CDOT drops center bus lane plan for Colorado Blvd
The state will fix sidewalks and intersections now, deferring a full route decision until 2028.
By Emmanuel Faure ·
The Colorado Department of Transportation removed center-running bus lanes from its design plans for Colorado Boulevard.
CDOT stated that its initial study showed a center-running configuration is not appropriate for the road. The agency will remove that option from future reviews.
The department cited tight funding and the need for more data from the Colfax bus rapid transit line. It will not revisit the center lane proposal until 2028.
In the interim, CDOT is focusing on infrastructure improvements along the corridor. The agency will fix sidewalks and make intersections safer at specific locations. These sites include Bruce Randolph Avenue, 6th and 7th Avenue, Mississippi Avenue, 1st Avenue, Florida Avenue, and 35th Avenue.
Transit advocates argue the state is moving too quickly. Jill Locantore, executive director of the Denver Streets Partnership, called the decision premature. She noted that the agency is still waiting to see how the Colfax center-running line performs. Locantore suggested CDOT could evaluate that system within six to 12 months of its full opening.
Opponents of the project are also organizing. Save Colorado Boulevard, a coalition of neighborhood groups, wants to halt BRT plans entirely. The group demands that regional leaders wait for two years of Colfax BRT data before proceeding. Organizer Penfield Tate said the coalition has never claimed the street is perfect. He argued that restricted lanes cannot be placed in the middle of the boulevard without community input.
Tensions rose after CDOT and the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure backed out of a community forum planned for Thursday night with the City of Glendale. Glendale City Manager Chuck Line said the agencies need to attend and hold real public forums. He emphasized that citizens need a space to receive information, even if it is not what they like. CDOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Because CDOT is the lead agency, DOTI said the city is sitting out the forum. Dana Busch, an organizer with Save Colorado Boulevard, said there are still questions and issues to address. She said there needs to be more engagement with the community.
