Denver (part 1)
Residents want BRT and regional rail; infrequent service and downtown-centric routes currently leave many neighbourhoods poorly served.
Summary of 21 responses between July 20, 2024 and April 1, 2025.
Key takeaways
Coverage gaps
System only serves downtown well, leaving neighbourhoods poorly connected
Western parts of city are particularly underserved
Residents forced to bike or drive instead of using transit
Reliability and frequency issues undermine ridership
Service runs 30+ minutes apart due to staffing and budget cuts
Persistent "slow zones" and reliability problems on light rail
Creates vicious cycle where poor service leads to lower ridership
Safety concerns persist
Crime and security issues deter ridership
Some residents call RTD "ready to die" due to safety fears
Need for better enforcement at stations
Projects that people want
Colfax Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
Link to project page
Construction finally beginning on highly anticipated project
Residents want similar BRT on Colorado Boulevard and Federal Boulevard
Many see it as model for future transit improvements
Front Range Passenger Rail
Link to project page
High-speedrail from Fort Collins through Denver and south to Pueblo; long-term vision of connecting Colorado to New Mexico and WyomingFrustration that voter-approved funding hasn’t been allocated to this, and a feeling of being misled about where money is goingWant real regional rail to reduce highway congestion
Edit on Jun 8, 2025: Some strikethroughs for accuracy, see comments
Complete network redesign
Transition away from a hub-and-spoke model
Frequent downtown circulators connecting major destinations
Potentially even reopen closed lines like the C line with better frequency
Like what you see?
Leave a comment if you agree with these points or have something to add
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I'm a Denver resident and local advocate, and your video on 16th Street (recently renamed for some reason) is quite good!
I would say that this isn't as high-quality, though. Good on mentioning BRT, but I wouldn't say that residents explicitly want BRT, I'd say that people want better transit. Denverites, like most of the world, really would prefer rail, and that sentiment has shown up at the outreach meetings for Colorado BRT.
In terms of FRPR, it won't be high-speed, and it was never planned to be (unless you count the 2012 CDOT study, but that didn't go anywhere). I also wouldn't say there's any frustration that funding isn't going to it, and the plan is to go to the ballot in 2026. Also, that feeling of being misled about where money is going is really more of a Fastracks thing. In the minds of the public, there's a correlation between Fastracks and FRPR, and people don't differentiate. People, especially in Boulder and Longmont, have been paying taxes for a train since 2005, and this has led to some serious distrust in RTD, and transit projects overall.
Lastly, a transition away from a hub-and-spoke model isn't really possible without a massive infrastructure project, especially considering that our bus network made that transition in 1978. The only really feasible thing RTD can do on that front would be increased headways on the R line, which is planned per the System Optimization Plan.
Hey! I recently did a 3 part video series on this proposed passenger rail if anyone wants a deeper dive into that specifically. (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPeF29CeqGWtBxkIkYOZUkawTL8k18PWj&si=w0HwXOjWefCIh_PX)
Definently got some inspiration from your videos and my research led me to your 16th street mall video, so thank you very much.
Overall, i would obviously love this train, but would hope it leads to changes in city design as the denver suburbs are becoming increasingly uninhabitable to other forms of transportation.
I definently see it getting approved for funding next year, but i dont envision it transforming our megaregion.
Shout out the representation tho!