Opinion: O Denver, Where Art Thou?

Things Are Amiss In Our Once-Lovely City

By Gary Martyn

For the GPHN

I ran an errand downtown a few weeks ago and it was quite the unsettling experience. Between the protected bike lanes, bus lanes, the traffic-calming bollards, and the endless graffiti like spray paint all over the tarmac from construction, the place looked like a total disaster. Some buildings still have plywood over their windows, there is a lot of regular graffiti, and there isn’t much parking. It simply is not welcoming.

I did a little reading on the denver.gov website to gain some clarity. I went through all kinds of pages detailing plans and studies. One thing Denver does is plan and study. A lot. We have Blueprint Denver, the Denver Mobility Plan, Game Plan for a Healthy City, Denver Moves: Pedestrians and Trails, Three Year Shelter Plan …

The list of plans — trust me — goes on and on. And on.

When one peruses these plans, often there are examples that tell us Portland did this, Minneapolis has done that, Austin is doing this. It gives the impression that our planners spend a lot of time studying what others have done, a good thing, but then cannot articulate why a certain idea is right for Denver.

With all of this planning, our leaders have decided that being Denver is OK, but it would be better if we were World Class. We need a World Class airport, a World Class convention center, World Class sports, and World Class arenas. There is a really Big New Bridge going over the Platte at 51st Street from the new stockyards construction to…, well right now to a dead-end street that is serving as a housing area for those without homes. The homeless problem is, sadly, heading toward World Class and should be the city’s top priority.

In these pursuits, we have all been witness to the ghastly cost overruns at the airport, the ongoing convention center problems, the National Western funding issues, and the ongoing inability to build anything on time within budget. Our own Fairfax Park is a prime example. The Greater Park Hill News did a great job uncovering that debacle over the past several years.

Somewhere along the line, our elected leaders have mostly stopped doing the small things that make our lives easier and better in order to grasp at the Next Big Shiny Thing. A new arena at the National Western, YES! More airport, YES! Bus Rapid Transit on Colfax, YES! Does anyone think the city will be able to build the Colfax Bus Rapid Transit within the budget and timetable they are proposing? No. And, that construction will probably kill off many of the small shops along the route. Albuquerque has gone through this.

Something is obviously amiss in our once-lovely city. It’s dirty, it’s unwelcoming, and frankly, it has lost its vision. At this point in my essay, since I borrowed the title from a great movie, we could cue up a folksy bluegrass tune by the Soggy Bottom Boys and end it. Instead, we are left with the Dodgy Bottom Boys (and Girls) still running the show. So I ask of them:

How about concentrating on smaller projects that will make everyday life better? Re-route semi trucks off of Quebec to get some traffic relief. Instead of traffic-calming bollards, maybe write a few tickets to actually slow people down? Clean up graffiti.

At least pick up the numerous traffic island signs that are laying around all up and down Colfax. Have the construction folks clean up after themselves by scrubbing their graffiti off the streets and sidewalks before they move on. Give the police a chance to work with the citizens.

Try limiting the lofty ambitions, instead finish some of the projects that you have promised. Plant a bunch of trees. Build some parks. Put a shine back on the dusty old cowtown before it is forever tarnished.

Gary Martyn grew up in Park Hill.