Work on one of the main arterials in and out of north downtown Denver has slowed the flow of traffic and left the city’s public works managers offering a bit of friendly advice:
“Stay off Broadway,” said public works spokeswoman Daelene Mix.
Broadway has been narrowed in each direction between Welton Street and Park Avenue West for a rehabilitation project expected to last through the summer.
The snarl is expected to worsen Friday, when fans on foot and in vehicles flood the neighborhoods around Coors Field for the Colorado Rockies’ opening day. The game against the Arizona Diamondbacks starts at 2:10 p.m.
To keep the knot from tangling too tightly, public works will adjust traffic-signal timing to favor traffic flow toward Coors Field before the first pitch, and away from the stadium once the game ends.
The city’s transportation management center will be staffed with 10 engineers in the field and in the office monitoring traffic flow.
“We will monitor traffic conditions from there, and make adjustments to the signal timing and also the variable message boards that lead to the stadium,” Mix said.
The Broadway construction is part of the Better Denver Bond Program approved by voters in 2007. It includes replacing asphalt road with concrete pavement, and repairing 4,900 feet of curb, gutter and sidewalk.
Construction schedules also have been changed throughout the baseball season to keep vehicles moving on game days: There will be no construction starting two hours before the games. Work can resume two hours after play ends.
Lower Downtown traffic patterns have also been affected by the Regional Transportation District’s FasTracks construction, with bus traffic to the HOV lane on Interstate 25 rerouted, and the bus lane behind Union Station now closed.
Some commuters say their time on the bus has been lengthened because of all the construction.
“I understand that stuff like this needs to happen for progress,” said Dave Ulhir, who rides the bus from Boulder to his job in LoDo.
Still, he is less than happy that his daily journey is now 20 minutes longer, and he is concerned that baseball season will only make things worse, “when 19th Street is crowded with people parking and walking to the games.”
As usual, RTD will offer RockiesRide on opening day and all weekend games.
The agency has no plans to change the through-town routes required by the HOV lane closure, said RTD spokeswoman Daria Serna. That could change if things get too rough during games.
“We’ll just see how it goes,” Serna said.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
