A Wonderful Creekside Park Opens in the East Colfax Neighborhood
When master planning began to convert Lowry and Stapleton to their current civilian uses, the restoration of Westerly Creek at both developments and in the neighborhoods of Denver and Aurora in between was shown as a centerpiece of the parks and open space network. By and large, the transformational work that was initially proposed has happened at Lowry and at Stapleton. (The delay in constructing North Westerly Creek Park at Stapleton is duly noted.) The bulk of the remaining creek restoration work still to be done will take place between 11th Avenue, at the north end of Lowry, and 23rd Avenue, near the south end of Stapleton.
On Saturday, June 23, 2012, there was finally a tangible expression of the idea of a continuous greenway corridor. Denver’s newest park, along Westerly Creek at 13th Avenue and Xenia Street, was dedicated. Because the proposed greenway corridor from Lowry to Stapleton is so heavily urbanized, progress toward extended segments of trails, open space and open stream channel will be far more complicated and deliberate than at Lowry or Stapleton. Each step counts. A lot! From 11th to Montview almost four blocks of Westerly Creek are in underground pipes and more than five blocks are in geometric and heavily rip-rapped flood control channels. There is now a stunning creekside treasure between Lowry and Stapleton.
Former City Councilwoman Marcia Johnson saw the significance of the vacant field owned by Denver’s Parks and Recreation Department when one of the multiple groups of refugees who live in the neighborhood (Somali Bantus in this particular case) approached her about a place to grow vegetables. Tim Wohlgenant and Mary Alice Lee of the Trust for Public Lands understood the importance of a place for children from Burma, Burundi, Bhutan and Somalia to play. Perhaps more importantly, they recognized the importance of having those children and their parents design their own park.
When the stretch of the Westerly Creek greenway from 11th Avenue to 23rd Avenue is complete, special spots at Stapleton and at Lowry, the park at 13th and Xenia, and more creekside jewels yet to be created will each be an origin and a destination. They will accommodate big and little journeys.
A man was walking on his usual route along Westerly Creek, where it has already been daylighted and where it has yet to be daylighted. A woman who was likely from Bhutan, judging from her features and clothing, was walking in the opposite direction. She put the palms and fingers of her two hands together in the classic gesture anyone in yoga class knows and bowed her head gently in his direction. “Namaste” came into his head immediately and he bowed back. That little exchange of “the divine in me honors the divine in you,” initiated by an immigrant from the Himalayas, was perhaps the single greatest gift from all of his travels along Westerly Creek.
An expert in floodplain management, Brian Hyde leads a regular Creek Restoration Walk. To join, email westerly_connect_brian@comcast.net or call 720-939-6039.