From December 2006

Belleview Station

Above: Park Meadows Mall

Below: 25 and 470 Interchange

Union Station is the terminus of the C, E and H light rail lines. At the west end of downtown is Union Station, which is on par for a major redesign as it becomes the hub for the Fastracks plan, which will expand rail services to the west and north surburbs, as well as the airport and Boulder, (which the “A” and “B” line designation is reserved for).

Currently the station for the C, E, and H lines is on the far side of the Amtrak boarding area on the east side, with a pedestrian tunnel through Union Station to the Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhood. To the west side of the station is Platte Park, an area that is being rapidly developed with new high rise condos surrounding Platte Park.

Also served is the major sports complexes: Mile High Stadium, the Pepsi Center, and Coors Field. A bridge is currently being built over interstate 25 to the Highlands neigbhorhood, which will allow access to downtown and the station via a short walk.

Above: Looking west to Platte Park

Englewood Station is about half between Littleton and downtown Denver. The C and D line share these tracks and station before splitting off to different parts of downtown at the 10th and Osage Station.

The city of Englewood is a well kept “inner ring suburb” with mostly 1950s and 60s smaller homes which surround Broadway, the main street housing vintage stores and small independent businesses. The Cinderella City mall stood for many years as typical 70s style “fortress” mall completely self contained and indoors. Sales declined with the addition of newer malls further out to the suburbs, and in the late 90s it was razed and developed with pedestrian friendly apartments, condos, and businesses on the east side of the station. One of the main anchor stores still stands and houses the Englewood Civic Center.

Looking south to Littleton

Update to my Denver commuter rail pages - below is the Lincoln Station at Lincoln Avenue and interstate 25.

This is the last station on the E, F, and G lines. E and F beginning downtown Denver, and G arriving from the Nine Mile Station in Aurora. This station serves the adjacent park and ride garage, surrounding office parks, and Park Meadows Mall. No direct pedestrian access was built to the mall due to the short sightedness of mall management who were overly concerned about commuters taking their multitude of parking spots. Direct access is expected within the year.

Looking south up Surrey Ridge.

End of the C and D lines at Mineral Street in Littleton, Colorado. Took these during a long bike ride through the southwest side of town.

Pedestrian bridge over Santa Fe (highway 85) to park and ride and shopping center

Pic taken from bridge - south of the station, train holding tracks

Updated photos 11.06

Summer ‘06 Entry:

Probably the most intricate part of the TREX project, this interchange combines the south end of 225 to 25, consolidates on ramps from Belleview, and elimated 225’s LEFT entrance to 25, which caused a rapid multi lane change for those exiting Belleview from 225 SB. In addition to freeways, the rail lines following the 225 median to 9 Mile, (Parker Road) Station split from the tracks west of 25 at this location.

25 looking north. On the right is the long NB 25 on ramp from Belleview, which flies over the NB 25 exit to NB 225. In the background SB 25 flyover to NB 225.

Northbound Belleview on ramps. NB 25 on the left. NB 225 on the right.

On the left: Belleview exits from 25 and 225. SB 25 exit ramps starts back near the flyover. SB 225 “end” seen here exiting from the tunnel.

225 ends at 25, SB traffic exits short tunnel and allows exit to Belleview or merge to 25 SB.

Far left: Merging rail lines from 225.

Belleview rail station, just north of Belleview Street. In a year I predict the end of the dead end street, (where the station is), will contain many a Starbucks, Einsteins, and other conveniences that make people happy in the morning.

Elevator and stairs to Union Street, (which cross over 25 but no exits). Commuters heading to the tech center buildings east and west of 25 won’t need to walk a few blocks to busy Belleview, rather just up to Union Street and walk over 25.

At 25 and Broadway, this active station is used by the C and D lines to the southwest suburbs of Denver. This is the starting point of the new rail lines following 25 and 255 to the southeast suburbs.

Additional platform was added to accommodate higher frequency of trains and the split to the southeast tracks. Southeast bound tracks fly over Broadway Street and follow 25 on the west side to Lone Tree.

More pictures to come, was in a hurry!

Looking southwest. Old Gates Rubber plant in the background. This closed factory, along with the vacant lot east of Broadway will be developed into mixed use retail and residential. This “hub” point is about three miles south of downtown, and Washington Park and Pearl Street are nearby already beautiful historic neighborhoods.

Looking southwest. New digital “arrival” boards recently added.

University Light Rail Station. Lines up and running! updated 11.06

Summer ‘06 Entry:

Despite the abandoned and desolate appearance this cloudy afternoon, in a few months this station will be bustling with latte drinkers, commuters, and students moving between Denver’s downtown to the north, Tech Center to the south, and points in between.

It’s hard to believe a few years ago the sharp edged walls of the “narrows” portion of 25 were grassy berms extending from the surface streets to the freeway. All bridges in this section were demolished and replaced with longer spans to accomodate addition lanes and rail, and made wider for better ease of bikes and pedestrians.

More detail at http://www.trexproject.com/

Large Park and Ride garage, with shops on ground level. This is directly across the street from the main University of Denver entrance.

Garage and station, opposite the wall

Looking east, rail curves up and over University Blvd.

Looking west, rail curves following freeway.

Design of all stations from Pearl Street to Lone Tree.

Downing, Emerson, and Washington exits. A very intelligent design combining the exits for streets along the “narrows”. This older part of town is a compact grid street system, and this method combines the multiple cluttered exits previously there.

Entrance from Downing and Logan Street, combined into one on ramp. Rail weaves under the on ramps. Smooth, efficient looking design to get traffic moving before it merges. And again a combination of two ramps into one merge.

Northbound Broadway and Downing exit sign.

Franklin street bridge. All bridges from Hampden to Pearl Street are this design.

Washington Park, a few blocks north at Franklin Street.

*Update: I started taking photos of the various stations under construction last summer. The southeast light rail trains are now open and running smooth. Since I work in the tech center and live near downtown I’ll utilize them frequently, and being a fan of rail and transit adds to the enjoyment of an otherwise normal workday.

*December 2006 - Snowstorm Photos

Here are more photos and my blog entry from the first weekday commute.

System Map

Photos of all stations from since summer 2006 and ongoing:

Englewood Station

Union Station - 11.06

Lincoln Station - visited 11.06

University Station . I.25 and University Blvd (opens 11.06)

Belleview Station . I.25 and I.225 interchange

Broadway Station

Lousiana . Pearl Street Station . I.25 (opens 11.06)

Mineral Station (Rail only)

more to come…

Summer ‘06 entry: My start to a collection of light rail stations in Denver, as well as the (almost) completed expansion of I.25 from Broadway to Lone Tree in southeast Denver.

I travel this route daily and have watched it take shape over the past five years. Being an advocate of cycling and pedestrian friendly communities, I’m proud that our city has integrated both car and rail transit. When complete I believe it will make our downtown and the office parks of the southeast more accessible with each other, and initiate more development of livable communities on the southeast side of town, where many people work.

I love the modern, sleek look of the construction, and the smooth curves and flow of exits, ramps, acceleration lanes, and bridges crossing each other. The rail and stations complement the freeway and they flow perfectly with each other.

Maps and more info at http://www.trexproject.com/ (if you’re a map geek like me)

Below - 20th and Welton Station. The “slowest” part of Denver’s light rail, which runs adjacent to streets from Auraria Campus to 30th and Downing.