BRT Overload
State’s Plan For Colorado Boulevard Leaves Neighbors Vexed, Fuming
By Cara DeGette | GPHN Editor
With Colfax currently gutted by construction from Broadway to Monaco, state transportation planners are moving forward with plans for a similar project on Colorado Boulevard.
Ryan Noles, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), described the planning underway during a March 5 meeting of Greater Park Hill Community (GPHC).
Colorado Boulevard, running north-to-south, currently runs three lanes in each direction.
It is one of the city’s busiest and most congested streets in Denver, with daily traffic volumes often exceeding 50,000 to 60,000-plus vehicles per day.
It’s also a high-injury roadway, with a large number of dangerous and fatal crashes. Many stretches of the road — particularly north of Alameda Avenue — have narrow sidewalks or no sidewalks at all. Noles said officials estimate the population living along the corridor will increase by 50 percent by 2050. CDOT’s mandate, he said, is to improve safety on dangerous roads and also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Three options for Colorado Blvd.
As currently envisioned, the Colorado Boulevard BRT would stretch nearly 10 miles from Interstate 70 south to Hampden Avenue. That includes the two-plus miles that mark the western edge of Park Hill.
Noles said CDOT is considering three options for the Colorado Boulevard BRT:
• Center-running lane: Similar to what is being built on Colfax, this design would eliminate one lane of car/truck traffic in each direction. Buses would run down the middle of Colorado Boulevard. It’s the most expensive option, and it’s currently the one CDOT prefers.
• Side-running: This option would also eliminate one lane of car/truck traffic in each direction. Buses would run down each side of Colorado Boulevard. It’s less expensive than the center-running option, but with slower travel time.
• Mixed-flow: This option would have buses continue to share traffic lanes with other vehicles, with improvements to the existing bus system. It’s the least expensive option, and also the one with the lowest expected ridership and reliability.
Noles did not include estimated costs in his presentation. However, depending on the option selected, the project could range from $200 million to $400 million or more.
In the works since 2024
The Colfax Avenue BRT, which runs along the southern boundary of Park Hill, is currently under construction. The transit line, which has been the source of much controversy, is aligning buses to run up and down the center of the street, eliminating a lane of car and bus traffic in each direction. Its completion is currently scheduled for 2028.
Another Bus Rapid Transit is currently being built on Federal Boulevard west of downtown. Other BRT projects are being considered in the Denver metro area, including along the Speer/Leetsdale/Parker corridor, along Broadway/Lincoln and on Alameda Avenue.
About 30 people attended CDOT’s presentation at the March 5 GPHC meeting.
Noles said the project has been in the planning stages for more than a year. The first “stakeholder” meeting was on Nov. 20, 2024, he said, and drew “nearly” 30 attendees. The timeline shows that planners are in the process of determining which options to pursue. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2030 — less than four years away.
Cramming it all in
Not surprisingly, audience response to the latest BRT plan was tepid, at best. Construction of the center-running BRT on Colfax is currently in full swing. Many Park Hill residents and business owners are reeling from the negative impacts — including spillover traffic clogging residential side streets.
Several in attendance suggested CDOT would do better to wait and learn from the Colfax project. Denver is still decidedly a love-your-car city. The jury is out whether a large population of people will suddenly jump on the No. 40 to save just a few extra minutes of travel time.
Others noted that overall RTD bus ridership nosedived by nearly 50 percent between 2019 and 2022. The transit district continues to struggle with operator shortages, safety concerns and a perceived leadership vacuum.
One woman suggested that CDOT should consider future travel trends — including smaller, electric vehicles — before proceeding with such an expensive, and disruptive project.
Maria Flora, a GPHC board member, noted that businesses and even homes along many sections along Colorado Boulevard are already built right up to the street. She wondered where CDOT will be able to cram additional bus stations, sidewalks and bicycle lanes. “There’s no space for that,” Flora said. “There’s not room to walk.”
Where will 10,000 cars go?
GPHC board chair Shane Sutherland wondered where an estimated 10,000 cars would end up if two lanes are eliminated on Colorado Boulevard. Sutherland answered his own question: “I just don’t see where, except on the side streets.”
Said Park Hillian Woody Garnsey: “Why not wait for the Colfax BRT to be completed to see how it works, for empirical data to see what will happen on Colfax? Will the Colfax BRT actually function to meet its goals of getting people out of cars and into buses?”
CDOT officials had scheduled another public meeting for April 8 to discuss the Colorado Boulevard BRT. However, in late March, the April meeting was inexplicably cancelled. At press time CDOT officials indicated the public meeting will now be held sometime in May.