Thousands of daily commuters who use Civic Center Station are sweating out on Broadway and Lincoln Street at temporary bus stops for the rest of the summer and then will be shivering this winter.
The on the 30-year-old bus station, which serves about 15,000 passengers each day, and the hub will be closed for the next 12 to 18 months.
Amanda Macasinag is a single mother with college-aged kids. She commutes every weekday through the Civic Center Station for work because she lets her kids use the car.
“I think the renovations are great, but it’s gonna be a mess out here,” she said Tuesday as she gestured toward the congested Broadway and Colfax Avenue intersection.
She added that the lack of shelter will be problematic when it snows or rains, and that taking the light rail doubles her commute time.
Passengers using routes 90L, 122X, FF4 and R/RC/RX will board buses on Lincoln Street between 17th and Colfax. Those using routes 0L, 3L, 83D, 83L, 87L, 100L, 116X, P, CV/CS/CX and EV/ES/EX will board buses on Broadway between 14th and Colfax.
Greg Gattis, who also commutes on weekdays to work, is “a little concerned about the location of the stops.”
He said when the Regional Transportation District when there was road work on Broadway near the bus station, the result was really long lines. RTD will have staffers at the outside gates to help travelers.
With the on Lincoln and Broadway between 14th and 17th streets, people waiting for the bus are in the way of those trying to use the sidewalks along Civic Center park.
“It got really chaotic along Broadway,” he said. “Passers by couldn’t get through (the lines for the buses).”
Gattis is determined to continue using the bus. He said waiting in bad weather isn’t ideal, but that he’s committed regardless. Macasinag, on the other hand, is probably going to rethink her schedule in the fall and winter. She’s not interested in waiting during bad weather.
While Macasinag has the flexibility to use her car, some, like Veronica Rodgers, don’t have that option.
Rodgers uses the bus to get to classes, medical appointments and to pick up her medications. Regardless of weather, she will still have to catch the bus.
Waiting out in the weather she said, “Doesn’t sound too cool,” but she is excited to see the renovations, which will include nine bus bays, a glass-enclosed terminal building, an open view from 16th Street Mall to the State Capitol and a building structure that is easier to maintain and repair long-term, according to an RTD news release.
Another commuter without a car, Mike Caine, said the station needed the renovations, especially the bathrooms that didn’t have enough privacy. But as far as he’s concerned, some people “might want to call an Uber” when the weather turns.
