Denver officials want RTD to move the Federal-Decatur station on the new west light-rail line a block to the east for safety reasons and to help redevelop the Decatur Street corridor.
A completed environmental study called for the station to be located in a gulch just to the east of Federal Boulevard near West 13th Avenue.
But Denver city planner Catherine Cox-Blair said at a west rail meeting Thursday that it will be difficult for train riders to get to and from a station “depressed” below Federal and that such a location also could create safety and security problems.
If the station is moved to the east of Decatur, it would spur development along that street and strengthen the station’s connection to nearby Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver’s Department of Human Services and the Sun Valley public housing project, Cox-Blair said.
“Our objective is to create an active urban environment. We feel we can accomplish this by pulling the station out of the gulch and bring it close to Decatur,” Cox-Blair said. “We really want a linear promenade that leads directly to Invesco.”
The Regional Transportation District still is considering the implications of moving the Federal-Decatur station – including what it would do to the cost and schedule of the project, said Liz Rao, RTD’s planning and development chief.
The issue will be discussed at a meeting among all interested parties next week, Rao said.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
