Monday’s Headlines 02/22/2021 and Safe Walking Means Safety for Black Lives, Too

Traffic Violence

• Traffic Violence Report: 10 People Have Died in 2021, Compared to Five in 2020 (Streetsblog Denver)
• On Friday morning before 8:30 a.m., a driver hit a person walking at E. 46th Ave. and Leaf Ct. The driver fled the scene, and the pedestrian went to the hospital with a possible broken foot. If you have any info, call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP. (DPD Twitter, Fox31)
• A driver hit and seriously injured a person walking at W. Jewell and S. Grove on Saturday evening (DPD Twitter)
• Independent review faults Aurora police for stop preceding Elijah McClain’s death, subsequent investigation (Colorado Sun, Aurora Sentinel, Westword, Denverite, 9News)
  • Safe walking, biking, and transit means more than safety from drivers. Streetsblog Mass said it well: Streets Need to Be Safe for Black Lives, Too

Denver and the Metro Area

• 16th Street Mall Revitalization Moving Forward After Difficult 2020 (CBS4)
• How the Central 70 Project has progressed during the pandemic with fewer commuters (9News)
• Denver City Council meetings this week: Mon 5 p.m. General Public Comment Session; Mon 5:30 p.m. Full Council Meeting; Tue 9:30 a.m. Mayor-Council; Tue 10:30 a.m. Land Use Transportation Infrastructure Committee; Tue 1:30 p.m. Finance Governance Committee; Wed 10 a.m. (note early start time) Safety Housing Education Homelessness Committee; Wed 1:30 p.m. Business Arts Workforce Aviation Services Committee; Thu 9:30 a.m. Budget and Policy Committee; Fri 9:30 a.m. Council Good Governance session 2 of 4 (Agendas and links to watch)
• Denver Air Quality Index: 8 a.m.: 44 (Good). Yesterday’s max: 44 (Good).

RTD

• RTD hires three clinicians to assist customers experiencing mental health issues  (RTD)
• RTD features Black-owned businesses on L Line and 15/15L bus route for Black History Month (RTD)
• Longmont council to discuss RTD in closed session on Tuesday (Longmont Times-Call)
• Guest opinion: Nicholas Garza: RTD Needs to build the Northwest Rail Line now, not by 2050 (Boulder Daily Camera)
• RTD could sacrifice parking for more housing near stations (Denver7)
• RTD to ask for community feedback on train quiet zones, horn usage (Colorado Politics)
• RTD Board meetings this week: Tue 5:30 p.m. Board Meeting, and – confusingly – a simultaneous Special Board Meeting with the same Zoom info, including unanimous consent on a new Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Policy (Agendas and links to watch, GM’s report)

Centennial State and Beyond

• Notable Colorado road projects that aren’t funded, including $70 million for Denver metro area arterial transit improvements (Denver Post)
• Colorado’s attempts to pay for transportation improvements fall far short of other states… because TABOR (Denver Post)
• Historic Bridges are #1 on Colorado’s Most Endangered Places Just Announced by Colorado Preservation, Inc. (YourHub)
• CDOT says Bustang Park-n-Ride will open near Berthoud by end of 2023 (Loveland Reporter-Herald)

From Streetsblog

• Monday’s Headlines to Kick it Off Right (Streetsblog USA)
• ‘Land Bridge’ Seeks To Restore Minnesota Black Neighborhood (Streetsblog USA)
• Amtrak Is Ready to Grow. Will it Finally Get the Subsidy It Deserves? (Streetsblog USA)

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