By Allen Cowgill, Denver North Star
Kelsey Costales and her husband purchased their first ever home on Sheridan Boulevard just south of 38th Avenue in the summer of 2020 because they wanted to be in the neighborhood and the home was affordable.
Since then, Costales has experienced frustration with excessive speeding on the road and frequent accidents, sometimes destroying the fences and property of neighbors. Costales also mentioned how unfriendly the street is for pedestrians.
“You can’t really walk two people side by side,” she said. “You don’t really feel super safe walking a dog, and now we are expecting a child and I’ve said to my husband many times, ‘How are we going to walk this kid?’”
With their first child on the way, Costales has upped her effort to make the street safer. She recently delivered letters to 125 neighbors along the street to build a coalition focused on safety improvements.
“I’ve spoken with dozens of homeowners and renters in the 10 blocks south of me, and there is a common theme—why won’t they do anything about this?” she said. “It feels as though there’s a lack of accountability from CDOT, Denver, and Wheat Ridge/Jefferson County to keep the residents safe.”
A lot of neighbors agreed to help and wanted to know what they could do. Living on the west side of the road, Costales reached out to Wheat Ridge police. She said they were empathetic but cited a lack of resources to dedicate time to patrol the small stretch of road that borders the city.
Read the full story at Denver North Star