{"id":1312793,"date":"2019-07-24T22:20:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T04:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/glenwood-springs-rfta-dual-study-may-cost-600000\/"},"modified":"2019-07-25T08:21:56","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T14:21:56","slug":"glenwood-springs-rfta-dual-study-may-cost-600000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/glenwood-springs-rfta-dual-study-may-cost-600000\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenwood Springs, RFTA dual study may cost $600,000"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.487323943662\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-984744-108\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/rftacity-gpi-072519-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/rftacity-gpi-072519-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent | A pair of bus riders exit the RFTA Hogback bus route at the West Glenwood Station on Wednesday afternoon.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>A pair of bus riders exit the RFTA Hogback bus route at the West Glenwood Station on Wednesday afternoon.<\/strong><br \/>Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/rftacity-gpi-072519-1.jpg\" alt=\"A pair of bus riders exit the RFTA Hogback bus route at the West Glenwood Station on Wednesday afternoon.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/rftacity-gpi-072519-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/rftacity-gpi-072519-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent | A RFTA bus leaves the holding station at the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority lot near the Glenwood Springs Municipal Operations Center in West Glenwood.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>A RFTA bus leaves the holding station at the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority lot near the Glenwood Springs Municipal Operations Center in West Glenwood.<\/strong><br \/>Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/rftacity-gpi-072519-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"A RFTA bus leaves the holding station at the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority lot near the Glenwood Springs Municipal Operations Center in West Glenwood.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/glenwood-springs-rfta-dual-study-may-cost-600000\/?#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/glenwood-springs-rfta-dual-study-may-cost-600000\/?#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As the city of Glenwood Springs and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority\u2019s capital projects begin to intersect, the two entities want comprehensive data that can drive future transportation related decisions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That data would come from a study, which would carry an estimated $600,000 price tag. Of that, the city may pay half, with $150,000 being pulled from the 2019 budget \u2014 an amount not previously budgeted \u2014 and the remaining balance coming out of its 2020 budget.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For some councilors, another \u201cstudy,\u201d particularly one that would cost $300,000, was too much.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe parking study that we need is probably a $50,000 study,\u201d Councilor Steve Davis said at the July 18 City Council meeting, ahead of abstaining from the 4-1 vote in favor of releasing a Request For Qualifications (RFQ) for the study.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThat\u2019s what we spent on the last parking study that we did, and we put it on a shelf somewhere,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to a draft of the proposed study\u2019s description, 15 past and future resources consisting of projects, plans and studies would serve as \u201cguiding plans and documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">At this point, no money has been spent on the latest study, however the city and RFTA will likely split the $500,000-plus bill after vetting each of the RFQ\u2019s responses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s the cost \u2014 wants versus needs,\u201d Councilor Tony Hershey said Tuesday of his opposition to funding the study. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to be spending money on studies for projects that are not going to happen. I am not going to agree to expenditures that are not necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to a recent staff report, the project\u2019s scope of work would, among other things, study parking, transit operations and intersection operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">PARKING<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In addition to looking into short-term and long-term parking, the study would evaluate possible paid parking in the downtown area, along with new enforcement technologies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThey want to do a city-wide parking plan, which is really not in RFTA\u2019s purview,\u201d RFTA CEO Dan Blankenship said of one of the reasons the city and RFTA agreed to split the proposed study\u2019s cost.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI don\u2019t think it would be our responsibility, or our place, to come in and review the city\u2019s parking and develop a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">TRANSIT &amp; INTERSECTION OPERATIONS<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The consultant would also consider locations for a new BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) station north of I-70, possibly in West Glenwood, with the hope of offering Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service in the city\u2019s downtown core.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">According to the same staff report, \u201cIdeas that would be considered by the consultant to allow BRT service through Glenwood Springs\u2019 downtown include: Dedicated bus lanes on Grand Avenue, Pitkin, Colorado, Cooper, or on the Rio Grande Trail Transit signal priority.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Additionally, the study would examine key downtown intersections and make recommendations about changes in signal timing or operational changes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cSeveral of the proposed projects require outside expertise. A study to locate a future BRT terminal seems to me like a legitimate use of RFTA and city resources,\u201d Councilor Rick Voorhees stated in a recent interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe city has needs, and so does RFTA; we can\u2019t consider them independently,\u201d he said. \u201cThe city should be at the table all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Added Blankenship, \u201cGlenwood Springs is a member of RFTA and we want to work in partnership with them to make sure that we\u2019re making these investments in the best locations for the good of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:mabennett@postindependent.com\">mabennett@postindependent.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/glenwood-springs-rfta-dual-study-may-cost-600000\/?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A pair of bus riders exit the RFTA Hogback bus route at the West Glenwood Station on Wednesday afternoon.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent A RFTA bus leaves the holding station at the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority lot near the Glenwood Springs Municipal Operations Center in West Glenwood.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent Show CaptionsHide Captions As [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1312793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 06:11:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1312793"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1312800,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1312793\/revisions\/1312800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1312793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1312793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1312793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}