The Colorado Department of Transportation recently launched a new Bus Rapid Transit or BRT program for the Denver region.
[Above photo by the Colorado DOT]
The agency said it is planning, designing, and building BRT routes on sections of Federal Boulevard, Colorado Boulevard and eventually Colfax Avenue east of I-225 in the Denver region. BRT work is also underway on CO 119/Diagonal Highway in Boulder County, and future rapid transit service is being planned on CO 7/Arapahoe Road between Boulder and Brighton.
The Colorado DOT noted that BRT is a high frequency service designed to be more reliable, convenient, and accessible than traditional bus service; reducing delay points that can typically slow regular bus service, such as making long stops or getting stuck in traffic at intersections.
[Editor’s note: In a similar congestion-reduction effort, the Colorado DOT recently opened a new Operations Center at the Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnels, along with additional maintenance garage bays for highway service equipment, to improve traffic flow along the Interstate 70 Mountain Corridor.]
“This shows that we are delivering an important part of the Colorado DOT’s Ten Year Plan, and that years of collaboration with our regional partners are setting Colorado up to leverage new sources of federal funding as we expand high quality transit options in the Denver area,” noted Colorado DOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew in a statement.
“A critical part of BRT planning is strong public and community engagement,” added Jessica Myklebust, regional transportation director for the agency’s Denver metro region.
“The success of a strong BRT program depends greatly on the partnership with the communities where the corridors are located,” Myklebust noted. “BRT will connect our urban corridors and communities, providing vital transportation options that allow us access to jobs, shopping, health care, education, recreation and life.”
