City safety plan would cut traffic lanes on Alameda Avenue

DENVER — The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) is considering some significant traffic changes on a nearly one-mile stretch of Alameda Avenue.

DOTI wants to reduce lanes from two to just one in both directions between South Logan and South Franklin Streets. The proposal is part of a larger-scale project that addresses the overall safety of Alameda Avenue between South Lincoln and South Franklin Streets.

District 6 Denver City Councilman Paul Kashmann said he supports what he believes will be most safe for pedestrians and drivers.

“It’s simply an attempt to move traffic more carefully,” Kashmann said.

Part of the project’s design would reduce the distance of crosswalks at each intersection and create more turning lanes for drivers.

“When you provide these center lane turn lanes, it gives drivers a place to sit, take it easy, watch for a safe passage, rather than ‘Oh my god, I got to get out of the way as quickly as possible, because people and cars are backed up behind me,'” the councilman explained.

DOTI is holding an open house Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary. The opportunity will allow people in the community to hear about the final details of the project and provide feedback.

Rachel Bacher said she isn’t 100% sure the idea will be the most efficient. She walks with friends around Alameda weekly.

“From a pedestrian point of view, maybe it’d be helpful, but it might also cause people to be angry about getting backed up even further and cause them to run more red lights, which is kind of the issue that I see when I cross this road,” Bacher said.

Bacher said she uses Alameda more often to the east of the proposed construction site. Still, she knows peak hours can affect traffic volumes. She said that might leave room for issues.

“As a driver, definitely certain times of day, especially high commute, it definitely gets more congested so I see it maybe worsening that,” Bacher said.

Kashmann said at the end of the day, the project would help get the city closer to its “Vision Zero” goal, which commits the city to a mission of zero traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

“The numbers of people killed and severely injured on our highway, our roadways have continued to go up,” Kashmann said. “That is obviously not our goal. So we need to take this more seriously. And you know, they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. So we’ve been doing the same thing. We need to get more serious about doing different things. More different approaches to how we control traffic and how we guide our pedestrians.”

DOTI said a more immediate traffic change to go into place on Alameda Avenue will be the installation of a flashing crosswalk at South Franklin Street. The changes are part of the complete vision to make Alameda a safer corridor.

SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS