DENVER — RTD’s commuter rail lines resumed service around 6:35 a.m. after a “system outage” that suspended service for several hours Monday morning. Read more
Parks officials are trying to balance a lot of factors, including the fact that not everyone can walk or bike to nature and recreation. They’ll want to hear from you. Read more
The Denver Commission on Aging met virtually on September 17. Olga Garcia with Denver Connect reported on an upcoming event Saturday, 9/19 10am-2pm at the Denver Indian Center. The event includes COVID testing, and Denver Connect will be onsite for older adults looking for employment and resources. She also mentioned an event at the Center for African American Health scheduled for Friday, 9/25. The events will include voter registration. Another event will be 10/7 – Back to Work for those over 50. See the Facebook page for Denver Commission on Aging.
Denver Office on Aging currently has only about $2,000 in their budget, but will be going before the committee that, through the Cares Act grant, oversees distribution of grants to ask for $150,000. This will give them the ability to distribute iPads to older adults in isolation. This will help them see/talk to friends and family and give them Telehealth opportunities/connection.
There is a great need for more volunteers to help distribute food boxes (each box weighs about 20#s). If anyone is interested, email volunteers@benefitsinaction.org. Check in time is 9:30am, in the east parking lot, 8725 W 14th Ave (their office #210). Phone #720-534-0454. Email them first to get all the particulars such as dates, etc.
Also, anyone interested in volunteering in their neighborhood this winter to help seniors with snow shoveling (or other needs), contact Kaylie.Showers@denvergov.org.
The Chair of the Commission, Mike Cortes, once again mentioned the Mayor’s request for input from the public re: assets of the city like recreation centers, community names, streets, mountains, that might be offensive (e.g. Stapleton neighborhood now changed to Central Park).
DRCOG has a voucher program for older adult transportation needs. This covers veterans who have transportation needs too. DRCOG also has a new partner Hop, Skip, Drive. They give out Access-A-Ride tickets as well. Now they are working on a contract with Uber so that individuals can request their own ride thru Uber rather than going through the agency. There is no cost for those over 60 who need medical and grocery rides. Some of these transportation services are in their infancy, so check with DRCOG. DRMAC also has a Getting There app for transportation needs. DRCOG is working on getting vouchers for In Home (personal care, 2 hours week) services. They currently have three providers.
Reimagine RTD’s Technical Working (TWG) group met for one last time this year before pressing “pause” on the process due to COVID 19 and financial issues facing RTD. RTD staff reviewed the proposed January 2021 service changes which will still be operating under their COVID 19 plan. The service changes reflect efforts to redirect services from underperforming routes to routes and areas where there are capacity issues. RTD is applying feedback received over the last year from TWG to provide services to those who use and depend on transit the most. There will be no new impacts for the users of Access-a-Ride. The most significant changes will be to the C, D, and R light rail lines. There are plans to hold virtual public forums regarding service changes, and dates for those forums will be released shortly. Bruce Abel, who heads up special projects for RTD shared cost reduction strategies proposed to address a $166 million shortfall for 2021. These strategies include deferment of capital and maintenance expenditures and workforce reductions. RTD hopes to resume meeting with the Reimagine groups in 2021 to continue work on RTD’s mobility plan for the future.
Local public transit is not the only service threatened by COVID-19. Amtrak also faces budget shortfalls due to a significant drop in ridership caused by the pandemic. Read more
The average price of a monthly parking permit in cities is $2.25, compared to $70.00 for a transit pass. Read more
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