David Sachs
David cut his teeth covering transportation, development, politics, education, and art in D.C. He's covered sustainable transportation for Streetsblog since 2015 and has lived in Denver's Cheesman Park neighborhood since 2012.
Recent Posts
Fixing Denver Transit Barely Registers With RTD Board of Directors
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The Regional Transportation District’s Board of Directors is more concerned with expansion to the outer suburbs than with providing better transit in Denver itself. At least that’s what we can glean from a conversation board members had last night about RTD’s strategic five-year plan. Board members critiqued the draft plan for various shortcomings — it’s […]
It’s Official: Shoddy Streets Make Walking in Westwood a Hazardous Mess
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Livable streets advocates in Westwood, one of Denver’s worst areas for walking and biking, are taking action as the city develops a new plan for their neighborhood. Westwood Unidos, a neighborhood organization, and PlaceMatters, a think tank for city planning, performed a “sidewalk audit” on Saturday. Residents and volunteers walked the southwest Denver neighborhood, took pictures, and recorded […]
More Bike Parking, Fewer Curb Cuts on Council Agenda
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Tonight the Denver City Council will consider changes to the city zoning code that, if passed, should make Denver’s streets at least a little better for walking and biking. Here’s what some of the technical changes will mean at the street level: Fewer Conflicts Between Drivers and Pedestrians on Sidewalks One proposal would prohibit additional curb cuts to some […]
Westwood Residents Look to Take Back Their Streets From Traffic
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A plan created in 1986 has been guiding the development of Westwood, a neighborhood in southwest Denver, for the last 30 years. And the streets reflect it. Westwood is bounded by two of the city’s least walkable corridors, Federal and Sheridan boulevards. Morrison Road, a dangerous diagonal arterial, slices through the neighborhood with a 35 mph speed limit. Residents say […]
BikeDenver Releases Map Showing Bike Lanes to Nowhere
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People who depend on Denver’s bike network to get around are tossed from calm bike lanes into chaotic streets too often because of sporadic, fragmented infrastructure. It’s a familiar feeling for riders, but seeing the gaping voids mapped above is striking, even cringeworthy. BikeDenver released the map yesterday, inspired by a Washington Post article that mapped the disconnects in […]
Help Reshape Civic Center Station Into a Safe, Modern Transit Center
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RTD and the city want to transform the dilapidated, dangerous Civic Center Station into a modern transit hub, and they’re kicking off the public process tomorrow. Eighteen bus routes and 15,000 people — more than at any other station — pass through Civic Center Station, but it’s surrounded by three terribly wide streets: Colfax, Broadway, and […]
Here’s How to Take Part in Colorado’s Bike to Work Day
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Colorado’s Bike to Work Day is tomorrow, and while it may or may not inspire long-term behavioral change for commuters, the sea of bikes on the road — last year the region saw about 30,000 — probably makes it the safest day of the year to pedal to the office. The Denver area sees about 18,000 bike commuters on an […]
Hancock Administration “Taking a Hard Look” at Vision Zero
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According to a statement from the mayor’s office, Denver’s brass is sort of considering looking into possibly adopting Vision Zero, a package of policies based on the idea that traffic deaths and serious injuries are preventable, and that we have a moral obligation to act. Amber Miller, Mayor Michael Hancock’s press secretary, prepared this statement in response […]
Walk2Connect Helps People Take the First Step Toward Pedestrian Advocacy
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Walk2Connect sort of just happened, kind of like learning to walk. The organization bubbled up in Jonathon Stalls’ head after he trekked west from the Delaware coast by foot, and didn’t stop until he reached the Pacific Ocean. After that it was clear: Truly connecting with a place and its people can’t happen in a […]
Nailing Down the Details for the Brighton Boulevard Redesign
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Brighton Boulevard will be redesigned in 2017, complete with what will probably be the city’s best bike lanes. The concept is clear: a lively street that is walkable, bikeable, and conducive to transit (though consultants insist Brighton has to cater to trucks as well). Brighton is currently an industrial remnant in a fast-developing part of town. In […]
Public Meeting Tonight to Hash Out Brighton Boulevard Bike Lane Design
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Some good-looking biking and walking improvements are coming to Brighton Boulevard in River North as part of a broader redevelopment plan, with the exact details subject to additional fine tuning. Advocates, residents, and business owners will meet tonight with city planners and hash out the design. The last public meeting with the Department of Public Works and the North Denver Cornerstone […]
Here Are Some Better Ideas For Quebec Street Than DPW’s Widening Plan
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The Department of Public Works wants to widen several blocks of Quebec Street between 13th and 26th. DPW says adding more lanes is the answer because it will move more cars. But if we want to have safe streets for people to walk and bike, DPW’s four-lane design for Quebec is not the way to go. According to […]