As mass transit plans plow through Arvada and RTD conductsits Environmental Impact Study on the project dubbed the Gold Line both Arvada City and RTD spokeswomen have confirmed that no residential properties will betaken in Arvada to complete the 11.2-miles of track that will stretch from DownTown Denver to Wheat Ridge.

Both Maria VanderKolk, assistant to the city manager of Arvada, and Liz Telford, spokeswoman for RTD, confirmed that Arvada residents are not in jeopardy of losing their homes, in a Mile High News article, due to construction of the Gold Line. RTD expects to the Gold Line's service to begin by 2016 (as described in the "Next Steps" section of the RTD Web site).

If the Gold Line mirrors the West Corridor, a similar mass transportation project across town, then residential property condemnation are a smaller part of RTD and Arvada officials and staff's worries in lieu of the EIS, which according to their Web site RTD expects to publish this summer. That's because some of the most prevalent news stories about RTD's acquisition of land did not come from residents' homes being bought but from RTD's plan to buy land from businesses for the West Corridor project. The Rocky Mountain News posted many in-depth stories about business and homeowners who have been asked to sell their property for the project. One Rocky article in particular gave the reactions of business owners, BJ's Used Jeep Parts and Eagle Parts and Pro-Tint Window Tinting, to RTD's proposed new use of the land.

According to a Gold Line meeting presentation that RTD gave in October of 2007, seven to 21 business would need to be acquired for the project. But after analyzing the potential business acquisition, the true tally became 22. Here's the breakdown by station and number of businesses: 38th Station, 3; Pecos east/west, 9; Federal east/west, 6; Sheridan, 2; Olde Town north/south/west, 1; Arvada Ridge, 0; and Ward, 1. But as stated earlier this information was outlined in a meeting more than seven months ago.

Still, in a (The)Denver Post articledated Feb. 21, 2008 reporterJeffrey Leib wrote, "Planners are recommending a Union station-to-Pecos option that could lead to taking 13 full properties, including one home, and parts of 11 other properties." Showing that perhaps not all business land owners with property in the Gold Line's tracks routes will agree to sell their property at a price reasonable to RTD or to taxpayers.

This amassing of information leads to questions for the approximately105,000 Arvada residents and others connected by the Gold Line to ponder:

1. Why is there a such a high discrepancy in the amount of potential businesses that might be purchased by RTD (seven to 22) and what impact will that have on commercial integrity of the current neighborhood?
2. What financial impacts does purchasing these businesses have on both the current landowners and taxpayers?
3. The projected operation date of the Gold Line is 2016; what are RTD and City Officials doing in the meantime to elevate current traffic congestion problems?
4. What is the one potential Arvada business that RTD may purchase to complete the Gold Line and what is their reaction to the proposal?
5. In the October 2007 presentation there was an explanation of what the land near the FasTracks stations would be used for. At the Olde Town station the planned land use would be for transportation-oriented development mixed use. Who would own that TOD mixed use land? RTD or Arvada?
6. What are the proposals of the TOD mixed use land in Olde Town? Would it be similar to a Bel-Mar-esque development but in Olde Town?
7. How have the negotiations with Union Pacific railroad to acquire land changed the current Gold Line rail routes?
8. What are the reactions of the proposed seven to 22 businesses to sell their land for Gold Line project?