280 Columbine Street
Suite 306
Denver, CO 80206

p. 303.377.7086
f. 303.355.9194
info@transolutions.org

Transportation Solutions announces the sixth annual The Road Ahead educational forum, Implementing Innovation , offering an in-depth look at creative transportation options employed around the country to facilitate connectivity, accessibility and sustainability. The presentation will feature policies, partnerships and best practices in innovations such as carsharing, bikesharing, and enhanced transit strategies already implemented in cities across the nation.

WHAT - The Road Ahead: Implementing Innovation - Expanding Local Connections with Pioneering, Practical and Proven Sustainable Transportation Options
Program includes: Full breakfast, networking, national keynote presentation, local panel discussion, and audience Q & A

WHEN - Friday, January 29, 2010, 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM

WHERE - JW Marriott Denver at Cherry Creek, 150 Clayton Lane, Denver, Colorado 80206

Featured Presenter: Clayton Lane, Chief Operating Officer for EMBARQ, the World Resources Institute’s Center for Sustainable Transport. EMBARQ works to catalyze sustainable solutions to problems of urban mobility in the developing world. Prior, Mr. Lane co-founded and directed PhillyCarShare, the nonprofit organization that provides “cars by the hour” in Philadelphia. As a Professional Associate and Lead Planner at Parsons Brinckerhoff, he became an expert in transit planning and FTA New Starts projects, designed rail and bus facilities and services, and led long-range planning.

Tickets are $35 per person including breakfast. (Limited scholarships available.)
Early Bird registration online at http://theroadahead2010.eventbrite.com

The July 2009 edition of Parks and Recreation, the official publication of the National Recreation and Parks Association, has named Denver as Best Trail Parks in the United States. The honor comes during National Parks and Recreation month.

“If a city is a great tourist destination, you want its parks to be a part of that,” says Peter Harnik, director of the Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence in the article. “Parks have so many components, and people love parks for so many different reasons. From natural ambiance to recreational opportunities to the unexpected things that just happen there when strangers interact.”

Denver has one of the biggest biking, hiking and jogging trail systems in the nation, a network of 100 miles of paved, off-road trails that cross the City. The paved bike trails connect to hundreds of additional miles of dirt trails, many of which head up into the mountains and offer mountain biking adventures and scenic views.

In addition to Denver being named Best Trail Parks, other winners were:

Best Destination Parks – Chicago, IL
Best Dog Parks – Seattle, WA
Best Arts and Entertainment Parks – New York City
Best Natural Area Parks – Philadelphia, PA
Best Urban Plazas – Detroit, MI
Best Water Park – San Antonio, TX

People interested in exploring Denver’s bike trail system can download a free hike and bike trail map at www.denvergov.org/parksandrec.

RTD went live with the new myStop automated phone route and schedule system on July 1 with a soft launch. Each of the 10,250 stops in the RTD system has a unique 5-digit number posted on the sign that can now be used to access route and schedule information by phone through RTD's new myStop automated telephone information system . The myStop system features speech recognition and touch-tone technology. By dialing 303.299.6000, option 1, customers hear RTD's myStop automated schedule, and will simply enter the 5-digit stop number for which they want scheduled bus or train departure times. Customers simply say their stop number to be given the next three scheduled trip departures on a given route. If customers can't locate the stop number, the system will help identify the stop by the nearest intersection. If that's unsuccessful, they will simply say "operator" or press 0 to be connected with a Telephone Information Center specialist.

Statistics show that some 70 percent of calls to the RTD Telephone Information Center are to simply find out when the next bus or train is scheduled to depart from a given stop or transit station. The myStop system is designed to quickly give answers to a large percentage of these calls by offering a quick and easy voice-activated method for receiving that basic information.

The statewide Bicycle Safety Act went into effect on August 5. The new laws are geared to improve road safety for bicyclists and motorists, including a minimum 3 feet of space when passing a bicyclists.

Thanks to the bill sponsors, Senator Greg Brophy and Representative Michael Merrifield, all the co-sponsors, and Governor Bill Ritter for their leadership efforts, and all the cycling advocates who worked tirelessly to move the legislation forward, including local groups BikeDenver and Bicycle Colorado.

What does the new law mean?

Better laws for cyclists...

• Better Breathing Room: Bicyclists get at least 3 feet of space when motor vehicles pass.
• Riding with Friends: Two bicyclists may ride side-by-side when clear, but please move to single-file to allow other vehicles to pass.
• Be Safe, Be Seen: Ride as far right as is safe. This doesn't mean riding in the gutter! Riding in the right half of the lane is often the safest and most visible spot.
• Go with the Flow: Bicyclists can ride to the far right or far left on a one-way street.

Better laws for motorists...

• Keeping Traffic Moving: Enjoy more freedom to safely pass a bicyclist by crossing the centerline when safe to do so.
• Better Visibility: A challenge for drivers is not seeing a bicyclist on the road. The new law allows bicyclists to ride where motorists are already looking to adjust sooner and more safely.
• Roads are Open for the Public: Bicycles are legal on public roads. Please treat everyone with respect. It is illegal to swerve at, buzz, or throw things at bicyclists.

According to a recent survey sponsored by the National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America...

75% of those polled said that improving public transportation and building communities that don't require as much driving were better long-term solutions for reducing traffic. Only 21% said that building new roads provided the best solution.

Americans are more concerned than ever about the impact of growth and development on the changing climate. Nearly 90% believe new communities should be designed so we can walk more and drive less, and that public transportation should be improved and accessible.

At 84% against, Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to the privatization of public roads and highways.

80% prefer redeveloping our older, existing urban and suburban areas rather than building new housing and commercial development at the edges of our existing suburbs.

The 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey was conducted by telephone among 1,000 adults living in the United States in October 2007. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

For more information, visit http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/narsgareport2007.html

Check out WalkScore to see how your neighborhood stacks up. WalkScore uses Google Maps to rate addresses based on proximity and walkability to a variety of amenities, including grocery stores, restaurants, schools, parks and a variety of others.

Climate change is a "hot" topic in the media, among the public, and at all levels of government.

So with all this discussion, what can you, as an individual, do to reduce your impact on global warming?

Individuals can have the biggest impact by changing their transportation behavior. It is estimated that one third of greenhouse gases produced in the US are from cars and trucks. With more registered personal vehicles than licensed drivers, Americans drove over 2.9 trillion miles in 2005, and now make an average of 3.4 vehicle trips per day--largely to destinations within one mile.

So what can you do? Try an alternate form of transportation just one a week--carpool, telework, use transit, bike or walk. For more ideas on how you can make a difference, click here .