Nightmare On Albion Street

Neighbors Have Endured Eight Months Of Torn Up Streets And Sidewalks. The City Is Just Getting Started

By Cara DeGette
GPHN Editor

There was no warning, neighbors say, of the horror show coming to the residential blocks near Colorado Boulevard and Colfax Avenue — which is now running into its eighth month.

The first hint was the sudden, unexplained appearance in early March of metal temporary no-parking signs up and down both sides of the streets.

Lauran Williamson and dozens of her neighbors say they got no written notice, no warning, no information from the city, nor from Xcel Energy, nor from its subcontractor, about the massive gas line project that required tearing up the roads and sidewalks in their neighborhood. 

Nor have they been formally notified by Denver officials about what will be coming next: an even bigger stormwater drainage project that will shut down their streets for months at a time beginning next year.

When workers showed up, Williamson, who lives with her husband and young daughters in a tidy Foursquare-style home on the corner of Albion and Batavia, went outside to ask what was going on. 

“I spoke to the foreman, and he was kind,” she said. “He gave me his card and said they were moving the gas line from under the street to the interior of the sidewalks. He said there would be a lot of disturbance, but that they would return everything to the way it was when they were done.”

The project was scheduled to be finished in three months, on May 3. 

Now, eight months (and two foremen) later, life for Williamson and her family — and dozens of residents living in the southwest corner of Park Hill — is far from returning to normal. And, as they’re only recently beginning to learn, life for them is not likely to return to normal anytime soon.

In a nutshell, this is the scope of the overall project, which extends from Colfax to 17th Avenue and from Colorado Boulevard to Dahlia Street: 

• The City and County of Denver plans to install massive, 9-foot stormwater drainage pipes underneath Batavia Place, from Colorado Boulevard to Dahlia Street. The project also includes a portion of Albion Street. 

• The streets are narrow, so to make way for the stormwater pipes, Xcel Energy is moving gas lines from under the streets to underneath the sidewalks. That requires digging up all the sidewalks. 

• Denver Water must eventually move its water lines to accommodate the city’s huge stormwater project. Lead pipes are also scheduled to be replaced.

The multi-phased project is likely to last another 18 months. Residents and businesses will be living in a construction zone for much of the time, losing access to entire blocks. Parking will be restricted — even residents with driveways will not be able to use them for months at a time.

Matt Fariss, the project manager for Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, described it this way: Neighbors can expect nothing less than “shock and awe.” 

Stopped showing up

When the project began, neither Williamson nor her neighbors knew about the grand scheme — just that Xcel’s subcontractor, Sitewise, was moving gas lines in their neighborhood. As the months wore on, their patience has worn thin. 

“In the first couple days [the workers] were here every day, then it was spotty,” Williamson said.  “They stopped coming on Fridays, then they stopped coming on Mondays.” Sometimes entire weeks passed without any workers showing up. 

The workers may not be consistently on site, but their mess sure is. Bulldozers and other heavy equipment have been left parked along the streets, along with chunks of debris. Massive mounds of dirt, 20-feet long by four-feet high— often left uncovered — are piled along the curbs. When the wind blows, guess where the dust goes? 

Entire blocks of sidewalks have been torn up and left temporarily patched for months. The temporary filling is a tarry substance resembling soft pebbly asphalt — which winds up tracked onto lawns and landscaping, even inside homes, and embeds in shoes and in the paws of neighborhood pets. 

On several blocks workers laid immense metal plates to cover large holes on numerous sections of the streets. These plates are supposed to be temporary, but they’ve been there for months, lingering hazards for bicyclists, pedestrians and cars. 

The temporary no-parking signs — which remain even when the workers are absent — prohibit people from parking in front of their homes. 

A learning moment 

In October, Bryan Stubbs, the current project manager for Sitewise, attributed many of the delays to materials, including new pipes, being on backorder.

Representatives from Xcel and Sitewise insist that notices were hung on doors of impacted homes in mid-February to alert neighbors of the project. “Maybe people tossed them out,” Stubbs said. 

Dozens of impacted residents say they received no notice. Williamson, a college counselor who often meets with clients on her front porch, flatly rejects the suggestion she somehow missed the announcement. “I work from home. I would have seen any notice that would have been left.” 

Neither Xcel or Sitewise have provided any updates or explanations to neighbors about the delays that pushed a three-month project to eight months long. Officials now say the work will be finished on Nov. 8.

“I understand how much pain that people are going through and can definitely see how people are frustrated,” Stubbs told the Greater Park Hill News. “[In retrospect], some things we could definitely do better, as far as site cleanliness, and giving people more of a timeline about what [the project] would look like, to make sure people know. It’s definitely a learning moment.”

“I am so disappointed”

On several occasions last spring, Williamson reported damage to her property in letters to Xcel’s project manager, Stephanie Ahmedić: Workers had driven huge trucks onto Williamson’s lawn, destroying part of the sprinkler, grass and other landscaping. Her front yard (not the right of way) had been dug up and covered by metal plates and asphalt without any communication or permission. 

Other neighbors have weighed in with a variety of concerns over the ongoing work — including a lack of access and parking to torn-up sidewalks and streets, to property damage and workers operating loud equipment early in the morning and sometimes on weekends. 

“I believe in city improvements, but this is not the experience I, or any of my neighbors, should have to endure,” Williamson wrote. Ahmedić responded that Xcel would restore Williamson’s yard and sidewalk to its “original condition.”

In April, Williamson also attempted to contact her city councilman, Darrell Watson. In a respectfully-crafted letter on April 18, she thanked the councilman for his service, and for his dedication and commitment. 

She detailed numerous concerns about the project, including the damage to her front yard and the ongoing lack of communication about the length and scope of the project. The city’s brand-new ADA-compliant sidewalk on her corner, she noted, had been destroyed.

Watson’s aide, Darius Shelby, inexplicably forwarded Williamson’s letter to a representative with Denver Water — a separate entity with no current involvement in the project. Two weeks later Shelby sent a short email to Williamson, saying he had reached out to Xcel. “Either they or I will follow up with a response,” he wrote. Neither did.

Nearly three months later, on July 2, Williamson sent another email to the councilman’s aide, highlighting a new concern: her neighbor Bill, who relies on a walker, was clearly having trouble navigating the torn-up sidewalks. She included a photo of Bill.

“I am so disappointed about how this project has been handled,” Williamson wrote. She reminded Shelby that she, along with other neighbors, have been trying to get information for months. “Xcel, Sitewise . . . and the city continue to neglect to keep us in the loop.”  

“We can all do better,” she wrote. “Right now, I need your help before my neighbor gets hurt. When will the cement work be completed on the sidewalks so my neighbor will be safe?” 

The next day, Shelby responded: “I am sorry these issues are still taking place. I reached out to Xcel regarding your concerns and will follow up when I have a response.”

The councilman’s aide, Williamson said, never followed up.

Heartbreak of a dead tree

In early July, Williamson and her family left town for a summer vacation. When they returned, they were faced with a new heartbreak: a massive hackberry tree in front of their house — a tree at least 50 years old — was dead. Workers had dug through the massive roots on at least two sides. They had cut the irrigation lines, and the tree had not received any water during a historically hot summer.

The dead tree was removed.

Williamson was devastated about the old tree. At press time, her neighbor, Belinda Nelson, confirmed that another tree growing next to the old hackberry is also dead. They, and other neighbors, are worried about many of the other trees in the area that the project has stressed. 

On Aug. 9 Williamson and their neighbors were finally able to meet on her block with representatives from Xcel, Sitewise and the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.

At that meeting, Matt Fariss, the DOTI project manager said from the city’s perspective, the Xcel work is a separate project altogether. Though the Xcel work is being done to accommodate Denver’s stormwater project, the city, Fariss said, is not responsible for notifying property owners until the city’s portion of the project begins.

In late summer, Williamson and other neighbors collected testimonials — 35 in all — highlighting the multitude of grievances and frustrations they’ve experienced as a result of the ongoing construction work (see accompanying story on previous page). 

On Sept. 30, Williamson and another neighbor, Patty Paul, were finally able to schedule a meeting with their city councilman. It took 7-1/2 weeks to get on Darrell Watson’s calendar for a 30-minute meeting. 

At that meeting, which the Greater Park Hill News attended, Watson was sympathetic. He said it was the first time he’d heard about it. “For something this massive, I honestly was not aware that this was all happening,” he said.

Watson offered to coordinate a community meeting, which took place on Oct. 22.

Not important enough 

As for Williamson, she said she left the meeting with her councilman feeling like she was heard, but noted that she and her neighbors have been asking his office for help for months. 

“One of the things that was disappointing to me was that [the councilman] mentioned he was unaware that all of this was happening. Patty [Paul] and I have had interactions with members of his office for months, so it obviously wasn’t important enough or big enough to be brought to his attention.”

Williamson said that she understands there are bigger problems in the city. But, she says, she loves her neighborhood and her neighbors, and misses being able to enjoy the tranquility of her  block. What her family lives in now — and for the foreseeable future — is a noisy and dusty construction zone.

“The word I have for this whole project is ‘negligence’,” she said. “The planning was neglected, the communication was neglected, the tree was neglected, our property was neglected, I have been neglected.

“It feels like the city believes it can do anything it wants with my property.”

Next month: What’s next for Albion Street? A major $10 million city stormwater pipe project begins next year.

Eight Months Of Mayhem

Blocked Access, No Parking, Mice, Trash, Damaged Property

In September, Lauran Williamson and Patty Paul, who both live near 16th and Albion, canvassed their neighbors for their experiences during what was supposed to be a three-month-long project that has stretched to eight months. 

Williamson and Paul collected forms from 35 neighbors living in the construction zone with their concerns and complaints. They provided the forms to Denver City Councilman Darrell Watson during a Sept. 30 meeting. 

Of the 35 responses, 32 people said they had not been notified of the project.

The following are some of the complaints and concerns:

• James Klinger: Access to his driveway, litter on his yard, cigarette smoke from workers, noise, which awakened his napping child, damage to sidewalk/yard/trees, paint on his landscape rock, and a concern about how he would shovel the snow on his damaged sidewalk.

• Ryan Martin: “No warning on days when roads are closed.”

• Jay Peterson: “Blocked access to my house and driveway. Destroyed my flagstone pieces on sidewalk ($500 each). Half the time when workers are here they are sitting around. This project is taking considerably longer than it seems like it should take. Road debris/cones have been in the street and sidewalks for the last year.”

• Scott Bora: “No communication.”

• Diana Lucas: “Explain what this is.”

• Sunnie Kim: “Concerned about sprinkler, lawn issues, being able to come to my garage. We also have a new mice problem and I’m concerned it’s related to the huge construction mounds next to our home.

• Nathan Jackson: “Major inconvenience, lack of communication, total neighborhood takeover, no parking, dirty, noisy, received a parking ticket in front of my own house, holes everywhere, heavy equipment that concerns me as a father of a 4-year old who plays outside, narrow pathways for cars due to restricted areas.”

• Irma Lucas: “Inconvenience for no known purpose. What is the purpose of the project? Who is responsible? When will work start? Trash collection.”

• Belinda Nelson: “Poor communication to neighbors regarding all phases of this project, as well as how it will affect our daily lives, i.e. parking, trash pickup, our trees in our yards, noise and Sitewise behavior. No apparent coordination of the various projects and their timing and site work. Our access to our homes has been continually hampered since March, when this began. Damage to our trees lawns, etc., with no warning or plan to repair.”

• Patty Paul: “Access to garage and alley is unpredictable. No communication about project. Damage to neighbors’ property. No trash pickup when street is blocked for construction work. Contradictory information about parked cars being towed. Loss of tree canopy.”

• Lorna McCallister: “It’s difficult/dangerous to walk on the sidewalks/roads at night with the uneven pavement, gaps, metal plates, etc. And especially with animals or for people with disabilities. I fear tripping, falling, my dog tripping, falling, etc. I know the project needs to be done, but it could be done faster, or more importantly, more safely.”