Ever wonder why things happen the way they do? I am always amazed at certain things. For instance our new Light Rail line just opened last week. The service is running well, but...
The Light Rail goes by the Park Meadows Mall. It's one of the area's most popular malls, people come from miles around to visit. The Light Rail has a stop at the County Line Station, it's even on the same side of the interstate as the mall, but you can't get to the mail from this stop.
I was poking around at the County Line Light Rail Station taking a few photos. While I was there and despite the multiple signs indicating there was no access from this station to the mall, two young women asked me, "how do I get to the Mall?"
This problem has been widely discussed in the media. The funniest accounting came from the Denver Post:
I stood on the platform looking a Nordstrom. To get there, I would have to cross the train tracks, climb a chain-link fence, drop 25 feet straight down onto the road, cross four lanes of traffic, scramble over a grassy berm and traverse the parking lot to the mall.
The fall alone would have killed me.
Diane Carman ~ Denver Post Staff Columnist
Most ask why?
Why have a public transportation system that doesn't take the public to where it wants to go? The answer is complex. The people at RTD approached the former owner of the mall 6 years ago. They had a plan to build a pedestrian access to the Mall. At the time the powers that be at the mall, declined the access, siting a fear that commuters would use the Mall lot to park, instead of shop. At the time having public transportation to the Mall was not a big deal. There were also funding issues. At original discussions, Park Meadows was not part of the RTD district. There was no money to pay for the bridge.
That was six years ago. Now the Light Rail project has been completed "ahead of time and under budget." There is money leftover and the new owner of Park Meadows Mall is working with RTD to get the bridge built. The solution is at least a year away.
In the meantime, ATTENTION PARK MEADOWS SHOPPERS exit at Dry Creek or Lincoln and take the bus to the Mall.
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