 August 1999 |
RTD comes to Jeffco |
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| Shown here (dashed line) is the extension of RTD route 228 that will serve RAF and Colorado AeroTech. Stop locations will be announced before the extension begins on 1 September. (Illustration courtesy U.S. 36 Transportation Management Organization.) |
The route change occurred in part because of UCAR/NCAR. George Nichol, an instrument technician at RAF, combines biking and busing to get to work; his was one of the most ardent voices asking to bring RTD closer to Jeffco and RAF. At George's urging, Karl Hanzel (COMET), one of the lead volunteers for the UCAR/NCAR Transportation Alternatives Program, joined with airport manager Bob Lohne and Colorado AeroTech president Dean Gowen in writing to RTD on 18 February. Their letter noted that "alternatives to automobile transport are badly needed here at the airport." RTD responded with an agreement to revise route 228.
With rapid growth occurring at the Interlocken business park and the upcoming FlatIron Crossing mall, more RTD service to this area may be in the cards--eventually. "RTD would like to oblige," says Adam Krom, of the U.S. 36 Transportation Management Organization, which works to increase mobility on the U.S. 36 corridor. However, he notes, "RTD has been over 100 bus operators short recently," so any new routes will have to wait. •Bob Henson