Sign of hope as RTD gets set to head back to state regulators

Transit officials have been baring their souls to the public this week in a series of open houses across the metro area, allowing rail and bus riders systemwide to vent about the long-delayed GLine and the horn-heavy University of Colorado ALine to the airport.

And in the midst of the string of well-attended meetings — about 150 people showed at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities on Wednesday and an additional 40 or so at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center on Thursday night — the Regional Transportation District received some good news.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday issued RTD its written orders denying the transit agency’s request to have its at-grade crossings certified on the A-Line and G-Line, the latter of which was supposed to start service a year ago.

The official release of the PUC’s orders, first made public Sept. 27, starts a 20day clock for RTD to seek a rehearing on the issues the commissioners objected to and hopefully sets the transit agency on a path away from the bureaucratic and technical snags in which it has found itself entangled for the past 18 months.

RTD spokesman Nate Currey said RTD was frustrated it took state regulators more than three weeks to issue their orders in writing, but now that it has the orders in hand it will ask for an expedited review from the PUC.

RTD is getting help from those who have grown tired of waiting for the 11-mile GLine connecting Denver Union Station to Arvada and Wheat Ridge. Arvada Mayor Marc Williams attended Wednesday’s open house, and within 24 hours the city website had added a section informing the public how to contact Gov. John Hickenlooper’s office, the PUC commissioners and RTD’s directors.