A community meeting held by the organization Transportation Solutions took place at South High School on Jan. 17 to discuss plans to revamp the University light rail station. The main goals of the meeting were to collect feedback from the community regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the station, identify key areas the community would like to see redeveloped and share preliminary ideas based on a recently conducted mobility study for future improvements to the station. The revitalization effort is driven by a desire to increase ridership of both rail and buses, as well as to take better advantage of the space in and around the station.

Some of the major areas of concern that citizens at the meeting voiced were passenger safety at the station, especially at night, pedestrian and bike access, traffic congestion and development immediately around the station.

In response, one of the more interesting ideas proposed was to create a traffic circle at Buchtel and High Street and reduce Buchtel Boulevard to a two-lane road. By reducing Buchtel to one lane in each direction, designated bike lanes could be installed and the sidewalk could be expanded, which would facilitate easier access to the station for DU students and the community.

Another idea is to create a courtyard in front of the station. This would help address safety concerns and create a more inviting space facilitating social interaction. Additionally, an open green space or courtyard could be used for events that promote economic activity, like a pop-up farmers market.

There was also discussion of shifting the entrance and exit points to the parking garage to make station access easier or possibly demolishing the garage altogether to make room for more transit-oriented development or even student housing. The park-and-ride garage would likely be incorporated into new projects or development next to the station.

A router bus from the station to various points on the DU campus was discussed as a way to encourage greater transit use among students and faculty. This idea is also mentioned in the university’s transportation master plan. Representatives from the university were in attendance at the public meeting. The university is an official partner in this planning project along with the city of Denver, RTD and public and private entities.

Transportation Solutions is having a one-day mobility conference at DU on Feb. 23 in the Driscoll Ballroom from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Any students, faculty, or community members can submit comments and view more redevelopment ideas for the university station on the Transportation Solutions website.