The head of Denver’s transportation department said Wednesday that the city would conduct a temporary demonstration of its controversial plan to reconfigure a 10-block stretch of Alameda Avenue before finalizing the design.
Amy Ford, the executive director of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, or DOTI, said her office had decided on the new course of action partly in response to an outcry from residents since the city altered an earlier plan for Alameda in the fall. The demonstration announcement signaled the possibility of more changes ahead, depending on the outcome of the pilot.
“We’ve already done a pretty extensive safety analysis, and we’ve shared that,” Ford told reporters following an afternoon presentation to a City Council committee about the project. “We also know that people had questions about that continuing safety analysis.”
The decision to demo the changes comes as pushback has reached a fever pitch. Frustrated residents attended the committee presentation, holding up signs, speaking out from the gallery and snapping their fingers to support some council members’ comments.
While Ford spoke, one man held up a sign that said “Fire Amy Ford.” That level of protest isn’t typical for committee meetings.
How Denver’s shifting plans for Alameda Avenue created a PR nightmare for Mayor Mike Johnston
, which spans from Pearl to Franklin streets, has garnered intense scrutiny after DOTI officials announced late last year that they were changing the design from a full-lane elimination, which would have reduced the road from four lanes to three, to a partial-lane repurposing to create turn "pockets" in some places.
Some neighbors of Alameda were furious, saying the full-lane reduction would be safer for pedestrians. But a coalition led by Jill Anschutz, the daughter-in-law of Colorado billionaire Phil Anschutz, opposed the plan, arguing it would increase traffic congestion.
DOTI says the new plan still will make the street safer, while preventing worse congestion and side-street diversion of traffic.
The departmentap decision to switch the plan after Jill Anschutz got involved led to critical media coverage, the resignation of a member of a transportation advisory committee and a letter from most of the council members.
The debate has reached all the way to Mayor Mike Johnston’s office as opponents of the new plan have questioned his priorities.
Ford and Molly Lanphier, who is leading DOTI’s community engagement for the Alameda project, attended Wednesday's committee meeting to update council members on the projectap progress and to answer their questions.
Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, whose district includes that section of Alameda, said she feared what this decision -- and decisions like it -- could mean for the city’s most vulnerable residents.
“What scares me most is that this is setting a precedent of the loudest, most powerful people continuing to influence our decisions, and the people who are in the most danger not being in the room,” she said.
Committee members pressed Ford and Lanphier on how the project revision decision was made and questioned whether the new plan would actually improve safety in the corridor.
“We have to be accurate,” said at-large Councilwoman Sarah Parady. “If there is one value I’m concerned about in 2026, it is people trusting government.”
Ford said DOTI hasn't worked out the details of the demonstration yet, but it could begin in the spring and last “several months.” The council members asked that the department also do a pilot of the original full-lane reduction, which would leave one travel lane in each direction and one for turns in the middle.
The demonstration's setup could mean cones, bollards or repainted lines along the section of road. Officials are still deciding which metrics they will study during the demo period.
Ford said it's something the city has done before with projects like the South Broadway bike lane plan.
“We absolutely have a shared vision on safety,” Ford told the committee. “We are not trying to propose projects that we think would change or reduce the safety of what we’re trying to implement.”
DOTI is scheduled to present another update to the committee on Feb. 18.
