Friday’s Headlines: We’re Back, and We’re Hiring

Happy new(ish) year, dear readers. We’re back from winter break with some news: We have a new opportunity for a creative communications professional.

Would you like to manage Streetsblog Denver and make it better? If you become the next Denver Streets Partnership communications manager, running this publication will be part of your job. Read the communications manager job posting and apply by January 15.

If you’re not looking for that type of commitment but you’d like to write for Streetsblog Denver once in a while with no pay, Streetsblog Denver welcomes guest commentaries, as always.

And now for headlines, including some from the holidays that we don’t want you to miss. If you have already read that story, it’s OK, just skip to the next one.

Traffic Violence

  • On Tuesday, a person diving a car hit a man walking on East Smith Road at Quentin Street in Aurora. The man died from his injuries. (9News, calling it an “accident” instead of a “crash”)
  • On New Year’s Eve, a person driving a truck hit and killed three-year-old Sage Antone, who was walking with his father near South Lowell Boulevard and Morrison Road. The driver fled the scene. (Denver7 and Fox31)
  • Denver bike shop owner Dmitri Rumschlag just keeps on moving while recovering after a driver hit him and fled (Denver7)
  • Kudos to KUNC’s Michael de Yoanna for this thoughtful piece, Anatomy Of A Bicycle Crash: Thousands Of Colorado Riders Injured In A Decade (KUNC)
  • Fewer people – and possibly animals – died on Southwest Colorado highways in 2020 versus 2019, possibly thanks to data analysis (The Durango Herald)
  • 2020 is the new deadliest traffic year for Colorado Springs (KKTV)
  • President-Elect Joe Biden visited graves of first wife and baby daughter on 48th anniversary of fatal car crash that also badly injured his two sons (CBS News)
  • Lyft Won’t Pay For Rider’s Medical Bills After Hit & Run Crash In Denver (CBS4)

From Streetsblog

Denver and the Metro Area

  • Denver designing pedestrian safety improvements in around S. Lowell and Morrison Road where three-year-old Sage Antone was killed [by a person driving a truck] in hit-and-run on New Year’s Eve (Denver7)
  • Wouldn’t it be nice if you brought up walking, biking, and transit at this Downtown Denver Partnership Safety and Security Town Hall on Jan. 13 featuring Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen, Mayor’s Office Chief of Staff Alan Salazar, Mayor’s Office Deputy Chief of Staff Evan Dreyer, and Denver Dept. of Safety Chief Deputy Executive Director Mary Dulacki? (DDP)
  • The Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure will continue some shared streets with new barriers and signage and revert some to their previous car-centric state (Denverite and Denver Post)
  • How coronavirus cuts to the government will affect Denver humans: Transportation edition (Denverite)
  • Denver Post: Life after COVID: The pandemic has transformed Denver streets and sidewalks. Could these changes be permanent? Us: TOTALLY (Denver Post)
  • 10 resolutions for Denver in 2021, including rethinking personal transportation (Westword)
  • Denver sidewalk pantries are a way for neighbors, businesses and churches to help during COVID (Denverite)
  • RTD
    • Laid off people this week amidst a $140 million deficit (CBS4)
    • Hopes to reverse some layoffs while CDOT kicks COVID stimulus money to [so many highway] projects across state (Denver Post)
    • Starts service changes on Sunday (Fox31)
    • Did not provide free bus and light rail service on New Year’s Eve because of COVID-19 concerns (Colorado Politics)
    • Swore in the Board of Directors this week, and they and re-elected Angie Rivera-Malpiede as chair (RTD)
      • Next week, the board will talk about the funding agreement with the City of Boulder, FasTracks bonds, and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion workshops (RTD)
    • Did not provide free bus and light rail service on New Year’s Eve because of COVID-19 concerns (Colorado Politics)
  • RTD CEO Debra Johnson talks pandemic, Boulder rail, transit equity on DRCOG podcast (Colorado Politics)
  • Downtown Denver Greyhound Station sold to joint venture (Fox31)
  • CDOT’s new Safer Main Streets program will spend nearly $59 million in the Denver Metro region to make it safer to walk, bike, and take transit, and holy cow, we really needed some good news (9News and CPR and Colorado Politics)
  • PeopleForBikes ranked Denver’s West 13th/14th Avenue Couplet Protected Bike Lanes in its America’s Best New Bikeways of 2020 (PeopleForBikes)
  • Denver second-graders get new wheels thanks to… not Santa, but rather the Gates annual bike “BuildORama” (Denver Post). Rest assured, Dr. Fauci himself vaccinated Santa before he transported all those gifts. No word on the reindeer. (Huffington Post).
  • Denver Air Quality Index: 8a.m.: 58 (Moderate). Yesterday’s max: 54 (Moderate).

Centennial State

  • More good news! Bustang Outrider now connects Craig, Hayden, Steamboat Springs, Kremmling, Hot Sulphur Springs, Granby, Tabernash, Fraser, Winter Park, Idaho Springs, and Denver! (Colorado Politics)
  • AAA Colorado’s 2021 resolution is to say “crash” and not “accident”! (AAA Colorado)
  • Grand Junction installed more signs to help people riding bikes! (Daily Sentinel)
  • Pueblo is building a pedestrian bridge to connect the existing Arkansas River Trail to the planned Arkansas River Levee Trail! (Pueblo Chieftain)
  • Safer, better CSU campus transportation: Student interns and the power of data! (CSU)
  • Steamboat Springs bus passengers must exit from back of the bus and snow piles around bus shelters can cause problems [no matter where people exit the bus] (Steamboat Pilot)
  • State leaders discuss gas tax, other fees, sprawl, and the upcoming legislative session during Commuting Solutions event (CPR and Colorado Sun)
  • CDOT and other Colorado transportation agencies expect to receive million for transportation projects from federal pandemic relief funds (CPR and Colorado Politics and Colorado Sun)
  • New federal funding revs up discussions on Colorado’s long-term transportation plan (Denver Business Journal)
  • Colorado is behind on targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions and transportation is the largest single source of carbon emissions (Colorado Sun)
  • And Polis and Xcel are super excited about 940,000 new electric vehicles by 2030 (KKTV)
  • Polis looks to reduce Colorado government facilities by 1 million square feet and plans for 1/4 of state employees to work from home and commute only from bedroom to living room (Denver Business Journal)
  • CDOT and Lyft offered $10,000 in free rides during the holiday (CBS4)

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