Local news has been covering (what became) the East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit project (Colfax BRT) for over a decade now. Those stories originally focused on the vision, then change in vision, from a modern streetcar to BRT; then the plan to remove general purpose travel lanes, on-street parking, and how the roadway would be re-configured; and now, when the project will begin and what delays it from beginning sooner. The total transformation of one of our character business corridors is a big story, and I feel that it has been covered more for public interest than as a car-oriented critique, which is great. With a final infusion of federal funding this summer, construction on this transformational project began in October. There are a few open questions about the construction plan, namely, how will the city support businesses along East Colfax? When and how will the new bus platforms and branding will be used as varying stages of the project are completed? Yet, there’s one (seemingly moronic) question I haven’t heard anyone in the media or government ask: how does this massive transit project improve my experience of Colfax Avenue, even if I never ride the bus?
If someone told you recently that what they’re doing is putting bus lanes on Colfax, they were only partly right. Bus lanes are pretty simple. It’s red paint, maybe some advanced traffic signals with transit priority. But Colfax BRT is so much more than a new coat of paint. This project commits to a holistic transformation of the streetscape, from sidewalk up and asphalt down. Though the actual movement of the bus up and down the corridor will change, much of the construction work you’ll see for the next 3 years is about the experience of being physically present on the street. These changes will affirm the place of cyclists and pedestrians on Colfax, make it more pleasant to walk/bike to the bus, show people that BRT is not an inferior travel mode to modern streetcar, and hopefully attract new riders.
As well as rolling out the red carpet for people outside of private vehicles, this project will make it safer for all drivers who continue to use the corridor. By my count, this project will add 216 trees, 156 pedestrian-scale lights, 55 streetlights, and 30 new bike corrals to the corridor. 23 full blocks of sidewalks will be widened, allowing for new amenities above the curb, and at most intersections the sidewalk “bulbs” out so that cars move slower and safer off and on the corridor, while the crossing distance for a pedestrian decreases. Every single intersection will have crosswalks where pedestrians have right of way, which amounts to every E-W crossing at an intersection with Colfax. These new street amenities mostly are concentrated within existing Business Improvement Districts like the Colfax, Bluebird, and Colfax-Mayfair BIDs.
The core premise of this project is to give transit priority, but it offers as priority to riders outside of the bus, many of whom will be connecting to their new BRT stop either on foot or via micro-mobility. 10 intersections (Sherman, Pearl, Lafayette, Franklin, Columbine, Cherry, Hudson, Oneida, Syracuse, and Uinta) will see improved crossings for cyclists. Improved can look anything from new signage, conflict striping across Colfax, or additional protection during the last 150’ to the intersection. An additional 10 intersections (Ogden, Vine, Steele, Garfield, Bellaire, Fairfax, Kearney/Krameria, Quince, Tamarac, and Willow) will be transformed with protected infrastructure, diverters, and bike/ped-only phases. Some of these will quickly become integral to the everyday cyclists across Denver, and it’s amazing that it took a bus project to bring those to fruition. In particular, at four spots along the corridor, we will soon see two-way protected bike lanes on Colfax Avenue. It’s not often that a multi-million dollar project comes along, so when it does, the City seems to ask, why not leverage it to transform the corridor?
Consider the intersection(s) of Ogden Street and Colfax Avenue, for example. The street grid in Capital Hill and Uptown does not line up perfectly. South of Colfax, Ogden is a quiet two-way street that parallels Corona; north of Colfax, Ogden serves as a southbound one-way street with a bus route, while Corona disappears from the grid. Not only does this misalignment in the street grid confuse people, it forces uncomfortable interactions between drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and transit vehicles. Cyclists currently enjoy a high-comfort 16th Avenue bikeway, but might naturally need to go south one block, either to patronize the businesses on Colfax or to cross into Capital Hill. In order to continue using Ogden Street, a quieter route through Capital Hill, cyclists and drivers must both turn right onto Colfax, then immediately turn left, crossing two lanes of eastbound traffic. Cyclists looking to avoid the maneuver get up on the sidewalk, but this isn’t technically allowed, nor is there enough space on the one corner of sidewalk for the crossing demand from pedestrians and cyclists. Yet turns must continue to be allowed at this intersection, as it is not a through street, and RTD’s southbound 12 bus must swing left onto eastbound Colfax, then right onto southbound Corona Street. It’s a mess!
This project tackles the issue head on. The project introduces a concrete barrier between east- and west-bound bus lanes, ending the ability of westbound drivers to turn left from Colfax onto southbound Ogden Street. Cyclists, on the other hand, will see a new two-way protected bike lane from 16th Avenue down to Colfax, then are brought up to an expanded sidewalk where they can wait to cross Colfax at the light. Crossing Colfax, cyclists will use an extended sidewalk for a hundred-foot-long, two-way protected bike lane, bringing them to Ogden Street south of Colfax. Left turns onto eastbound Colfax will still be permitted, allowing the 12 to continue delivering service, and a reduced number of general purpose lanes makes pedestrian crossing at Ogden more attractive. And there are a LOT of pedestrians that might want to cross at Ogden Street, as it is right next to an excellent concert venue. So why not expand the width of the sidewalk, add two new pedestrian lights to the sidewalk, and remove parking meters while we’re at it. For all modes, this is an excellent, completely unexpected improvement! And there are dozens more totally transformative changes at prominent intersections along this corridor.
But… why? Why does a transit-improvement project spend time, blueprint space, and money on improving the conditions for other modes of travel, for other Colfax Avenue visitors and users? Smarter thinkers than I might conclude that this kind of everything-bagel project decreases the speed and scale of transit improvements by frittering away project dollars on bike lanes, sidewalks, and new lighting. Instead, I’ll simply observe that we’re doing it, and that the money we’re not saving for future, purely-transit projects means we probably get fewer bites at the apple of transit improvement overall.
I’ll finish by evaluating the tradeoffs for me, personally. I live within 400 feet of a bus stop on Colfax, but I don’t like taking the 15. Strung-out people have yelled at me or threatened other riders on the bus, and I generally find the service overcrowded, slow, and prone to bus bunching. My bus stop is at a gas station with no shade or shelter from the elements. At that stop, people are always asking for money, telling lewd stories, chain smoking cigarettes, and arguing with each other, and then many times don’t board when the bus comes. You might smirk at these petty complaints, but there it is.
I want to like the service, because it’s really useful, but on many occasions I’ve walked another quarter of a mile to take the 10 in Cheesman Park rather than take the 15. It’s not like I never ride the bus, but unless it’s snowing, it’s quicker, cheaper, and more comfortable for me to bike to work down 16th Avenue. But all these changes due to the BRT construction mean a radical new experience of Colfax as a livable corridor for people outside of cars. I really think I’ll use the bus more once conditions change, even though the finished BRT service involves removing my closest bus stop.
For more information on how your closest block of Colfax is changing, I recommend this thread I wrote on X of every single design change coming to Colfax from Broadway to Yosemite.
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