CDOT

Last month, Streetsblog wrote about the absurd traffic projections that the Colorado Department of Transportation is using to justify expanding I-70 from six lanes to 10 through northeast Denver. Last night, I-70 project director Tony DeVito admitted that CDOT will knowingly use old traffic modeling to make a case for the $1.2 billion project, even though there’s newer data available. DeVito spoke … Continued

Seattle is, in many ways, Denver’s most comparable peer city. Like the Mile High City, Seattle was built to move cars, but as it grows, the city is looking to retrofit its streets to move people via transit, biking, and walking. There’s a stark difference between the two cities’ approach, though. Seattle is backing up its talk with swift action made … Continued

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 … Continued

Yesterday on Colorado Public Radio, Colorado Department of Transportation Director Shailen Bhatt revealed that the state agency is looking into a mileage-based user fee to fund road projects. Bhatt told CPR’s Ryan Warner that Colorado is part of a “coalition” of states considering the funding mechanism, which charges drivers based on how much they use … Continued

Outgoing City Auditor Dennis Gallagher has been a thorn in the side of reckless I-70 expansionists for a long time. When the city council first considered proclaiming support last year, he blasted the 10-lane, $1.8 billion proposal. Before the Denver Regional Council of Governments awarded the project $50 million, he gave a scathing warning. Now Gallagher … Continued

Professional stuntmen don’t want to cross it and Lance Armstrong wouldn’t bike it even after doping up: West Colfax Avenue. It needs to change, and residents can help decide how it will, tonight at an event called Reimagine West Colfax. It’s the first of two meetings that will decide what type of temporary infrastructure — a crosswalk or a protected bike … Continued

Residents barely outnumbered the representatives pitching them on the new I-70 “cover” last night at a public meeting in Elyria Swansea. The speakers painted the project — linked to the expensive, traffic-generating I-70 widening — as a done deal. Advocacy efforts to re-route the highway are still active, but face an intransigent Colorado Department of Transportation, which has deemed the option unviable, and Mayor Michael Hancock, … Continued

CDOT’s plan to widen I-70 is an expensive disaster that, as currently designed, is going to generate more traffic and further entrench car dependence. One part of the plan worth keeping, if the highway is not re-routed entirely, is the “cover” proposed for three blocks of the highway in Elyria Swansea. The public can weigh in on … Continued

When it comes to improving traffic safety, the Denver Regional Council of Governments is following the lead of the Colorado Department of Transportation and setting the bar low. DRCOG, the regional planning organization responsible for doling out federal transportation funding, is working on Metro Vision 2040, a draft document meant to guide regional planning for the next 25 … Continued