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
Dangerous, Car-Centric Streets Put People at Risk, Not Density
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The Denver Post ran a commentary today by Aaron Schwartz, recounting a regular day gone wrong: A car crash injured his son and pregnant wife, who were walking near East Alameda Avenue and South Monaco Parkway. It’s a moving story that should impel change, but the culprit is not, as the headline suggests, “high density.” Here is Schwartz’s diagnosis: Denver […]
15th Street Bike Lane Gets Tweaked Between Arapahoe and Lawrence
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Get ready for a change to the 15th Street bike lane on the one-block stretch between Arapahoe and Lawrence streets. Developers are building a 40-story office building, and the construction crew needs the right of way to build what will become Denver’s fourth tallest skyscraper. The Department of Public Works will move the bike lane to […]
CDOT Relied on Absurd Traffic Projections to Make the Case for Widening I-70
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To justify widening I-70, the Colorado Department of Transportation used traffic projections that are completely out of step with the last decade of observed travel patterns in the Denver region. CDOT wants to spend an estimated $1.8 billion widening I-70 from six lanes to 10 lanes between I-25 and Tower Road. In its draft environmental impact statement, CDOT […]
Mayor Hancock’s Sheridan Blvd Plan: Feel Good, Do Nothing
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Anyone who’s walked down Sheridan Boulevard knows it’s a dangerous street where dirt mounds replace sidewalks, drivers ignore the 35 mph speed limit, and crossing the street means dodging five lanes of traffic. It’s a nightmare for pedestrians and the Colorado Department of Transportation knows it. But that’s not stopping them from widening lanes nearby. Between 2010 […]
Quality Bike Infrastructure Decreases “Scofflaw” Riding
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Colorado Public Radio aired an enlightened story this morning that’s worth a listen (or read) for its treatment of the bicycle-versus-car narrative that permeates the Denver transportation discussion. Reporter Nathaniel Minor interviewed CU Denver Civil Engineer Professor Wesley Marshall, who is researching why people on bikes sometimes break traffic laws. Here’s a snippet: “Not all […]
New DPW Magazine Aims to Demystify Biking in Denver
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Denver’s Department of Public Works released a magazine this week that staff members hope will portray bicycling as accessible to everyone, not just the spandex-wearing caricature people might conjure when they hear the word “bicyclist.” It’s called BikeLife Denver, and it promotes what the city is doing — and will do — to make Denver more bikeable. […]
CDOT’s ‘Bold’ Plan to Reach ‘Intermediate Goal’ of Fewer Traffic Deaths
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It’s 2015 and Denver is urbanizing as fast as anywhere else in the country. We’re still on the upslope of density, transit, and walkable and bikeable infrastructure. Which means there’s a ton of work to do to create great urban streets where people come first and cars no longer dominate. The Colorado Department of Transportation’s adoption of the Toward Zero […]
Bike to Work Wednesdays Keep the Bike Commute Mojo Going
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For many, Bike to Work Day is a yearly tradition — something to do when the calendar rolls around to a very specific date. But bike commuting once a year isn’t a real habit. BikeDenver is trying to change that with Bike to Work Wednesdays every hump day through June 24. To entice more people to ride […]
RTD Votes on Fare Changes Tonight, But Not Discounts for Low-Income Riders
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The Regional Transportation District’s fare structure has never been simple. With three tiers of prices that vary according to how far you travel, even locals have trouble figuring out what their trips cost. If a restaurant menu was as confusing as Denver’s transit pricing, it would lose out on a lot of customers. In an attempt to simplify riding […]
The Legislature Killed Safe Routes to School Funding, So What’s Next?
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Pay raises for Colorado legislators, electronic traffic enforcement and student testing dominated state politics in the last session, overshadowing the casualty of a longstanding and successful program: Safe Routes to School. Some state funding remains for the 2015-2016 school year, but none for Denver. And after next year, no Colorado schools will have Safe Routes […]
RTD May Join the Ranks of Transit Agencies with Transparent Meetings
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If a town like Littleton can do it, there’s no reason the Regional Transportation District can’t. That’s the message District H RTD Director Kent Bagley had for his colleagues today about recording and posting board meetings online in the name of transparency. No one at the Executive Committee meeting held at RTD headquarters disagreed with the principle […]
Denver Cruiser Ride Starts Tonight
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It’s supposed to be warm in Denver, and it’s not. Whatever, it’s still time for that weekly biking tradition and colorful spectacle that signals summer in the Mile High City: the Denver Cruiser Ride. It’s the 10th anniversary of the ride, which began with just a few participants and has grown to a caravan of possibly thousands […]