9 Mile Park n Ride - when does it become full? (Denver: school, university)

[mtbiker731]

Hello - I have been taking the light rail into downtown for school to save on parking costs. Every time I drive past the 9 Mile station on 225S at 9am the lot is already full according to the sign (and that sign isn't kidding!). I've always had to continue onto the Southmoor station just to park.

My concern is that I'm already coming from the Green Valley Ranch area, and it is about as far to drive downtown as it is to go to 9 Mile, let alone Southmoor.

Does anyone know what time I would need to get to the 9 Mile station in order to secure a spot? I don't have class until 10am, so if I have to get there at 7am just to get a spot, I'll continue driving the extra 10 minutes down to Southmoor.

What about surrounding parking? I know there's a King Soopers across the street - are they sticklers about people parking for light rail in that lot?

Thanks!

[cowboyxjon]

There are express buses that operate from GVR and the Montbello Park-n-Ride (47X comes to mind) that are probably MUCH faster than driving all the way to 225/Parker Rd, and then taking the light rail from there. The express buses might not run after 9AM though, so you would probably arrive at campus early if you took the last express bus of the morning. You would have to check the afternoon schedule to see how often that route operates in the afternoon. I think it starts around 3PM.

My other thought is to drive to the I-25/Broadway Park-n-Ride. It gets fairly full, but there always seems to be at least some overflow parking. Obviously you would drive by your campus, but you wouldn't have to pay to park there.

[hammertime33]

Originally Posted by cowboyxjon

There are express buses that operate from GVR and the Montbello Park-n-Ride (47X comes to mind) that are probably MUCH faster than driving all the way to 225/Parker Rd, and then taking the light rail from there. The express buses might not run after 9AM though, so you would probably arrive at campus early if you took the last express bus of the morning. You would have to check the afternoon schedule to see how often that route operates in the afternoon. I think it starts around 3PM.

My other thought is to drive to the I-25/Broadway Park-n-Ride. It gets fairly full, but there always seems to be at least some overflow parking. Obviously you would drive by your campus, but you wouldn't have to pay to park there.

The 47X and 48X both offer express service from GVR to downtown. However, the last bus leaves GVR at 7:15AM.

Before she retired, my mom took the light rail from 9 mile every weekday. It fills up by 7:30 or 8. Parking in the surrounding businesses will get you towed.

[zenkonami]

Full park and rides just seem to verify the success of the light rail system in Denver, at least during peak periods. I typically use Colorado Station but if I get there any later than 8am I usually have to move on to University just so I can park and catch the downtown train.

[ColoWeb]

It has been a while since I been there but I saw it full sometimes ~7AM and,on days with heavier snow, sometimes as early as 6ish. I had more luck driving to the Dayton station actually and getting a spot there but more and more people know the "trick" so it was getting much busier too. Not sure on how busy it is now.

Since you are going from GVR, I'd take the express bus instead. If times wise it does not work out drive to Pena PNR and take the 44 bus from there (if they still have it) as it may still be faster than doing the 9 mile drive.

Too bad I am not a student anymore and do not get the free RTD stickers like I used to. I do miss the light-rail!

[zenkonami]

ColoWeb does add a great point...many of those full trains are due to students heading in to Auraria in the morning.

[mtbiker731]

Thanks for all the great responses! There are some great suggestions that I will have to try out to see which works best. I appreciate the inputs!