a way that’s pivotal to Denver’s future. My wife and I grew up in Denver, and we will soon finish our LA careers, to retire in the Denver house we already own. Ken’s website keeps us up to date on what’s happening.
I urge every reader here to get down to one of Ken’s tours soon — before they’re over! If you want the big picture on Denver, walk around with Ken, and listen to his keen insights into the vast project that’s transforming Denver in to a big city. We should all support Ken’s efforts to broaden our understanding of what’s changing the urban scene, as we know it. Thanks, most of all, for Denver Infill, Ken!
Thanks for the kind words, Jim!