Five Points has grown so frustrated with Regional Transportation District service that its leaders are seeking a transit fix, possibly including replacement of the city’s first light rail line with buses. RTD officials said they have no such plans but will listen to ideas.
Better buses along Welton Street through the heart of historic Five Points — instead of the current — could better connect Five Points with the rest of metro Denver, some business leaders contend.
They say a neighborhood rebirth, driven by expansion of the , the reopening of a historic eatery (the Welton Street Cafe), activities at Denver’s , a summer music festival, new condos on a former RTD parking lot, and multiple jazz and other music hinges on fixing public transit.
“Now is the time for action,” said Denver City Council member Darrell Watson, who represents the neighborhood. “The residents of Five Points and Denver deserve better. …We want real transit.”
RTD leaders are “aware of the conversations,” including proposals to remove L Line track, agency officials said in a response to Denver Post questions emailed by spokeswoman Marta Sipeki.
While RTD “has no plans to remove its light rail tracks along the Welton Street corridor,” the agency “is committed to engaging in future discussions and answering questions,” the RTD statement said.
Several RTD board members are open to improving service for Five Points, Director Chris Nicholson said. “Buses could be a better option,” though “tearing out the light rail is really expensive,” and Denver would have to foot the bill as part of a broader redesign, Nicholson said.
“Our first question should be how we make those tracks work,” he said. “It would be very easy for us to run a more connected service in Five Points, the way we did back in the 1990s.”
RTD has been planning to upgrade the L Line tracks along Welton, part of the agency’s $152 million downtown track reconstruction.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration has asked city council members to approve a contract for launching a 15-month feasibility study encompassing options to remove, and to keep, light rail — as part of a broader Welton corridor redesign.
That would be the latest of at least seven done exploring the benefits of wider walkways, two-way traffic, and green space of a once-vibrant local business hub.
The L Line that runs along Welton linking downtown with RTD’s 30th/Downing station lacks a connection to the A Line to Denver International Airport and has been hit with closures.
RTD officials opened it in 1994, originally part of the D Line that ran from RTD’s 30th/Downing station in Five Points through central Denver to Mineral Avenue southwest of the city in Littleton. RTD officials in 2017 disconnected Five Points, partly due to a track shift from double tracks to single track north of downtown. They launched the L Line to Five Points in 2018 despite complaints that the reconfigured system left Five Points isolated with diminished connections. Moving the 1.2-mile distance from Denver’s downtown Coors Field baseball stadium to Five Points, for example, often requires catching one bus and then transferring to another bus or train.
“What if you want to go to the airport?” said Risë Jones, owner of , near the intersection of 22nd Street and Welton, questioning the viability of the L Line.
“The bus may be more convenient than light rail,” and in Five Points, “there isn’t a lot of space for cars,” she said. “What we need is a system that makes it easy for people around the city to get into the Welton Street corridor and for people in the corridor to get out without disruption.”
Ridership on the L Line has decreased from 314,000 in 2023 to 169,000 in 2025, according to RTD data. The decreases reflect RTD’s suspensions of service on the L Line during the downtown rail reconstruction project, from September through November in 2025, and from June through September in 2024.
Meanwhile, RTD bus ridership on the 38 and 43 routes (along the adjacent California and Stout streets) remains robust. RTD for September 2025 show that 63,220 riders boarded the 38 bus and 53,643 boarded the 43 bus, compared with 24,073 riders on the in June 2025 before the three-month suspension of service.
“Welton needs transit that supports the community and that supports the businesses here. The current L Line isn’t capable of doing that,” said , who lives a block off Welton and is running for a seat on the RTD board of directors.
Five Points residents say Welton, historically a two-way urban street, is becoming more dangerous as a one-way, with drivers speeding out of downtown.
“What we want is a transit-rich corridor,” said Norm Harris, director of the , co-owner of the , and the organizer since 2012 of the .
“Our sidewalk is extremely narrow. You have this hulking train, not built for frequent stops, hugged up against that very narrow sidewalk. Imagine you are walking out of a business and, in a couple of steps, you can get hit by a train. And the cars are pedal to the metal,” Harris said.
“The light rail connects you to nowhere,” he said, suggesting that the 38 and 43 buses could be rerouted onto an enhanced, pedestrian-oriented, two-way Welton Street. “Then there would be more transit options for people.”
