Tuesday, October 28, 2008

You're Invited! Union Station Public Realm Design Meeting

Continuing the series of public meetings relating to the design and programming of Denver Union Station's planned public spaces, the project team consultants, Hargreaves & Associates and SOM will be presenting to the public their recommended designs at the next Land Use & Urban Design Break Out Group (BOG) meeting, to be held:

Thursday, October 30

5:30 - 7:00 PM
Wellington Webb Municipal Office Building (201 W. Colfax)
Room 4.F.6 - 4.G.2 (4th Floor)


This is a critical meeting for all Union Station Advocates members and the public at large to attend! This is an important opportunity for Denver citizens to influence the design and proposed uses of the public realm spaces at Union Station.

See you on Thursday!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Union Station Receives "Record of Decision"

Good news for maintaining momentum on the Denver Union Station project. From the official project press release:

The Denver Union Station (DUS) Project today announced the Record of Decision (ROD) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) which confirms that construction of the proposed arrangement of transit improvements can proceed. The ROD includes the light rail, passenger rail and regional bus facilities as well as associated site improvements.

A Record of Decision (ROD) is the federal decision document which describes the transportation project, explains the reasons for the project decision and makes commitments as to how the project will mitigate impacted environmental resources. The ROD completes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

"This is a reason to celebrate and a big step forward given all of the work we have ahead of us to complete our vision for Denver Union Station," said Russ George, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Transportation. As an important milestone, this announcement culminates six years of arduous work on behalf of the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the City and County of Denver (CCD), the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). In August, the project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was released which was a detailed disclosure of the public process, alternatives evaluations and environmental analysis that the project team performed. The FEIS and the Master Plan Supplement, completed in June 2008, will guide the future redevelopment of the DUS Project.

"This is a huge step in moving this complicated project forward," said Lee Kemp, Chairman of the Board for the (RTD). "We are anxious to keep the Denver Union Station Project on track," he added.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper praised the news. "We’ve turned a critical corner in developing this gateway to downtown that will serve as the area’s foremost regional transportation hub," he remarked.

The Record of Decision is available online at:

http://www.denverunionstation.org/pdfs/rod_101708.pdf