Did Bikers Bamboozle Voters In Denver Street Partnership Scheme?

by Valley Gadfly | Nov 16, 2023 | Main Articles

Bike Lanes Pedal Past Cracked, Crumbling Sidewalks As City Council Delays Repair Due To A ‘Built-In Bias’

by Glen Richardson

Small Roundabouts Big Problem: New “bikeway” roundabouts are causing accidents and slowing the response time for emergency vehicles. Denver Fire has paused its approval.

Reworked Doesn’t Work: Reconfigured bike lanes cut across and to the side of the 7th Ave. & Williams intersection. A blind spot caused resident Jan Douglas to take a spill.                  Photo: Channel 7, KMGH-TV

Disorderly Design: Bike lane intersection designs by Denver’s DOTI are creating chaos for motorists, pedestrians, and bi­cycl­ists. This helter-skelter design is at 7th Ave. and Williams St.

If sidewalks are for pedestrians, why did Denver’s bicycle lobby campaign for a sidewalk tax?

Biking advocates — using the name Denver Streets Partnership — launched the 307 Campaign in Aug. 2022 promoting “Denver Deserves Sidewalks.” The campaign claimed it would remove the responsibility for repairs from adjacent property owners and place the responsibility on the City of Denver. Through a “modest annual fee” citywide construction and repair of sidewalks would be underway and finished in nine years.

Passing with 55.85% of the vote last No­­vem­ber, residents using wheelchairs, crutches, canes, plus those with visual or cognitive impairment, would soon be using sidewalks. So would children and older pedestrians with reduced motor skills.

Fee Collection Delayed

A year later there are still no sidewalk re­pairs, nor will there be any until at least until July of next year. The Denver City Council has voted to delay property owner collection fees until July 1, 2024. That’s more than 18 months after voter approval and six months after it was initially scheduled to begin.

City Council decided on the delay due to rising concerns expressed by prope

Chic Lanes Vs. Cracked Sidewalks: These hypothetical, idealized bike lanes are planned to be imposed throughout the city. Pedestrians and wheelchair users continue to watch their step as the gulf between the two uses widens.

rty owners. Increasingly, property owners told council members the Streets Partnership built bias and discrimination into the plan.

“I am part of the unfortunate 15% of people who will be paying over $400 a year in sidewalk fees simply because I am unlucky enough to live on a corner lot,” says Erin Feld­man. Like so many others, Feldman urged City Council not to roll the plan out without further consideration and ­planning. “They’re gross inequities in the plan and it is an unfair burden for people like me,” she tells the Chronicle.

Hit On Homeowners?

Before the Denver Deserves Sidewalks in­itiative passed in 2022, property owners were responsible for maintaining their own sidewalks as needed. The new Street Partnership funding structure instead collects money from homeowners based on linear footage of the property, wealth of the neighborhood, and if the home is on a corner lot.

Homeowners being responsible for their own sidewalks is akin to how other big cities take care of sidewalks. In Chicago, property owners and the city share the cost of replacing sidewalks. The cost per square foot to property owners is well below what a private contractor would charge. Through their Sidewalks Repair Program, New York City performs free repairs for qualifying broken sidewalks.

Advocates still claim the change is a safety and accessibility win in a city with so many broken and nonexistent sidewalks. But questions remain about how long the rollout will take, how much the program will actually cost, and what will done about properties with extremely high fees.

Sudden Switcheroo

Duped, misled, hoodwinked?

Throughout the campaign the Denver Streets Partnership promoted itself as a local street safety advocacy group. Today, however, the Street Partnership and Jill

Sad Sidewalk Symbol: Larimer Girl mural by local artist Jeremy Burns seems to suggest sadness and disappointment in Denver’s sidewalks.

Locantore, the executive director, are staff members of the nonprofit advocacy organization Bicycle Colorado. WalkDenver has also merged with Bicycle Colorado. Staff members of the former groups still claim to support sidewalk im­provements.

As the state’s political advocacy group for bikers, Bicycle Colorado helped pass Denver ballot measure 2A, creating the state’s first eBike subsidy. The city’s E-Bike rebates are designed to build an army of bike lane advocates. They also helped to get $12 million for the eBike subsidy program inserted into the Clean Air Grant program; and added over $1 billion in funding to the statewide transportation bill. Moreover, Bicycle Colorado has funded and promoted the in­creasingly controversial 196 miles of on-street bike lanes in Denver.

Biker Bunny Hop

The Denver 307 Campaign’s promise to repair deteriorating sidewalks still awaits the overhaul to begin. So does the construction of new sidewalks where needed, or upgrading walks to ADA standards.

Nonetheless, the bike lobby continues to bunny hop over the city’s cracked sidewalks, adding 24 miles of painted bike lanes, 45 miles of buffered bike lanes, 23 miles of pro­tected bike lanes, and 34 miles of neighborhood bikeways. Cost to the city so far is $13.4 million.

In addition, critics claim Denver’s Department of Transportation & Infrastructure (DOTI) is primarily giving bikers multiple ways to get around town, rather than a system for all people.

Bike Lane Impact

Denver expanded the ways the streets are used without being able to expand the streets. Their width is unchanged, but on many blocks, traffic lanes were narrowed to create space for a bike lane. On streets with protected bike lanes, a narrow buffer has also been squeezed in, making the traffic lanes even thinner.

Detractors say that due to being poorly planned, narrower streets in Denver are filled with cars and “mostly empty” bike lanes.

Denver and other cities were never intended to accommodate bike lanes, they argue. They also claim bike lanes make the worst common cycling accidents more common. Adding them also reduces parking spaces for cars and increases traffic jams. The debate also reflects tension over the future of cities, and anxiety over a new pattern of urban planning that no longer prioritizes the automobile.

Bike Owners Vs. Lobby

Albeit a powerful city-state political money moocher, Bicycle Colorado represents a small segment of Denver’s biking community. Most of the approximately 560,000 metro bicycle owners don’t participate in or fathom what the organization does.

Denver has had 889 bicycle thefts reported so far this year. Despite averaging 96.2 robberies per month, the lobby does little more than proclaim they “provide a voice for people who ride bicycles.”

Bike to Work Day ­— the free Denver Regional Council of Governments backed event ­— had 17,981 riders in 2023. A Winter Bike to Work Day in 2024 is set for Friday, Feb. 9, followed by the Wednesday, June 16, Bike to Work Day.

Funny Bone-Wishbone Feasts & Fun

by Valley Gadfly | Oct 20, 2023 | Main Articles

Eateries Open For Thanksgiving, Plus Fun Things To Do In Legs Up Guide By Neighborhood For A Bountiful Holiday 

 by Glen Richardson

Hot To Trot: Plan to join United Way’s 50th anniversary Thanksgiving 4-mile Turkey Trot or 1-mile Lil Gobbler family run at Wash Park Nov. 23, 9 a.m.

November is the month to celebrate happiness and home as we prepare for Thanksgiving. The popular holi­day falls on Thursday, Nov. 23, this year. If laboring in the kitchen doesn’t sound like your idea of a holiday, let chefs and professional restaurant staff prepare and serve your Thanksgiving meal.

Many restaurants are opening their doors to serve up a variety of gourmet dishes. Rem­iniscing with friends and kin will touch your Funny Bone as you enjoy the annual Wish Bone holiday. Choices range from Monaco Inn Restaurant’s flavorful fare, to the buffet at FIRE in the ART Hotel.

Here’s the Chronicle’s leg up Thanksgiving guide to restaurant options and fun things to do to make your holiday bright and bold:

Dining Out Options

Listed by neighborhoods, these restaurants have signified they will be open for Thanksgiving. Many, however, had yet to an­nounce menu choices.

Glendale-Cherry Creek

Blue Island Oyster Bar, Seafood

Del Frisco’s Grille, Steakhouse

Bar-grill on St. Paul annually offer a three-course turkey dinner, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Information: 303-320-8529.

Gyo-Kaku, Japanese

Hapa Sushi Grill, Sushi

Hana Matsuri, Sushi

Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar, Seafood

Kini’s

La Merise, French

Little Ollie’s, Asian

Local Jones, American

Bistro-bar in Halcyon Hotel annually offers dine in or advanced notice to-go orders. They often feature a one-of-a-kind ­Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake dessert. Information: 720-772-5022.

Locanda Del Borgo, Italian

Mehak India’s Aroma

Monaco Inn Restaurant, Greek

Though it’s known for its Greek cuisine, this cozy holiday dining institution always offers a Thanksgiving feast. Eatery is serving classic roast turkey with stuffing and all the trimmings, noon to 6 p.m. Menu items are also available, all accompanied by classic sides. Information: 303-320-1104.

Narrative

North Italia

Quality Italian

Toro Latin Kitchen, South American

True Food Kitchen

Viale Pizza & Kitchen, Italian

Downtown

801 Fish, Seafood

Family & Friends Feast: Experience the quality and service of the Monaco Inn Restaurant this Thanksgiving. Family run Monaco Square eatery has been serving Denver for over 30 years.

Corinne, American

Restaurant in the Le Meridien Hotel is serv­ing from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Choose from roasted turkey, bourbon glaz­ed ham, tofurkey as an entrée. Limited a la carte options from menu also offered. Information: 720-996-1555.

Corner Office Restaurant, American

Eatery in downtown Curtis Hotel annually offers a Thanksgiving buffet. Information; 303-825-6500.

EDGE Restaurant, Steakhouse

Steakhouse in Four Seasons Hotel downtown is serving a Thanksgiving buffet featuring “savory delicacies and decadent desserts,” from noon to 8 p.m. Information: 303-389-3050.

Guard & Grace, Steakhouse

Ship Tavern Brown Palace, American

STK, Steakhouse

Three Saints Revival, Tapas, Small Plates

Venice Restaurante & Wine Bar, Italian

Water Grill, Seafood

Eatery on Market St. is working on a Thanks­giving menu and will also offer an a la carte menu. Information: 303-727-5711.

Talking Turkey: Donate time, turkeys, and funds for Denver Rescue Mission to feed the hungry at shelters. Mission also provides Thanksgiving Banquet-in-a-Box to needy families.(Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Highlands

Acova, Italian

Ash Kara, Israeli

Mizu Izakaya & Sushi, Japanese

Spuntino, Italian

Williams & Graham, Small Plates

LoDo

Ocean Prime, Larimer Square, Seafood

Rioja, Mediterranean, LoDo

Make reservations early at this popular eatery that often serves turkey two ways and often sells out. A Thanksgiving menu for pickup is also usually offered. Information: 303-820-2282.

Tamayo, Contemporary Mexican, LoDo

The Capital Grill, Steakhouse, LoDo

Wash Park

Carmine’s On Penn, Italian

Mister Oso, Latin American

Que Bueno Suerte, Mexican

Diverse Locations

Blue Bonnet, Mexican (Baker)

Light Your Fire: Thanksgiving buffet being served at FIRE, the restaurant in the ART Hotel, will light your fire. Buffet is from 11:30 to 6 p.m., with live music from 1 to 4 p.m.

FIRE, American (Golden Triangle)

Restaurant in the ART Hotel is serving a Thanksgiving buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with live music from 1 to 4 p.m. Menu includes roasted white-dark meat, whipped potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, coun­try gravy, and sourdough stuffing, Information: 720-709-4431.

To Go Option

Nosh Catering, Scratch Cat

Thanksgiving To Go: Nosh Catering is offering a to-go Thanksgiving dinner that feeds 6-8 people. The dinners will be available from Nov. 21 through 24.

erer

Offering a to-go Thanksgiving dinner that feeds 6-8 people, from Nov. 21 to 24. Information: 303-426-4534.

Thanksgiving Doings

Thanksgiving Preparation, Nov. 5 — Side dishes and the Art of Roasting, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, 10:45 a.m. Information: 877-249-0305.

Denver Fashion Week, Nov. 11-19 —View holiday streetwear, activewear, lifestyle, kids, and high fashion at York Street Yards evenings, kids show 3 p.m. Information: michelle@halsports.net.

Thanksgiving Doings

Great Candy Run 5K, Nov. 12 — Get your youngsters moving for a sweet reward at run-walk event for kids, school groups, and teens at Wash Park, 9 a.m. Information: michelle@hallsports.net.

Cherry Creek Holiday Market, Nov. 16-Dec. 24 — Shop 50+ local makers on Fillmore between 1st & 2nd Ave., Sun.-Wed. noon to 7 p.m., Thur.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Information: 303-394-2904.

Turkey Trot, Nov. 23 — Join United Way’s 50th anniversary Thanksgiving 4-mile walk-run or 1-mile Lil Gobbler family run at Wash Park, 9 a.m. Information: 303-433-8383.

Harvesting Hope, Nov. 23 — Participate in 5K at Stapleton Central Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 7 a.m. to noon. Information: harvestinghope5K.com.

Holiday Swingin’, Nov. 30 — Singer Kat Edmonson blends jazz, cabaret, and pop to get you swinging into the holidays at the Lakewood Cultural Center, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-987-7845.

Colorado Convention Center Confronting Crisis, Catastrophe As The $233 Million Expansion Nears Completion The Current Complex Is ­Rundown, Ramshackle, And Rickety

by Valley Gadfly | Oct 20, 2023 | Main Articles

by Glen Richardson

Finish Line Finale: The $233 million Colorado Convention Center expansion is projected to finish by year end. Project will add an additional 200,000-sq.-ft. of space to be maintained.

As the $233 million Colorado Convention Center expansion nears completion, the agency responsible for the facility warns that the current 2.2 million-sq.-ft. structure is in horrendous shape and in danger of becoming a catastrophe.

Furthermore, despite an increase in convention center meeting volume this year (2023), of the more than 180 conventions booked in the U.S. by mid-Sept. for 2024, the only one reserved at the Convention Center by that date was the July 4-7 Fan Expo.

The city is more than $62 million behind in deferred maintenance costs, and Denver Arts & Venues guestimates that the amount has ballooned above $70 million.

Trash & Turnover

The crux and reality are that the sources of funds for capital improvement are not keeping up with what’s needed for a building of this magnitude, was how Denver Arts & Venues Executive Director Ginger White explained it.

Fantasizing to solve the problem, new Denver Mayor Mike Johnston ended her 18-year career by firing her at the end of September. He has not named a replacement or put a deputy in charge of the 100-employee department. Deputy Molly Wink has subsequently taken a job at DIA, increasing the convention center crisis.

Arts & Venues also manages Red Rocks, DCPA, the McNichols Bldg., and the Ellie Caul­kins Opera House, potentially placing those venues into a crisis comparable to that of the Convention Center. Combined, those venues generate $90 million in annual revenue and attract three million people yearly.

Swept Under Carpet

Seedy Sight: Colorado Convention Center’s Big Blue Bear looks in on rundown, dirty conditions in current space. City lacks funds for maintenance of building’s huge space.

Led by the new mayor, the city has tried to keep the Convention Center crisis a clandestine hush-hush secret. Arts & Venues’ Ginger White did not leak the convention complex maintenance problem; the informa­tion was obtained through an open records request by NPR’s online news site Den­verite.

Ending homelessness — seemingly the mayor’s only priority — is a factor in the de­cline of city conventions. So is reducing crime downtown and finishing the 16th Street Mall and Larimer Square. Safety remains downtown’s chief flashpoint. Large city hotels say potential tourists, travelers, and business guests continue to say safety is a top priority when choosing whether to stay downtown.

The city’s Convention Center marketing has also slipped. Travel publications play an important role in tourism and conventions. Aurora and Colorado Springs still market in trade publications such as Meetings Today. Denver has done nothing in 2023. Furthermore, online convention material doesn’t appear to have been updated in months.

Maintenance Mess

Crowd Collapse: In 2016 the Convention Center recorded 967,543 attendees, the most ever. Six years later in 2022, the center’s 140 conventions drew a meager 547,526 attendees.

Denver spends among the least in the na­tion for convention center maintenance among similar sized sites. Using 2019 as a comparison to other convention centers, Denver’s operating gap — revenue less expenses — is the lowest in its competitive set.

For a decade, Denver allocated just $1 million a year for maintenance. In 2023, the city raised the figure to $5 million, albeit the new mayor may not approve the funds. Fixing escalators doesn’t have political sex appeal.

Nevertheless, the Convention Center is a crucial component for maintaining Denver’s financial well-being. If the Convention Center isn’t functioning, it reduces the amount of money the city can spend on daily operations and addressing residential issues.

Expansion Elements

Expected to be completed by the end of this year and open in 2024, the massive Colorado Convention expansion project will add an additional 200,000-sq.-ft. of space. The expansion will bring the facility to 2.4 million sq.-ft. It includes a 30,000-sq.-ft. back-of-the-house area, an 80,000-sq.-ft. ball­room, a 20,000-sq.-ft. terrace, and new pre-function areas.

When complete the ballroom will be the largest in Colorado. The space can be divided into 19 configurations. Leading out of the ballroom is a 20,000-sq.-ft. terrace with views of downtown and the mountains.

The southwest portion of the existing Con­vention Center, closest to Speer Blvd., featured an 80-ft. ceiling and glass ­curtain wall. As part of the expansion, a second level is going in, which will be used as pre-function space. It requires attaching the new floor to the existing structure and will include a set of long escalators.

Seesaw Saga

Classy Curtain Wall: Expansion along the southwest portion of the existing Convention Center — closest to Speer Blvd. —will have an 80-ft. ceiling and glass curtain wall.

The largest number of events in Denver was 246 back in 2010. Six years later in 2016 the Convention Center recorded the most attendees at 967,543. In 2022 the ­number had dropped to 140 conventions with 547,526 attendees.

The city’s image has been a factor in the decline in number of conventions and attendees. U.S. News & World Report rated Denver as the second-best place to live in 2020. In 2023 the city had dropped from second place to 99th.

Owned by the City & County of Denver, the Convention Center has been privately managed by ASM Global since 1994. Expecting a post-pandemic uptick, the City Council approved a new 10-year, $250 million contract for ASM Global, commencing Jan. 1, 2024.

Turbulence Threat

Big Ballroom: DenverInfill photo shows construction underway at the Convention Center’s 80,000-sq.-ft. ballroom. When completed it will be the biggest in Colorado.

A decade of limited maintenance by the city at the original convention center structure has turned a dust devil into a violent whirlwind, creating turbulence and instability as the new $233 million expansion nears completion. Moreover, the rotating updraft is a foreboding threat to downtown Denver’s comeback.

Trying to sweep the crisis under the carpet, the new mayor’s firing of Arts & Venues Executive Director Ginger White — follow­ed by the quick exit of Deputy Director Molly Wink — has created a supercell. The sudden change in direction without warning now threatens the Denver Center for Performing Art and Red Rocks Amphitheatre, as the crisis swirls into a severe storm.

Amid the small whirls of dust, the landlord for the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau is converting the space into residential units, forcing Visit Denver to move for the first time in 30 years. Richard W. Scharf Jr. — Visit Denver CEO and now the city’s only veteran convention person — may be caught in the atmosphere of chaos and also fired, turning the Convention Center crisis into a cyclone.