Commuting on West Colfax is never an easy task, but the , Walk Denver and other organizations hope to show those in the area some possibilities for rectifying the issue.
The groups will set up a temporary median and add bike facilities and sidewalk extensions to the area between Tennyson and Utica streets on West Colfax for one day on Aug. 16. The setup will accompany a festival that includes food trucks, beer and music.
“We’re looking for ways of activating the community around the design,” said Dan Shah, executive director of the West Colfax Business Improvement District.
Colfax will see one lane closed on each direction as will Tennyson Street and drivers will not be able to turn left onto Utica Street from West Colfax due to the median.
The extended sidewalks will include a parklet — which typically is placed over parking spaces giving more opportunity for green spaces — and bulb outs, which extend the sidewalk and narrow the road to reduce crossing distance.
Anne Kuechenmeister with PlaceMatters is helping plan the event and said similar temporary installations have been done in San Antonio, Kansas City and Yonkers, N.Y.
She said the idea is to give the community an idea of options out there and get feedback to see if it would like to see the city invest in any of these possibilities.
“I think the real benefit of this temporary installation is it’s a way to break down barriers,” she said.
The planners are seeking help in organizing the event and trying to .
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc
