Addressing Denver tra∞c’s causes and solutions
Re: “Mayor wants mobile Denver; Hancock determined to help his fast-growing city deal with ‘mobility issues,’ ” Feb. 20 news story.
It is so frustrating reading about the lack of planning, thought and the ineptitude of the Hancock administration when it comes to transportation. They have no problem promoting large construction projects impacting neighborhoods, like the Interstate 70 project and high-rise residential complexes throughout Denver. Do they ever realize that allowing reduced parking requirements for these buildings will increase congestion and affect pedestrian circulation? Why are they so afraid to demand that developers provide adequate parking garages to accommodate their future residents?
Where it once may have been possible to redesign portions of a roadway to create broader sidewalks and safer bike lanes, now these spaces are consumed 24 /7 by parked cars everywhere in Denver.
Why is it that the politicians will bend over backward to help developers but never think about the impact on Denver’s citizens? Joseph Crystal, Denver
Does the mayor, suddenly worried about traffic that paralyzes Denver, not recognize that the problem starts with the free hand that has been granted to developers? The mayor, planning director Brad Buchanan, and some City Council members have had blinders on as they approved excessive development without considering parking. These people should reflect on when they were “millennials” for a reality check on their belief that people in that age group have a lesser need for cars. How does a parent manage shopping and child care, just a couple routine errands, without a car? The Barry Hirschfeld “micro-housing” development in City Park West is just the latest example of ignoring the existing neighborhood for the financial benefit of a developer. And now the taxpayers should bail them out? Cathy Wanstrath, Denver
Your front-page story indicates Mayor Michael Hancock’s goal is to “make it more attractive to move through the city without driving on its increasingly clogged roads.” A few casual observations make it clear that some very helpful measures to alleviate “clogging” in the metro area have been consistently ignored.
In the southeast quadrant, I can cite just a few examples, such as: failure to put both Cherry Creek Drive North and South through continuously from Iliff to Speer; no bridge across Cherry Creek on Alameda; unnecessary and disruptive discontinuities on Yale at Colorado Boulevard and Florida at Monaco.
As all-electric vehicles and computer-controlled driving are expected to keep us dependent on passenger vehicles for at least 90 percent of our transportation needs far into the future, let’s set the social engineering agendas aside, do a little competent civil engineering, and get back to the common-sense approaches brought to Denver by Henry Barnes a half-century ago. Dennis Kirch, Aurora