Jammed Up On Colfax

It’s Heeeere: Bus Rapid Transit Project Begins Its Slog Through Park Hill, Vexing Business Owners And Driving Customers Away

By Charlotte Renner | For the GPHN

After years of planning and an unclear timeline that left many wondering whether it would ever actually happen, Denver’s East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit has arrived. And the realities of the enormous construction project that is tearing up Colfax Avenue from Broadway to the eastern edge of the city is already threatening the livelihoods of dozens of independently-owned businesses along the stretch.

The design of the BRT, as it is called, is a center-running lane for buses, which will run up and down the middle of Colfax with fewer stops to allow higher speed operations. Vehicle traffic will be reduced to one lane running east and one lane running west. Much of the street parking on Colfax will be gone. 

The construction zone — which has already eliminated some parking and reduced vehicle traffic to one lane in each direction along some stretches — provides a hint of the challenges that lie ahead.

“It’s changed the way that we operate, because we were such a really popular place for pulling off Colfax,” said Oliver Finkel, who owns Lula Rose General Store, a coffee shop at Colfax and Madison. “All these people who are traveling really early in the morning, it was really easy for them just to pull off and grab a sandwich and a coffee.”

Colfax, famously tagged by Playboy magazine as the longest, wickedest street in America, used to be part of the US 40 highway and was lined with motels for travelers to rest on their way across the country. A few motels still operate, but they are now outnumbered by a wide variety of small independently-owned businesses, which helps to lend the street its unique character. Many fear that with those businesses at risk, so is the character of the randy old street itself. 

Two years of construction ahead

Talk of replacing the regular Colfax No. 15 bus line with a bus rapid transit system started almost two decades ago. City officials were stymied by a lack of money to proceed until last year, when they secured $150 million in federal funds. Construction is occurring in five segments, beginning at Broadway downtown, and working eastward. The entire project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2027 — more than two years away.

This timeline has vexed business owners, and some say it is far longer than many expected. Some report they are already suffering significant declines in customers. 

In the Park Hill section, BRT construction did not officially begin until this summer. However, Kate Hakala, co-owner of Park Hill Treasures at Colfax and Kearney, points out the street had already been torn up for months, as water lines were being moved in preparation for the BRT installation.

“Denver Water was basing their construction from our corner, so they were actually using our parking lot and blocking the parking lot,” Hakala said. “And they were not pleasant about it… it definitely hurt us [last] December.”

Just more hoop-jumping

Denver is offering small grants of up to $15,000 to businesses that are “economically impacted by major city-funded construction projects.” According to the city’s website, 21 Colfax businesses, all west of Colorado Boulevard, have received grants so far, totaling $285,000. Businesses along the Park Hill stretch between Colorado and Quebec are not eligible to apply until this fall.

To receive a grant, one criterion requires that a business must demonstrate at least a 20 percent decline in revenue since construction began. 

Several business owners characterized the city’s requirements to show hardship as a frustrating exercise in hoop-jumping. 

Finkel, for example, says the city’s response to his grant application was to request additional documentation and further proof of his business’s decline in revenue. While it’s clear his business is being heavily impacted by the construction, he says he doesn’t expect to ever get the money.

“This is so typical,” he said. “We do not rely on these people. They don’t help us.”

Getting creative

Karin Mosier, co-owner of Ed Moore Florist at Colfax and Kearney, says that even if the city grants are awarded, they likely won’t make up for the true costs of their businesses losses. 

“[$15,000] is not a lot of money for the amount of work that’s going to be happening and the parking that’s being taken away,” she said.

Without significant help from the city, businesses have had to come up with ways to increase revenue on their own. Ed Moore Florist, open since 1948, will be rolling out new deals and promotions, Mosier said. Flower delivery rates have been reduced to $3.95 for Park Hill customers, and the owners plan to start offering more hands-on classes at the shop.

Many are partnering up with other nearby businesses in creative ways. The owner of Capitol Liquors at Colfax and Cherry, for example, has been letting customers from 7 Leguas Mexican Restaurant across the street park in his lot. Finkel said he’s increased his social media postings to draw attention to the ongoing hardships. Hakala, of Park Hill Treasures, says several similar nearby vintage and antique businesses have been talking about ways to join forces.

“We have no intentions of moving,” she said. 

Cara DeGette contributed to this report.