With another 50 nominees and continued interest, the second round of the Academy is yet another success. This is largely due to your support of Transit Alliance and our strong partnership to work towards solutions for the growing transportation needs of the region.

We are pleased to announce the 28 participants of the second class of the Academy:

Full Name, Company, Home City
Judy Enderle, Prairie Preservation Alliance, Broomfield
William Brannen Ulrick, American Red Cross, Arvada
Christine Jensen, Cherry Creek Mortgage Company, Arvada
Melinda Pollack, Enterprise Community Partners, Denver
Randy Wheelock, Wheelock Construction Company, Empire
Joel Davidow, Openwave Systems, Boulder
Susan Alires , Citywide Brokers, Inc. - Denver Rock Drill Lofts Phase II, Denver
Charlene Renee Meeker, YU:ME Community Intelligence, LLC, Denver
M. Brandon Neill, Keller Williams Preferred Realty, Arvada
Jack Unruh, Jack Unruh Consult/Design , Denver
David Trudell, The Bates Company, Golden
Kevin Dickson, Dickson Redevelopment LLC, Denver
Veronica Wilson, Mile High United Way, Denver
Jeff Golian, Denver Transportation Club, Wheat Ridge
Jennifer Hillhouse, URS Corporation, Broomfield
Mary Jane Loevlie, Clear Creek County I-70 Task Force (since 1988), Idaho Springs
Katharine Misken, Qwest, Boulder
Kathleen A. Butler, The Butler Company, Denver
Lisa C. Bender, Quadrant Properties, Denver
Lynne Brown, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, Denver
Rogelio Rodriguez, Osage Mercado Coalition, Denver
Craig Johnson, EDAW, Denver
Ann E. Watts, Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), Division of Housing, Lakewood
Pamela Ann McMillan, EDAW, Denver
Ethan Crawford, University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work, Denver
Edward B. Mower, The Leasing Professionals, Inc., Greenwood Village
Mark Hamouz, LONCO, Inc., Centennial
Mark Leese, URS Corporation, Denver

There will be one additional class in 2007 and nominees are being sought. More information about the Academy is available at www.transitalliance.org/Academy.

RTD's East Corridor (DUS - DIA) and the Gold Line (DUS - Arvada - Wheat Ridge) have been selected for the USDOT's Public-Private Partnership Pilot Program or Penta-P. Denver is one of only three agencies named to the federal program with Houston and San Francisco joining the ranks.

RTD is hopeful that this program will open up new alternatives to close the financial gap caused by escalating construction costs and lower than expected sales tax revenue. Penta P or the Public-Private Partnership Pilot Program, is designed so that U.S. DOT can better determine how this process will speed up completion, increase reliability for costs and affect overall project performance.

According to FHWA's Innovative Finance Spring 2007 newsletter:

"In comparison to traditional approaches, the primary benefits that have been associated with DB, DBOM, and other PPP approaches include:

• Time saving, resulting from earlier contractor involvement in the design phases, the ability to work concurrently on design and construction activities, and the elimination of multiple bidding processes.
• Cost savings, resulting from the shortened project timeline resulting from the above, as well as enhanced communication, reduced inspection requirements, and fewer change orders.
• Shared risks, assigned to the party best able to handle them.
• Improved quality, related to the involvement of the design team throughout project development."
  

The third round of the Citizens' Academy will be held from September 26 - November 7, 2007. Nominations are now being accepted and Transit Alliance needs YOUR help identifying emerging leaders for this unique program.

A nomination form is available on-line at: http://www.transitalliance.org/Academy/NominationForm.pdf

Nominees will be sent applications for the program and the Academy participants will be named in mid-September.

Please contact Kathleen Osher with any questions.

Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the 21st Century
September 27, 2007
Denver, CO
More information at: http://www.theseasideinstitute.org/net/content/go.aspx?s=51435.0.79.7801&ran=567816

Great Plains International Conference ... Transportation, Travel, Trade
September 19-21, 2007
Denver, CO
More information at: http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=130519

Railvolution 2007
October 31-November 3, 2007
Miami, Florida
More information at http://www.railvolution.com/

Transit Alliance Leadership Workshop 2007
FOCUS - Public Private Partnerships in Transit
November 2007
More information to be announced soon.

As part of the Metro Vision 2020 plan, the DRCOG Board in the summer of 1995 adopted an Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) of 700 square miles (based on population growth of 700,000 people between 1995 and 2020). Over the next 12 years modest increases were made to the UGB bringing it to 776 square miles in April 2007 (the DRCOG Board expanded the UGB to include Weld County communities).

DRCOG is currently working on the Metro Vision 2035 plan and as part of those revisions has worked to better define urban. According to a presentation by Simon Montagu, DRCOG to the Transportation Advisory Committee on Monday, July 23: "Whereas the previous definition of urban considered the characteristics of individual parcels, the new definition considers the characteristics of full subdivisions. DRCOG now classifies subdivisions with an average residential lot size of less than one acre and all commercial subdivisions as urban. The new definition also treats open spaces and other areas that are less than 80 acres and surrounded by urban as part of the urban fabric, with the intention of eliminating small gaps in the urbanized areas that are not of regional significance."

This new definition means that the actual area in the UGB is 899 square miles and a tentative recommendation from the Metro Vision Update Committee recommends allocating remaining UGB from the bank for a total of 916 square miles.