Monthly Archives: August 2008

Here’s a quick Friday photo of the new mural at Swansea Rec Center, along with the local artists and neighborhood kids who collaborated to create the image. It was completed late last month. Click on the image to get a larger view. 

Parking is one of the major considerations in transit-oriented development. Given the preponderance of FasTracks-related projects slated for District 9 in the next decade or so, it’s an important (and underappreciated) issue facing our neighborhoods.

Two of the nation’s leading parking experts are in town this week, and they’ll be making a public presentation tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. at the City and County Building, 14th and Bannock, in the Parr-Widener Room (room 389). The consultants, Jeff Tumlin and Joe Kott, have been meeting with city officials this week.

Tumlin is an expert in multi-modal transportation planning, with an emphasis in minimizing the impacts of growth. He has managed four dozen transit-oriented development station area plans throughout the U.S. and Canada, is an expert in parking management strategies, and has helped to identify the most cost-effective mix of investments in new parking, improved parking management and transportation alternatives to meet local access and quality of life goals.

Kott, senior transportation projects manager with Wilbur Smith, is an expert in public policy, transit and transportation planning. Formerly chief transportation official for the City of Palo Alto, California, Kott is also a former principal at Nelson/Nygaard.

The presentation is being hosted by the City of Denver ’s departments of Community Planning and Development and Public Works, in conjunction with the Mayor’s Parking Commission.

In addition to hosting the Democratic National Convention itself, District 9 now will be hosting the “shadow” convention — the so-called Tent City, where demonstrators plan to pitch camp. That was originally supposed to be located in City Park; it’s now going to be in Cuernevaca Park, which is much closer to the convention itself.

At Judy’s urging, mayoral aide Kathleen Archuleta has agreed to meet with District 9 residents on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the lobby of the Flour Mill Lofts, 2000 Little Raven St. She’ll share information about the demonstrators — the rules they’ve agreed to obey, the number that are expected to camp, the timing of their daily comings/goings, &c &c. Archuleta also will lay out the city’s plans for mitigating any negative impacts that might result from Tent City, and she’ll also listen to residents’ concerns and take that information back to the mayor.

See today’s Rocky for more information, and make plans to attend the meeting on Thursday night. And don’t forget to vote today — it’s primary day.

You have until tomorrow to apply for tickets for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech on August 28. To submit your application, you can

• log on at http://co.barackobama.com/invesco; or
• call the Colorado Campaign for Change Community Credential Hotline’s toll-free number, 888-468-7404 (TTY: 720-362-2208 ).

You can also visit any Colorado for Change office for additional information. Among the criteria for selection will be the ability to travel to Denver.

Tomorrow’s also primary election day; if you haven’t voted by mail, be sure to head out to the polls tomorrow to cast your ballot.

Last night the first of two meetings about the Draft EIS for the FasTracks Gold Line took place in District 9. In case you didn’t know, the draft EIS is now online and available for public review / comment. Use this portal to get a copy of the document and submit your comments on it. The public-comment period lasts until September 1.

The draft of the Denver Mountain Parks Master Plan is also available for public review; comments taken until September 19. The plan can be downloaded, chapter by chapter, at www.denvermountainparks.org.

The Denver Mountain Parks are a truly unique amenity; few cities in the world have anything like them. But they are in need of upkeep and improvement, as the Master Plan specifies. The Master Plan will be presented to City Council’s Amenities Committee at some point this fall. Take a look at the plan and leave your comments with Denver Mountain Parks; you can also send them to Judy’s office or post them here to give Judy some guidance.

The latest edition of Judy’s newsletter has complete information about the Democratic National Convention — events, street closures, and everything else. It’s now online at this link. There’s also a link to the newsletter at the top of the right-hand sidebar, above the District 9 map, for easy reference the rest of this month.

Yesterday the city released some more information about the convention: the location of the demonstration zone for Thursday night’s speech at Invesco/Mile High. It will be in Lot J on the north side of the stadium, within sight and sound of the delegates as they arrive and enter. It will be open to all members of the public. All activities within the demonstration zone remain subject to local, state and federal laws. Individuals in this area are entitled by existing Denver city ordinance to utilize bullhorns. Additionally — as provided at the Pepsi Center public viewing area — a stage/riser and amplification system (speakers and microphone) will be provided inside the area, with at least two speakers located outside the public demonstration area and pointed at the delegate entrance/exit pathway.

In case you missed the release of information about the August 28 parade route, those details are here. A few additional details:

• West Colfax Ave. will remain open on Thursday, August 28, during morning rush hour, but will be closed from Mariposa Street to Federal Blvd. beginning at 9 a.m. until the Convention program concludes at Invesco on Thursday night. Westbound Colfax will be detoured to Kalamath Street. Eastbound Colfax will be detoured at southbound Federal Blvd.
• One northbound Federal Boulevard traffic lane –– from Colfax Avenue to 20th Avenue –– will close at 9 a.m. and reopen at 3 p.m. One northbound lane of Federal Boulevard –– and all of southbound Federal Blvd. — will remain open throughout the parade.
• 19th Avenue and 20th Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic from Federal Boulevard to Mile High Stadium Circle between 6 a.m. on Thursday and the conclusion of Thursday night’s activities. Mile High Stadium Circle will be closed to vehicular traffic on Thursday as well. The 2000 block of Clay Street will be open to local vehicular traffic only; no through-traffic will be allowed at Clay and 20th Ave.

If you live in the area of Invesco/Mile High and/or operate a business in the area, make plans to attend the informational meeting this Saturday, August 9, at Denver Human Services, 1200 Federal Blvd., from 10 a.m. to noon. Enter on the east side of the building.

Early voting for the August 12 statewide primaries begins today and runs through August 8. In this election, the parties will select their candidates for U.S. senator, U.S. congress, state senate and state assembly, and so forth. Most statewide executive offices (governor, atty general, etc etc) are not on the ballot this year. 

You can cast your ballot at Denver Elections HQ, 3888 E. Mexico Ave., from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Twelve other early voting locations will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. this week:

• Barnum Recreation Center, 360 Hooker St.
• Christ Church United Methodist Church , 690 Colorado Blvd.
• Harvard Gulch Recreation Center, 550 E. Iliff Ave.
• Harvey Park Recreation Center, 2120 S. Tennyson Way
• Hiawatha Davis Recreation Center, 3334 Holly St .
• Manual High School, 1700 E. 28th Ave.
• Montbello Recreation Center, 15555 E. 53rd Ave.
• Montclair Recreation Center, 729 Ulster Way
• Rude Park Recreation Center , 2855 W. Holden Pl.
• Scheitler Recreation Center, 5031 W. 46th Ave.
• Tamarac Square Mall, 7777 E. Hampden Ave.
• Webb Municipal Office Building, 201 W. Colfax Ave.

If you’re planning to use a mail-in ballot, you should already have received it by now. If you haven’t, you should immediately call the Elections Division (720-913-8683) or go to www.denvervotes.org and request one there.

If you are planning to vote in person on Election Day proper (that’s next Tuesday, August 12), go to www.denvervotes.org to find your polling place.

It’s August — the convention happens this month. You can’t get inside the Pepsi Center unless you’re a delegate (or a lucky volunteer), but there are still plenty of ways you can participate in this historic event. Every few days between now and the convention, I’ll describe one or two of the many open-to-the-public happenings that will coincide with the Convention. We begin today with Dialog:City.

The first program of its kind at a party convention, Dialog:City unites art, democracy and digital media. It will consist of 10 site-specific art installations in neighborhoods throughout Denver, with world-renowned artists collaborating with local organizations and students on the artwork. Participating artists include Minsuk Cho (South Korea), Ann Hamilton (Ohio), Krzysztof Wodiczko (Poland) and D.J. Spooky, a.k.a. Paul Miller (New York), among others. Each art exhibition will be open and free to the public. For information visit www.dialogcity.org.