Civic Center Transit District Plan Regional Transit District • City and County of Denver • Downtown Denver Partnership
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CIVIC CENTER TRANSIT DISTRICT PLAN REGIONAL TRANSIT DISTRICT • CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER • DOWNTOWN DENVER PARTNERSHIP APRIL 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PROJECT PARTNERS STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY GROUP (SAG). CONSULTING TEAM: Regional Transportation District (RTD) Carol Anderson: CDOT ZGF Architects, LLP City and County of Denver Michele Anderson: DRCOG Steer Davies Gleave Downtown Denver Partnership Carol Lewis: State of Colorado/Office of State Architect Fox Tuttle Hernandez Transportation Group Roger Armstrong: Capitol Hill United Neighbors Project for Public Spaces PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM (PMT). Don Novak: Colfax on the Hill Economic & Planning Systems Patrick McLaughlin, RTD Anne Lindsey: Golden Triangle Association GBSM Kate Iverson, RTD Paul Fiorino: Golden Triangle Museum District Noble Erickson Inc Sarah Showalter, Senior Planner, Community Planning and Development (CCD/CPD) Frank Locantore: Uptown on the Hill Two Hundred David Gaspers, CCD Community Planning and Development Joan Prusse: Clyfford Still Museum ArLand Land Use Economics (CCD/CPD) Andrea Kalivas: Denver Art Museum OV Consulting Ryan Billings, CCD Public Works (CCD/PW) Jim Kroll: Denver Public Library John Desmond, Vice President for Environment and Planning, Kelly Williams: History Colorado Center DDP Lindy Eichenbaum Lent: Civic Center Conservancy Curt Upton, Community Planning and Development (CCD/ CPD) Jimmy Balafas: Colfax BID Kathlees Osher: Transit Alliance Deb Lowenstein: Calahan Capital Properties Marcine Sieber: Cushman & Wakefield Geneva Hooten: Capitol Hill United Neighbors, Inc. Ted Wenzlick: WalkDenver TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 5. Station Plaza Sites Activation Executive Summary 01 Placemaking Principles for the Civic Center Station Plaza 55 Site Conditions 56 Civic Center Transit District Power of 10 57 1. Introduction The Civic Center Plaza: Program Themes 58 Background, Project Purpose and Civic Center Station Rehabilitiation Project 07 Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper’ Concepts 59 – 62 CCTD Project Boundary 08 Other Short-Term Placemaking Opportunities 63 Influence Area 09 A Management Strategy and Management Options for the Civic Center Station Plaza 65 - 67 Civic Center Transit District Goals 10 6. Public Realm Plan 2. Stakeholder Engagement and Public Outreach Precedents and Their Attributes 69 Program Overview, Organization, Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) and Policy Makers Review 11 Public Realm Recommendations from Current and Previous Area Plans 71 - 72 SAG Meetings 12 Public Realm Analysis – Challenges, Opportunities 73 – 76 Summary of Placemaking Community Outreach Activities 13 Recommended Public Realm Plan 77 Station Site Activation Workshop Key Findings 14 CCTD Public Realm Design Guidelines 78 Development Frontage Requirements 86 3. Multi-modal Operating Plan CCTD Branding and Wayfinding 88 Context, Mobility Analysis Process and Conditions, Challenges and Opportunities 17 Existing Plan Evaluation 90 Traffic Conditions and Examination 21 Grid as Brand, Color as Brand 92 Mobility Hubs - Peer Research 22 Grid as Wayfinding 93 Mobility Vision Statements 24 Art as Wayfinding 97 Mobility Concepts and Evaluation – Short-, Medium- and Long-Term Concepts 24 - 29 Evaluation and Measures, Performance Evaluation: Short-Term Mobility Concept 30 7. Implementation Preferred Short-Term Mobility Concept – 13th to 17th Avenues 32 Mobility, Public Realm and Short-Term Sites Activation 103 Movement Assessment 34 Catalytic Sites Economic Development 104 Preferred Short-Term Mobility Concept Elements 35 CCTD Implementation 104 - 105 Relationship to Other Plans 37 8. Appendices 4. Economic Development Chapter 3 - Multi-modal Operating Plan - Detailed Movement Assessment 107 Market 39 Chapter 6 - Public Realm Excerpts from the Denver Zoning Code 109 Case Studies 41 District Uses, Development Site Scenarios 46 Parking Partnership 47 Site Development Programs 48 - 53 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PURPOSE AND NEED between people using diverse modes of transportation. MOBILITY ELEMENT SHORT-TERM MOBILITY PLAN KEY TAKEAWAYS - MOBILITY Accordingly, the CCTD contains several of the most crash- A phased, growth strategy will roll out, where improvements Regional Transit District (RTD) and the City and County prone intersections in the central city. Areas with the highest levels of transit of Denver (the City), in collaboration with the Downtown build upon each other – allowing needed short and medium- availability and ridership are some of the Denver Partnership (DDP) and Downtown Denver Business The area is ripe for redevelopment of several underutilized term improvements to proceed and respond to immediate most difficult for pedestrians and bicyclists, Improvement District (BID), initiated the Civic Center Transit parcels and public spaces, some of which are currently used as demand while building towards a major mobility hub vision. starting with the areas immediately around District Plan (CCTDP) to establish a long-term vision and surface parking. CCS and the intersection of Colfax and The short-term mobility concepts assumed a series of baseline identity, near-term implementation options for the future of Broadway. improvements and assumptions as a starting point. The the station area as a revitalized urban transportation hub and STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC concepts then layer on additional enhancements and new Multi-modal safety improvements should an enhanced downtown neighborhood. OUTREACH multi-modal infrastructure, with the Civic Center Station as include improved pedestrian crossings The CCTDP is intended to complement a station renovation The project was organized around a Project Management a central mobility hub. These improvements are assumed to and enhanced bicycle infrastructure and project that would be completed in concert with the district Team (PMT) with representatives from the project partner be achievable within a three-to-seven-year time frame. The amenities. plan, with the understanding that rehabilitating the station agencies and organizations and a Stakeholder Advisory Group concepts include improvements for transit, cycle, pedestrian, A phased, growth strategy will roll out – alone would not capture the opportunity to transform the (SAG) made up of representatives from agencies, community and transit-supportive development. allowing needed short and medium-term district into a vibrant, active destination. organizations, institutions and elected-official appointees. The concepts focused on major corridors within the district improvements to proceed while building The consultant team reviewed progress with the PMT on a This plan addresses mobility and safety challenges for the including Broadway, Lincoln Street, and Colfax Avenue. towards a major mobility hub vision. bi-weekly basis for most of the schedule and with the SAG major corridors surrounding the station, under-performing Options include a choice between two protected bike lane over the course of the project at five major milestone points. economic development in the station area, as well as physical configurations along Broadway and Lincoln, and a choice During the early phase of Mobility, the consultant team and NEXT STEPS - MOBILITY conditions and anti-social behaviors that detract from security between two median configurations along Colfax Avenue. PMT met with agency directors and other senior leaders to get and healthy urban activity. Additionally, the plan is intended to Complete the rehabilitation of Civic Center clearer direction on medium-and long-term mobility vision. consider how to organize and leverage multiple intersecting Station. This already-committed project will In June and August, the consultant team and members of major transit investments and planning, including FasTracks, replace aging infrastructure and provide PMT conducted public outreach events and surveys to garner Colfax Connections, the Central Corridor Study, and others. expanded transit capacity. public opinion on the Mobility, Site Activation and Place Making recommendations of the plan. Authorize additional technical studies and EXISTING CONDITIONS scope for upcoming transportation plans. The Civic Center Transit District overlaps Denver’s central Further engineering and technical analysis business, cultural, civic and residential districts. Within will be required to accurately test some of the influence area of the CCTD there are major regional this plan’s recommended concepts. destinations of employment, tourism and retail. Consider testing applicable mobility Civic Center Station serves as a major hub for Denver concepts with inexpensive, moveable metro transit service. It provides service to 15 routes, which barriers, striping and other temporary accommodate nearly 4,000 passenger movements. The streets installations and programs prior to major around CCS actually carry more vehicles facilitating more infrastructure expenditures. trips throughout the day. The majority of the trips and stops Identify recommendations eligible for within the district are located at the street level outside of the mobility-related grants. station. This includes Free MallRide and Free MetroRide, as well as most local bus service. The experience of the Public Realm is characterized by inconsistent street frontage and activity, and by conflicts Pedestrian - vehicular conflicts Busy transit services CIVIC CENTER TRANSIT DISTRICT: a destination connection to: Downtown | Uptown Neighborhood | Capitol Hill Neighborhood | Golden Triangle Neighborhood | Civic Center Park 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MEDIUM-TERM MOBILITY PLAN