Colfax
Colfax Avenue is a Denver icon, famously dubbed the “longest, wickedest street in America.” For pedestrians, that couldn’t be more true.
What happens next?
Colfax BRT is setting the standard that should be followed on other Main Streets corridors as the Denver region builds out a full BRT network. To truly function as a network, BRT should be extended further west on Colfax to connect with the W light rail line and the planned BRT route on Federal Boulevard, and further east to serve major destinations in Aurora.
BRT is coming to Colfax!
Denver’s first true bus rapid transit (BRT) line is under construction right now on Colfax, and scheduled for completion by the end of 2027. Made possible by GO Bond funding that voters approved in 2017 [PDF], the project will include:
- Center-running, bus-only lanes between Broadway and Yosemite Street
- Platforms with level boarding
- Off-board fare payment
- Multi-door boarding
- Reliable and frequent bus service, arriving every 4.3 minutes during the day
- Bus travel time savings of 15 to 30 minutes for people traveling between Broadway and I-225
- Improved access to over 250,000 jobs and community services along the corridor
- Significant streetscape improvements including new trees, pedestrian-scale lighting, and enhanced sidewalks
When completed, the project will demonstrate how a dangerous, highway-style arterial can be transformed into a safe, vibrant, people-friendly street. The project is expected to not only increase transit ridership to more than 32,000 riders per day by 2040, up from 24,450 in 2019, but also reduce the number of serious injury and fatal crashes along the corridor – something that has already started to happen during the construction phase.
Colfax Projects
Cloverleaf Oral Histories Project
Residents of Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood and the area historically known as The Bottoms share the history of how more than 240 homes and businesses were displaced in the 1960s to allow for the construction of the highway-style cloverleaf interchange of Colfax Avenue and Federal Boulevard.
East Colfax Parking Management Study
The Denver Streets Partnership is leading a study focused on developing a coordinated approach to parking management along the East Colfax corridor, and exploring opportunities for additional programs that increase awareness of and access to mobility options.
Guiding Principles for Colfax BRT
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on East Colfax is projected to lead to a dramatic shift in how people move along the corridor, with twice as many people riding the bus each day (50,000) compared to driving (25,000) by the year 2030. We offered guiding principles for the BRT project, to ensure the transformation of this major arterial helps achieve citywide goals for mode shift and traffic safety.
Over the Colfax Clover
We teamed up with the West Colfax Business Improvement District to launch the Over the Colfax Clover project as an effort to bring together community members and local experts to develop design solutions for an intersection that is currently unsafe and dangerous to navigate for all users.
Colfax Viaduct Project
The DSP is working with the West Colfax BID and community partners, particularly in the Sun Valley neighborhood, on the Colfax Viaduct Transformation Project, focused on the elevated portion of Colfax between the cloverleaf and Auraria Campus to the east. Through this initiative community partners are exploring strategies for redesigning both the top of the viaduct to be more bike, pedestrian, and transit friendly, while activating underutilized space underneath the viaduct to better serve the community.
Reimagine West Colfax
The Reimagine West Colfax Celebration was tremendously successful in demonstrating street design elements that could transform West Colfax from a dangerous speedway for cars into a safe, economically vibrant, and livable street for all users.
East Colfax Traffic Calming Pop-up
We partnered with Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods and the Bluebird District to improve safety on Colfax Ave using data collection, traffic calming, and pedestrian crossings at Colfax and Madison during the Bluebird District’s annual Tasty Colfax event.
Colfax Walk Audits
Colfax should be a walker’s paradise. It is lined with some of Denver’s most beloved shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, and concert venues. Its status as the busiest bus corridor in the city means it is usually teeming with pedestrians. But Colfax can be an unpleasant and even unsafe place to walk. We’ve audited Colfax from West to East, highlighting the factors that make it so wicked for pedestrians.
Vision Zero Community Art Projects
The Vision Zero Community Art Project, led by by the Denver Vision Zero Coalition, brought together the community along the Colfax corridor to create public art installations that raise awareness of traffic safety and Denver’s commitment to end traffic fatalities and serious injuries as a Vision Zero city.
Lakewood Gulch Wayfinding
Thanks to our partnership with the West Colfax Business Improvement District, there is now multi-lingual wayfinding signage on the Lakewood Gulch! The project, West Colfax Connects, builds on efforts to improve pedestrian mobility to support access to businesses for local residents with the goal to connect West Colfax with surrounding neighborhoods, particularly Sun Valley as it undergoes major redevelopment.
Related Resources
“Parking with Benefits”: How smarter parking management can help improve walking, biking, and transit
From Parking Lots to Patios
We’re supporting our small businesses in Little Saigon, Westwood, and East Colfax in repurposing space from parking to patios. Check out our new video!
Colfax Walk Audits
Colfax should be a walker’s paradise. It is lined with some of Denver’s most beloved shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, and concert venues. Its status as the busiest bus corridor in the city means it is usually teeming with pedestrians. But Colfax can be an unpleasant and even unsafe place to walk. We’ve audited Colfax from West […]
Vision Zero Community Art Program
The Vision Zero Community Art Project, led by by the Denver Vision Zero Coalition, brings together the community along Denver’s Colfax corridor to create public art installations that raise awareness of traffic safety and Denver’s commitment to end traffic fatalities and serious injuries as a Vision Zero city. This artwork supports a dialogue among residents, city officials, […]
Reimagine West Colfax
Reimagining West Colfax: From Demonstration to Long-Term Changes Report offers recommendations for making West Colfax better for people on foot and on bike. The Reimagine West Colfax Celebration was tremendously successful in demonstrating street design elements that could transform West Colfax from a dangerous speedway for cars into a safe, economically vibrant, and livable street for all users. […]
Vision Zero Community Program: Tasty Colfax Project
July 23, 2019: Led by Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods and the Bluebird District, this project aimed to improve safety on Colfax Ave using data collection, traffic calming, and pedestrian crossings at Colfax and Madison during the Bluebird District’s annual Tasty Colfax event.
2019 Vision Zero Community Program
In 2019 we partnered with the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment and Denver Public Works on the new Vision Zero Community Program. This exciting initiative gave teams of community members an opportunity to design a project to increase awareness of Vision Zero and promote safer streets in their neighborhoods. The selected projects received technical and […]
DSP Guiding Principles for Colfax BRT
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on East Colfax is projected to lead to a dramatic shift in how people move along the corridor, with twice as many people riding the bus each day (50,000) compared to driving (25,000) by the year 2030. The East Colfax BRT project is therefore an important opportunity to demonstrate how transformation […]
Bus Rapid Transit on Colfax
The Colfax Corridor Connections project is studying potential long-term mobility improvements for East Colfax Avenue to enhance and revitalize this signature corridor. Through extensive citywide planning efforts and input from the community, the project has identified an updated alternative for dedicated center-running bus rapid transit (BRT) on Colfax Avenue. The study is being conducted by […]