One project examined the effects of extending an electric commuter rail further north from Denver’s Union Station. The other project analyzed the potential benefit of bus rapid transit operating on State Highway 119 between Boulder, CO and Longmont, CO, and including bus lanes and signal priority in Boulder. Both of these projects have been previously reviewed in planning studies but limited engineering work has been completed. The initial portion of the North Metro commuter rail project is expected to be completed in 2018.
EDR Group completed the case studies in association with High Street Consulting. High Street conducted numerous interviews to identify the importance of projects and potential development impacts. EDR Group carefully reviewed planning documents and worked with Denver’s transit agency, the Regional Transportation District, to identify the transportation impacts of these investments. Using the methodology developed by High Street Consulting and EDR Group for the Colorado Transportation Investment Analysis Tool Kit and TREDIS software, these transportation benefits were analyzed to compare benefits and costs and estimate economic impacts.