FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 9, 2026
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jill Locantore, Denver Streets Partnership, 303-895-6376, jill@denverstreetspartnership.org
Danny Katz, CoPIRG, 608-215-0929, danny@copirg.org
Matt Frommer, SWEEP, mfrommer@swenergy.org, 908-432-1556
Jaime Lewis, Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, jaime@ccdconline.org, 720-220-5735
Cody Bryan, Greater Denver Transit, greaterdenvertransit@gmail.com, 720-833-8305
DENVER – A coalition of transit advocacy organizations, including the Denver Streets Partnership, CoPIRG, SWEEP, Greater Denver Transit and the Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, released the following statement in response to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s update regarding Colorado Boulevard released on November 4.
As one of the most dangerous and heavily used corridors in the Denver metro area, Colorado Boulevard urgently needs improvements to make it safer, more accessible, and more reliable for everyone traveling along the corridor. People walking, rolling, biking, and taking transit in particular face daily hazards and delays, while businesses along the corridor are cut off from the foot traffic that helps them thrive.
We caution CDOT in delaying the timeline for selecting a “locally preferred alternative” for bus rapid transit (BRT) too long. Colorado Boulevard needs transit and safety improvements urgently. We appreciate CDOT’s commitment to carry out some much needed sidewalk and intersection improvements along the corridor in the short term. And we appreciate the desire to ensure that the BRT decision is data driven, and not unduly influenced by perceptions regarding the success of the Colfax BRT project before that project has even been fully implemented.
However, we are deeply concerned about CDOT’s decision to prematurely eliminate the “center running” BRT option from consideration for Colorado Boulevard, especially given that Colfax will be the first instance of center-running BRT in Denver. Let the data on Colfax speak for itself and don’t remove an option that could be significantly more beneficial before we have the data.
We therefore urge CDOT and its project partners to:
- Keep all design options on the table for Colorado Boulevard BRT, including center-running, until data on the performance of the Colfax BRT project is available
- Move swiftly to evaluate the performance of the Colfax BRT project once it is completed
- Use this data to inform a final decision regarding the preferred design for the Colorado Boulevard BRT that keeps the project on track for construction starting in 2031, in accordance with CDOT’s current 10-year plan
Studies of previously implemented BRT projects throughout the US have shown that this type of high quality transit helps reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, lower household transportation costs, and improve safety by cutting traffic deaths and serious injuries. It also expands access to jobs and services, especially for people who can’t or don’t drive, while allowing communities to grow without adding more traffic. The long-term economic benefits of BRT systems include stimulation of residential and commercial development, support for higher-wage jobs, and corridors that are able to recover more quickly from economic downturns.
Colfax is the first true BRT project in the Denver region, and public perception of this project has been heavily influenced by the disruptive effect of construction on businesses located along the corridor – the same kind of construction that major corridors need whether it’s a BRT project or not. The project will be fully completed in 2027, and data on the initial outcomes of the final project can and should be used to support informed decisions about the buildout of the remaining BRT corridors planned for the Denver region.