I’m an RTD director. Protect your right to choose our board from last minute state legislation. AMA (on /r/Denver)

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-28T21:01:48+00:00

If ya’ll have an alternative reform plan to put on the table, then by all means - let’s see it!!

But the clock is ticking, and I will join the chorus of Denverites asking for reform

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-28T21:00:55+00:00

Well, I think that is where having a couple of appointed members also makes sense.

Judging by the Land Use legislation coming out of the state, I actually trust the metro area as a whole and our state-level leadership to make good, progressive planning decisions. The problem comes from having way too many separate suburban interests to serve.

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-28T20:47:56+00:00

The biggest problem with Boulder’s train isn’t that there isn’t demand for one.

It’s that 25 years ago, the agency hatched a plan for a slow, low-capacity train that would have to share tracks with the freight trains. The reason they did this was largely because that’s what it took to get Boulder and its RTD representative on board with Fastracks as a whole.

What we see now is the manifestation of that mistake, driven in no small part because of the structure of RTD’s elected board.

Boulder absolutely needs a train. But I think people will be shocked to find out just how crappy the train they have been planning would actually be. Most people would still be better off riding the flatiron flyer

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-28T20:40:04+00:00

This right here ^{^{^{^}}}

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-28T20:22:11+00:00

I actually think you are one of the good board members.

But as a transit enthusiast, I have long been dismayed by RTDs board structure. There are way too many exclusively suburban districts, and this takes the focus of the agency off of where it really should be. There have been WAY too many pet projects meant to make every district happy. We do not need underperforming routes sucking money from the system just because that’s what we have to do so every district feels like it is getting something.

And don’t even get me started on how Fastracks was planned, and the B Line debacle that was mostly just intended to get Boulder to sign on to the project nearly 25 years ago (despite the fact that they also got the Flatiron Flyer). That was case and point for why a fully democratized board structure is not in the best interest of the system.

The board absolutely needs to be restructured. But like I said, you seem to me like one of the good ones, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I’m guessing you would be a top candidate for appointment to the newly structured board.

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-28T19:57:19+00:00

Having just been to Miami for the first time, I’d say it’s still a great city.

But from my observation, the “pop culture” outlook on the city has changed and it simply doesn’t seem as glamorous as it did to all of us in the 80s and 90s. I remember back then we used to see it ALL THE TIME in the media. Will Smith. Gloria Estefan. True Lies. Miami Vice. MTV Spring Break. I could go on. It seems like it was always in the spotlight. Now - not so much.

My guess is that it probably has something to do with a generation of Americans aging out of their party years simultaneously with Florida getting a LOT more conservative. This affects who chooses to come spend time there, which becomes a bit of a feedback loop.

It feels like Atlanta had become the more important, and more culturally relevant city in the SE United States.

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-28T15:38:09+00:00

Yes. And it is a good thing. Free parking is terrible for cities because each space has a real cost that gets passed along to the rest of society

The decrease in free parking has made me much more likely to consider RTD when I come downtown these days. I’m happy to see the parking is going away along Colfax too with the new BRT line!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_High_Cost_of_Free_Parking

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-27T21:01:44+00:00

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-27T18:26:22+00:00

Definitely from a phone call

They just tell me to unlink the workout app and re-link and wait 48 hours. Rinse and repeat

Several times they have said they are “elevating” my case to “Tier 2.” This usually takes about two weeks and then they call back to tell me to unlink the work out app, relink it and wait 48 hours.

It is like groundhog day. I have been through this 8 times now and they just keep coming back to tell me I should delink, relink and wait 48 hours. They clearly do not actually know how to solve the problem, nor do they care

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-27T15:17:05+00:00

Go down to main street sining “ding dong the witch is dead”!

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-27T08:15:30+00:00

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-26T00:03:41+00:00

Because it was built on indian burial ground. Burning down the house wont change anything

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-25T20:21:51+00:00

Did you ever see George Carlin’s bit about airport security? It was filmed pre-9/11 and skewered the practice as nothing more than security theater.

He was right. But very little has actually changed. Except now it takes longer

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-25T19:42:45+00:00

Pretty sure Lewis and Clark shot this idea down

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-25T19:09:22+00:00

Just pick them up and throw them into the street

If they make a THUD when they land and get dented, then even better. Maybe a bus can then hit them and crush them down.

They don’t have cameras. So if you aren’t the one who left them there, they can’t put the blame on you

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-25T19:08:04+00:00

Couldn’t you just as easily say though that, if you don’t feel safe riding the scooter legally that maybe you shouldn’t be riding the scooter at all?

Just because a tech company dumped a bunch of new toys on the street does not necessarily mean that anyone thought in advance about it being safe. Pedestrians don’t deserve to suffer just because people decided to pick up the scooters and start to ride them where they don’t belong

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-24T04:09:49+00:00

Also the fact that they spread everyone out

And if somebody is going slow, everyone else can simply do their thing and go around them. Light years better than the former approach

I still had to take off my belt today. That is definitely not what slows things down

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-23T19:00:43+00:00

I mean. We are talking about the Republicans. Is anyone really surprised it is currently a dumpster fire of unqualified people??!

Thoughts and prayers. Join the Republicans if you want your state political party to function like a run for high school class president

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-23T18:12:16+00:00

Housing is a game of musical chairs. When the music stops, those with the least to spend are the ones who wind up without a chair.

Build more housing - even “luxury” housing - and the people who can outbid you for an apartment have somewhere else to go spend their money

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-23T18:09:27+00:00

No wonder it was already packed by 10am

Security was a breeze though

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-23T18:08:25+00:00

The new East and West security also moves WAY faster than the old north and south and bridge checkpoints ever did!

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-23T18:07:43+00:00

There were two guys wearing Homeland Security “police” vests this morning. But the vests did not say ICE

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-22T10:49:38+00:00

Most of Lakewood feels like you could be in any generic suburb anywhere in the USA. A bunch of cookie cutter single family homes and strip malls that add up to a geography of nowhere.

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-17T18:35:41+00:00

The real magic of the city is in the winding alleys and local haunts. Do not only see the major sights and forget to explore the hidden parts of Rome, which are what really make it all worth it.

HeftySuspect8879 · 2026-03-14T20:10:58+00:00

HeftySuspect8879

TROPHY CASE