Letters To The Editor January ’25

No Bulldozer In The Picture

Regarding your December news story titled Shake, Rattle And Roll, about the work being done on Albion Street and surrounding areas, I have two comments:

# 1: Nowhere in the article do you ever address the fact the Park Hill residents don’t want flooding on the streets, which often leads to home flooding as well. This new storm system is part of protecting their assets and the neighborhood. 

# 2: Most concerning about the article is your use of the term “bulldozer.” There is not a single bulldozer pictured, nor have I noticed one in the construction area. While all of these vehicle types are heavy equipment, your classification is akin to calling a fork a spoon just because it is a utensil.

Jesse Goldman, Park Hill

Sick Of The Cavalier Attitude 

After reading the two-part series, Nightmare on Albion Street and Shake, Rattle and Roll, in the November and December issues, I felt so much empathy for our neighbors going through this. Putting new infrastructure in older neighborhoods is a challenge. 

But as I reread Part 2 last month, I felt an old pet peeve of mine rise up. Communication. Why is our city so poor at it? It’s all well and good for the city to lay the blame on Xcel Energy for not notifying residents of the work ahead; very convenient. I believe that city officials also had an obligation to tell residents that their sidewalks, streets and landscaping were about to be torn apart and they would be in an intense construction zone for months. These projects do not come into being overnight — they take months and years of planning. Why weren’t homeowners kept informed of this project early on?   

The manager of the upcoming project, Matt Fariss, sounded almost gleeful in explaining the scope of the Albion Street stormwater construction. Maybe it’s just my reading of the piece, but it was as if he was telling residents that if you hated the first project, well now we will give something to really complain about. And we are using your tax money to do this. 

In the late October meeting with residents, city officials said that the intense vibrations from the project could damage homes and having your home checked by a structural engineer would be wise. Giving residents so little time to get this done is irresponsible. You might get an engineer out, but you certainly would be lucky to get any structural work done in time.   

The lack of support from city Councilman Darrell Watson is another incredulous aspect. It took neighbors two months to get on his calendar for a meeting? He was not aware of this project? Excuse me, but that is his job. If a project this invasive goes unnoticed by the elected representative of the neighborhood, it shows an amazing amount of indifference to the community, bordering on incompetence.    

The overall feeling one gets from reading the news coverage (so far) is that our city has a cavalier attitude with these invasive projects and really doesn’t feel the need to share details with property owners and residents — who will be feeling the effects of this project every single day for a year. And to add to the misery, the city hopes your house will not fall down, and if it does, well, we warned you. 

That attitude has been in place for some time. It’s the reason I got involved with a planning project years ago that involved all of Park Hill, yet hardly anyone knew about it. I understand how hard it is to reach out to the community, as we get our information from a variety of sources. The U.S. mail would seem to be a place to start, and our community newspaper would be an excellent vehicle for the city to announce projects and update information. But that requires planning, foresight, and a commitment to transparency.

Gary Martyn, Park Hill   

Editor’s note: The link to Part 1, Nightmare on Albion Street, is: greaterparkhill.org/nightmare-on-albion-street. 
Part 2, Shake, Rattle and Roll, can be read at: greaterparkhill.org/shake-rattle-and-roll-2. 

They Came Without Warning

In mid-December, our few quiet blocks on Kearney Street just south of Montview Boulevard were invaded by work vehicles lining both sides of the street. They grooved lines on pavements and dug post-holes in the tree-lawns in front of houses — with no warning or explanation.  

I asked a man in a hard hat what was going on. He explained that it was “traffic calming,” and he gave me a card with a QR code. He said, “There was a sign hung on your door.” In fact, none of us were notified. 

The last public meeting for “DenverSaferStreets” was held in 2022, to discuss safer bike routes through Denver. Apparently our street has been designated, but the measures taken so far have caused alarm, not calm.  

A thicket of signs blaring “Road Narrows” appeared by Day 4 of the invasion. It is clear that the trapezoids scored into the pavement will also sprout a forest of reflector wands to force traffic into single file at what looks like security bunkers around an embassy. 

Neighbors who have lived here for 30 years say there have been no accidents on this street in decades, and the new traffic pattern may well confuse and pose danger to bicyclists and motorists alike. Locals here are courteous, used to giving way to other traffic and bicycles, and we wonder why a simpler solution, such as speed bumps, could not solve this problem?

Susan V. Walton, Park Hill

We love your letters and give preference to those that address an issue that has been covered in the newspaper, or a topic that is Park Hill or Denver-specific. Send letters to editor@greaterparkhill.org, and include your full name, and the neighborhood in which you live. Deadlines are the 15th of each month, for the following month’s issue.