New Alignment of 144th Station

[56pamalyn]

I live in one of 3 houses on E. 142nd Place in Fallbrook Farms subdivision, that currently faces the east side of the tracks at the proposed 144th street station (I am down at the end of the cul-de-sac on 142nd Place - RIGHT where the station is now proposed) and I have just been made aware that I'm going to have a huge parking lot about 100-300 feet in front of my home in addition to the station right at my home! I was told less than a year ago (in writing) when I purchased, that this field I face was to be a church or parochial school. Now I find that I'm going to have a huge Park-n-Ride at my front door with all the smells, lights, noise, etc., that goes with it. I understand the concern of the previous 144th station location on the west of the tracks (as pertains to the middle school there), but did no one voice any concerns at all about placing a park-n-ride up at a neighborhood border rather than a regular street/field border? Given that this neighborhood is new and has had additional houses built since all this changed to having the east side of the tracks used instead of the west for the 144th station, are they looking at current residential properties as compared to when there were no homes here? Why would they put this station and parking for 300+ at everybody's front or back door rather than in a non-residential setting such as that to the west of the tracks at 144th and York?  Why can't they put this park-n-ride/station closer to 144th than pushing it as far south in that field back to the homes?  There are many brand new homes down here by the tracks that don't want this thing here for one thing, but to have the park-n-ride moved to the neighborhood side of the field instead of the west side - was anybody noticing all the new homes over here?  We were all lied to about this deal - we were all told that a church or church school was going in that lot and the light rail/station was going to be at the York and 144th area - not up inside our neighborhood! Wasn't anybody on any committee paying any attention! We not only are dealing with the track noise that other neighborhoods have to deal with, we now are going to have a park-n-ride inside our neighborhood?  This is crazy that this was determined to be a good location for this.  Being that there are only 3 homes with their fronts facing this field right now (those of us on E. 142 Place - paid premium lot fees!), I realize I've got no pull at all, but will RTD be at least addressing the ramifications of the homes on 142nd Place regarding traffic (this is a cul-de-sac street) and appearance/noise reduction and lighting intrusion to what we were told less than a year ago would be a very pretty field or perhaps one day in the future, a pretty church or church school with lawns, etc.?  Will they address all the homes along Detroit Street who paid premium lot fees to have the entire rear views of their homes be a beautiful field with mountain views. I would like to know if they are giving any concern to those of us who face this park-n-ride, whether it's the front of our home or those who face the same from the rear of their homes. This is a mean and illogical location to place this station - should not back right up to a neighborhood when to the west of the tracks is open and not obtrusive! Thanks! Pam L.

[Dave S]

Hi Pam-

Thank you for giving us your thoughts on the 144th Station and for your interest in the North Metro Corridor project.

Currently, North Metro is in the planning phase of the project and is working on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) document (the official planning document for the corridor). Our team has not made a decision on which 144th station option we will recommend. When we started our station planning process in 2006, we started on the west side. Based on further analysis as well as community input, we are now looking at an east side, west side and split option. We feel the 144th station warrants further analysis, so we will not be making a recommendation in the DEIS. We will make that recommendation in the Final EIS document this summer.

We have been working closely with the City of Thornton, the school district and the neighborhoods to determine the best station option to meet the needs of the project while addressing the concerns of the community and will continue to gather input on all of the station options. The Thornton City Council has officially recommended the option on the east side.

We would be happy to meet with your neighborhood personally to go over the station options as well as any updates to the North Metro Corridor project. If you are interested, please let us know, and we

[tcsaenz]

While I certainly understand your concerns about the 144th Avenue station (believe me, I do), I'd respectfully ask you to consider the safety of the hundreds of Rocky Top students.  Depending where they live, they are already going to have to navigate a much busier 144th Avenue and York Street, or actually have to cross the tracks themselves, both options fraught with danger.  I'd like to not introduce a train station to that equation, with its hundreds of hurried, distracted, cell-phone talking commuters in cars and buses.  Further, a train station creates a huge opportunity for people of unknown intent and origin,  who aren't members of our community, to get dropped off literally at the steps of the school, creating another huge potential risk.

The east option is the furthest from the school, and in my opinion mitigates danger to children more than the other two options.   The  "split" option puts the entry from 144th DIRECTLY behind the Detroit St. houses, the parking lot DIRECTLY behind your house, AND puts kids in danger on the west side too, so it's a triple loser.

Of course, another option is no station, but the only way to get behind that is to vote No in November, when RTD will likely ask voters to approve doubling the sales tax to cover cost overruns on this thing.

[Dave S]

Hi Pam-

Thanks for your thoughts on the 144th station location. As you know, we have received feedback on all three of the current options, and the feedback certainly varies on which option the residents prefer. RTD has not yet made a decision on the location but all of the feedback we have received will be part of the decision-making process, along with feedback from the City of Thornton and other stakeholders.