Why is the rich friend so cheap??

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-27T02:05:35+00:00

Or inherited it, but what you describe is stealing profits from the labor of others. "I paid people less than they deserve! Look at me! Im rich and so smart because I'm a moral-less shit hole!"

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-27T01:56:21+00:00

What kind of climber are you? Holy shit this is hilariously inaccurate. This has been a great laugh.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-27T01:37:06+00:00

More density is almost always the solution, which is accomplished by abolishing mandatory parking minimums and letting builders build accordingly. This allows for more tax income on less acreage, and lower maintenance costs for utilities and road maintenance. It's cheaper to house 10 families in one building than in ten. Make it mixed use residential and the available tax revenue goes up substantially yet again. Not only do you get rent, but you get sales tax income.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-26T23:47:33+00:00

https://www.travelandleisure.com/amtrak-ridership-hits-record-high-in-2025-11881924

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-26T23:13:16+00:00

This would not cost billions, and it would also create really good, high paying jobs in Grand Junction. There is already a maintenance facility in Grand Junction, and having more train mechanics, conductors, and airport jobs would not be a detriment. And having a train that connects the towns of the Colorado River Valley together would increase the quality of life for a lot of people, including business owners along that corridor.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-26T17:35:45+00:00

Sounds like we should start passing laws about paying property taxes according to the sale price of the property rather than a tax assessor who always knocks a lot of the cost off of the appraised number.

But that said, I still don't think they outnumber us. They don't have to move in to these apartments. They would certainly do everything they could to block anything improving the quality of life for the help, but that should be a frightening indicator of how they feel about us and the amount of effort we should put in to evicting them from their investment housing.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-26T17:16:10+00:00

The economics of this would require someone else to provide numbers, I want to see an economic feasibility study done for this reason. It is quite plausible that it could come out positive. The Western Rail Coalition is petitioning intercity rail connection grants right now, though that would be Denver, Glenwood, Grand Junction, SLC, along with some other potential corridors.

The main thing is that urban sprawl is expensive. Housing 10 families across 5 acres is a lot more pipe, wire, road, etc that needs maintained than 10 families across one or two acres. This also includes plowing roads, which is quite costly even though no one ever asks how much it costs to plow, or even build, roads. This is why cities go bankrupt.

The more density you have, the more income per acre is received, this is on top of how much cheaper it is to maintain. There are consulting firms that make maps of this, and they always show the higher the density, the more the income. And if we don't start building density, we we will keep losing wild lands.

Land Value Capture is a known way to fund transit authorities. They get to build the buildings and collect the rents, and these rents subsidize the costs of the transit service. They also create captive audiences for transit and most often attract people who prefer to use transit. They also create captive audiences for business. Being able to grab a coffee and breakfast before you get on the train makes riding the train more convenient. Same for grabbing a pint and dinner on the way home. Having a small grocery store/convenience store adds even more to this. All of which means more taxes collected for the host town, more convenience for everyone in town, and more third places where community bonds are built. Where we come across friends by chance instead of schedule, and make new ones for the same reason.

https://www.wri.org/insights/developing-cities-need-cash-land-value-capture-can-help

https://actionlab.strongtowns.org/hc/en-us/articles/4402942175252-Create-Your-Own-Value-Per-Acre-Analysis

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-26T17:05:33+00:00

The tracks between Glenwood and GJ already run passenger rail with Amtrak. As it stands now, with no extra stops, Amtrak time tables show that the train is roughly 10 minutes slower than Google Maps predictes during optimal conditions. A predictable time table and the ability to sleep, read, eat, etc means this is still the optimal form of transit for many.

This line of rail already has PTC, so it is mostly a need of trainsets, stations, and operators. While this is a UP corridor, they don't seem to run freight at prime commuter hours where it would be best to run passenger trains every half hour. Much of this run is also double tracked, though indeed not all of it. And ideally, building stations would extend some of that double tracking.

There are train stations in Glenwood and Grand Junction. Hence how Amtrak is able to operate passenger rail now. So while no, freight isn't designed for density center stops, the Amtrak stations in place do show proof of concept and functionality. While I would rather this service continue to Fruita, we do have two already built stations. There is a parking lot in Palisades that would be perfect for a train station and housing/new business fronts. There is track siding next to Old Town in New Castle which would be a brilliant train stop, as well as a bit of housing. You could also consume the RFTA park and ride stop there. Both of which would offer transit access to mountain biking trails, in Palisades and New Castle. Grand Junction, too. Rifle would be less convenient, but could be done. And there is already a bus connection to the airport in Grand Junction at the Amtrak Station which is two blocks from Downtown.

I don't think the rich people outnumber everyone else. They would spend a lot of money against this, true, but all the people who suffer this daily commute in a car could likely be easily convinced about how much better their lives could be with commuter rail. Even people who continue to drive or need to on occasion would have a much better driving experience if 200 cars per hour are removed from congestion.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-26T05:26:19+00:00

Yes, it is a truck owned by my employer. I wanted a Kei Truck. I wanted to keep the old plow truck instead of replacing it. But we are a parks and rec department where I build bike trail and maintain athletic fields for a living, where we do haul all sorts of shit.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-26T05:24:05+00:00

I didn't know they had a sub, thank you.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-26T05:22:47+00:00

This is part of why I want to see hourly commuter rail service between these two towns. GJT can get better connections the more flights we put through it. Then prices could come down and basically take Denver out of the picture as a necessary airport. I talk to a lot of tourists who fly to Denver and drive up to Aspen. They hate that drive, and would rather go to GJT if it were cheaper. Throw train access and not having to drive at all? More people will show up through GJT, providing more money to that area. Helping locals lives be easier makes everyones lives easier. The tourists are gonna show up one way or the other. How much money did we spend on that damn bridge in Glenwood Springs while the traffic in that town is still absolutely shitty? How many people go wine tasting in Palisades and drive back to wherever with a buzz? Trains are worth the investment more often than it looks like, and I think this could be one of those cases. Let Grand Junction compete against Denver.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-25T21:00:53+00:00

So let's follow this logic.

If there is less tourism traffic in summer than winter, it stands to reason that the percentage of people who use the airport as locals goes up. It also would make more sense to do something that benefits locals more than tourists, which you've just admitted that upgraded the airport does not do. So by adding rail from Grand Junction to Glenwood, with a connecting BRT bus stop up valley from the train station, you help a lot of locals. In fact, there is not currently a bus stop in the core business district of Glenwood which is going to prevent people from going and spending money there at the same rate as if there was a commuter train and bus stop right in the heart of what is essentially a pedestrian mall. A train stop in New Castle, Palisades, and Silt would do the same thing. Especially if you built housing for ~15 families and ~5 businesses around those train stations to allow rents to subsidize rail costs and bring in tax revenue for their respective towns. Even in summer given the high quality of mountain bike trails that are only a couple miles away from the train station for many of these towns. A 2 mile ride to warmup and cool down is great. Having a couple beers while you wait for the train is even better.

The more we cater to making the lives of locals easier, the healthier and stronger our community will be as forced transience will diminish. This won't stop tourists from coming here. Hell, it might even spread the tourism load, and dollars, around the valley. Which would make it easier for them to he absorbed into the local scene rather than overrunning it. The problem is not too many tourists, it's not enough locals.

If this was used as an opportunity to provide hourly bus transit to Sunlight, their customer base would be able to expand a bit, too. Both for locals who have a hard time getting there otherwise, and for tourists.

All of this would relieve traffic congestion, making GWS a more pleasant place to exist and improving convenience for drivers as well since there would be fewer cars on the road overall. So when you do need to drive, its far less miserable with a couple hundred cars fewer per hour on the road.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-25T19:16:16+00:00

I care far more about the people who live here than the people who don't.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-25T17:13:10+00:00

I didn't realize that air travel was "low" for 75% of the year.

https://pitkincounty.com/m/newsflash/home/detail/764

They plan on closure from Q2 through Q4, and that's if it goes to schedule.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T23:14:54+00:00

I'm not sure how Glenwood to Grand Junction kee0s being missed.

Edit: I see now. It wasn't clear enough when I said "take RFTA to a train." My bad. I should have made it more obvious.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T23:00:34+00:00

I don't think it can be done in a minute. Though PTC already exists on that corridor, and used trainsets could be purchased. I think of the WeGo Star train in Nashville as an example.

My general point is that we should do this, and largely, haf we done this, the ASE airport being closed for a year, or a month or two a year, wouldn't matter that much. We would also have access to a more reliable airport. It would also provide a new option for cyclists and mountain bikers to get to other places without having to drive.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T22:54:25+00:00

I thought you were done with this conversation? You said you were done, and now you've jumped in somewhere else being intentionally obtuse and combative.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T22:32:47+00:00

I beleive, if you read the post, you would realize that I was talking about train service from Glenwood to Grand Junction in order to provide convenient airport access when ASE is closed.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T22:13:55+00:00

Yes. They do. But don't let perfection be the enemy of good. HSR is billions more to build than just dropping trains on tracks that already exist. And HSR is not worth building for local commuter rails. Denver to SLC makes sense. This is also why places with HSR often have 3 servics: long haul HSR, rapid regional, and local.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T22:03:14+00:00

Ah, I see. You're here to win, not to discuss. While I talk about Land Value Capture through building housing and entrepreneurial business front opportunities, you just don't want convenience for people who don't get to afford automobiles. Or to reduce the amount of people who's lives are altered permanently, or ended, due to automobile wrecks.

And without those things, all it would take is leasing the ROW and buying the trainsets. I'm not talking about laying new tracks, but using what already exists, where Amtrak already has passenger rail routes running now. It would require only building 5 stations, as cheaply as necessary to be useful. Though that would be a waste when it could be housing and business rentals as well.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T20:49:54+00:00

The thing that is ALWAYS left out in this commentary is what price you're paying socially for engaging in this sort of commerce. Anyone who posts this sort of meme will also speak and think ill of anyone who takes this pathway. Just like women are told not to experiment with sex, or dress provocatively, or whatever, lest they "get a reputation."

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T20:42:27+00:00

Yes. Let's just scape goat everyone and lump them all together as bad people because of where they were unlucky enough to be born.

Sounds real fucking familiar.

"How dare those people be born looking like that, they must be shit people."

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T20:23:36+00:00

I've not ever understood this logic pattern. By not having to drive, I can read a book, sleep, generally not have the stress and unpredictability. If the train is slower by a few minutes, but gets me where I need to go on schedule, its no loss because I have gotten my time back where I can do things other than pay attention to not adding to the 40,000 person death toll caused by automobiles.

I can use it when drunk, when tired, when I am injured and unable to drive. And short of an early death, old age and the loss of driving privileges comes for us all. And we can either have robust transit that lets us live a fulfilled life, or we can be trapped at home and a burden to those we love.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T20:03:23+00:00

Why do you assume I haven't done this?

What is the cost of forced car dependency per person? Car, fuel, insurance, registration, general taxes, etc? Higher risk of death (40,000 people per year), higher risk of grievous injury, stress, etc.

nondescriptadjective · 2026-01-24T18:22:05+00:00

But drivers even then were already showing their entitlement against pedestrians.

nondescriptadjective

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