Bus Rapid Transit questions remain unanswered for community along Denver's Colorado Boulevard stretch
On Thursday night, a lot of people showed up to a meeting with questions about how the Bus Rapid Transit project would work on Colorado Boulevard.
The event was hosted by the Save Colorado Boulevard group in partnership with the city of Glendale.
However, the people who could answer those questions best never showed up, which equally frustrated people who were proponents of the project.
"Living on Colfax, I get to see the benefits of that design implementation," said Connor Shannon, who lives on Colfax but works near Colorado Boulevard.
"I am in full support of transit projects like this, but I was really interested to see what would happen at a public space like this, and it's it is actually really disappointing to see the agencies not show up," Shannon continued.
Even though CDOT, RTD, and Denver's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure chairs sat empty, organizers tried to answer questions.
The scope of the project has changed. CDOT pointed to early data that shows, unlike East Colfax's version, a center lane for buses won't work on Colorado Boulevard and is officially off the table.
CDOT also pushed pause for two years so it can keep studying the impact of the still-developing Colfax BRT.
Those are both welcome changes, but neither resolved concerns entirely. There are still questions, such a how it'll be paid for and operated.
For a lot of people in and outside the room tonight, any change — any lane limitations — remain unwanted.
"We were really concerned about a lack of information and a lack of data with the proposal of a BRT down Colorado Boulevard, and, having seen what's been happening on Colfax, it raised some questions for us," said Dana Busch with Save Colorado Boulevard.
CDOT says it's shifting its focus on Colorado Boulevard to improving intersections and sidewalks. For example, there are gaps in the sidewalk that don't meet ADA standards.
CDOT is still seeking public input on where it should prioritize.