Designers present update on East 72nd Ave. rail station plan

COMMERCE CITY — Officials from planning and design group MIG briefed city leaders Jan. 14 on progress with the Station Area master plan during a joint City Council/Planning Commission study session.
    Jeff Winston, Principal in Charge with MIG, and project manager J.J. Folsom talked about the possibilities available for the planned development of an RTD commuter rail station at East 72nd Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.

Courtesy MIG

These maps of the planned commuter rail line, with the 72nd Avenue station noted near the center, were part of a recent meeting to examine the future of the station area master plan.

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    As RTD- and municipally contracted designers and planners regularly do for upcoming commuter developments, the presentation focused on a wide array of designs that can be pursued prior to the creation of a land use plan to best fit the neighborhood of the rail station and the future growth anticipated from the development.
    The project, expected to take a year, started in September 2012, seeks to identify the best features for the station, which also must accommodate traffic near the surrounding neighborhoods — which include single-family homes, trails, open space area and industrial facilities — as well as two access points to and from Colorado Boulevard.
    The presentation highlighted a number of transit-oriented priorities, including sidewalk and intersection improvements, as well as bike lines along key arterials (such as 72nd and 74th avenues and Colorado Boulevard), and possible trail connections for Sand Creek and the South Platte River).
    Also of concern is the station’s planned status as the end of the line until RTD can complete the northward expansion of the rail. About 600 parking spaces are planned for the station.
    The station’s proximity to the old Adams City High School was also mentioned in connection with a number of other sites — including the Frei & Sons site, old Adams County offices, Alsup Elementary School and Adams City Middle School — bringing the total of potential redevelopable land near the station to more than 125 acres.
    The session comes on the heels of the first of three community workshops Jan. 9 at Alsup Elementary. Feedback from the visioning sessions that follow the presentations at the workshop will be considered as planners and designers work toward putting the master plan for the site together. City council is expected to adopt the final plan in September.
    The project is funded with the help of a $100,000 federal transportation improvement program (TIP) grant, which council formally accepted in September 2012.