CDOT IN TOTAL DISARRAY

by Charles Bonniwell | Oct 28, 2019 | Main Articles

Crony Bidding And Gross Incompetence Reign

Part I Of A II Part Series

by Charles C. Bonniwell

At a time when Coloradans are desperately pleading for improved and new roadways the agency in charge of the same, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), is mired in the greatest crisis of its long-storied existence according to insiders.

Formed in 1917 to administer state government transportation responsibilities it long had the reputation for the most competent and least politically comprised department in Colorado government. Unfortunately, according to people who currently work with CDOT, that is no longer the case.

Perfect Storm

The convergence of two events has turned CDOT upside down. The first was the Orwellian named “Keep Jobs in Colorado Act of 2013.” Previously under CRS Sec. 24-92-109 all public projects in excess of $50,000 had to be “awarded by competitive bid.” The drawbacks to this method include occasional “bid rigging” by competing contractors. In addition, so-called “change orders” can drive up costs of a competitively bid project. But overall this method, which was used for decades by CDOT, was the least subjective and generally viewed fairest method to have projects completed at the lowest cost.

The 2013 act substituted the “lowest bid” method with the so-called “best value” model in which bids come in as either (1) Design Build; or (2) Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC). While these techniques have various theoretical advantages, especially for unique highly complex projects, including potentially cutting down the time to complete a project, it is a highly subjective selection process with the opportunity for corruption massively increased. To prevent cronyism and exorbitant cost increases, it requires high expertise and absolute diligence on the part of CDOT. What CDOT got was the exact opposite.

Washington Insider

In December 2018, Governor Jared Polis appointed 35-year-old Shoshana Lew as his new Executive Director, a history major at Harvard University with an M.A. in American History from Northwestern. She replaced Governor Hickenlooper’s appointment of 56-year-old Michael Lewis, an engineer with extensive public construction management experience. Lew’s appointment was a shock to CDOT employees.

Lew’s primary qualification, according to insiders, was her close relationship to Michelle Obama who called the newly elected governor for a favor — find a job for Shoshana Lew. Lew is the daughter of President Obama’s Chief of Staff and later Secretary of the Treasury, Jack Lew. Ms. Lew is considered by some as an example of how the rich and well connected can use their positions to secure favored treatment in and outside of government.

While originally intending to get a doctorate in history and become a history professor, she instead joined the Washington based liberal Brookings Institute as a policy analyst. Almost magically, although in her 20s with no experience, she entered the Obama administration and soon became a senior adviser at the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and policy adviser at the White House Domestic Policy Council. With no financial background whatsoever, she next was appointed Chief Financial Officer of U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as well as garnering other impressive titles.

As the Obama administration began winding down, she parlayed her position as CFO of USDOT to become the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) in the spring of 2017. After a controversial reign as COO for RIDOT of just over one year she was appointed Executive Director of CDOT in December 2018 by Governor Polis — a job, according to CDOT employees, she was wholly ill prepared for. CDOT employs over 3,300 people and has an annual budget in excess of $4.5 billion.

Are Our Darn Roads Even On Her List?

On October 7, 2019, Lew gave an interview with Colorado Public Radio to discuss her job as Executive Director. A horrified listener, Jane Glenn of Sterling, wrote to the South Platte Sentinel:

Basically, she’s bike lanes, big buses, walking paths, light rail, and electric cars.

Are our darn roads even on her list?

The answer is, of course, no. She is a history major with no background in engineering or construction management. But, of course, there are plenty of people in and outside of CDOT who have years of experience in both of those fields and with the hen house opened up with a largely clueless Executive Director and the CMGC bidding process easy to abuse, they rushed to take advantage.

Revolving Door

CDOT has had a massive exit of its top personnel, all of whom have left once they became eligible for early retirement with PERA benefits. They joined consulting firms who now have overtaken the jobs, including design, testing and inspection, that CDOT once performed internally. If you have a firm for any such functions and are not heavily filled with former CDOT employees, you are highly unlikely to be contracted with CDOT.

In theory under the CMGC method, the owner has a different construction manager and general contractor, but not in Colorado, where the functions are combined with one more check and balance disappearing. CDOT no longer has enough civil engineers to begin the design process to start a project and must hire a design firm filled with former CDOT employees. The design firm often works with CMGC entities on other projects, so each has every reason not to cut costs or bring up any areas of conflict of interest to the attention of CDOT.

The CMGC bidding process for a CDOT project is supposed to be competitive, even if highly subjective. However, local construction firms have ceased to enter the process since only one of two national and international firms are chosen for any important project. The two firms are Kraemer North America who is owned by Obayashi Corporation, one of Japan’s largest construction firms, and Kiewit Corporation, a Fortune 500 contracting firm based out of Omaha, Nebraska. Over 75% of the $3.2 billion in recent CDOT contracts have gone to these two firms with the percentage ever increasing.

The 2013 law which mandated the change in bidding, the “Keep Jobs in Colorado Act,” has essentially ensured that Colorado firms and their employees are almost never hired, except for smaller CDOT projects that Kraemer and Kiewit are not interested in. There is one group of Colorado residents that has handsomely profited from the new regimen and that is the scores of former CDOT employees who have joined the dozens of consulting firms hired by CDOT. Not only are they scoring six figure salaries, but are also enjoying their PERA benefits, essentially doing the same job they did at CDOT at a fraction of the remuneration. CDOT itself evolved into little more than an admin organization and, in part, that too will be outsourced over time, although the CDOT state budget is not expected to diminish.

Added Cost

It is estimated that the excess profits by Kraemer and Kiewit, and the tens of millions of dollars paid to consulting firms filled with ex-CDOT employees, adds as much as 30% to the cost of every CDOT project and that percentage is expected to grow in coming years. It is questioned why Colorado taxpayers would want to pay more taxpayer money to a department as corrupt and inefficient as CDOT which is headed up by an individual as uninterested in roads as Shoshana Lew.

As for Ms. Lew she has not only garnered the disrespect of the people she oversees, but her ineptitude has reportedly angered at least some of the 11 commissioners from across the state who oversee CDOT. Her job is apparently safe, however, unless and until Governor Polis cares enough to stop the total destruction of, what once was, one of the most respected government agencies in Colorado.

In Part II of this series on CDOT we will review individual projects that CDOT has undertaken in recent years including the infamous Highway 36 sinkhole and why taxpayers can expect more shoddy workmanship and massive cost overruns.

The original article mistakenly indicated that CDOT has 330 employees. The number is actually 3,300. A zero was inadvertently omitted.

Body Snatching: How Biological Resource Center Profited From Infection

by Ashe in America | Sep 20, 2019 | Main Articles

by Robert Davis

Court records obtained by Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle detail how Biological Resource Center (BRC), a willed body donation company headquartered in Arizona, illegally brokered infected body parts for profit.

Four years ago, the families who donated their loved ones to BRC filed a civil lawsuit alleging that BRC misled some customers to believe that their deceased would be left intact after donation. Instead, BRC dismembered the bodies and sold the parts across domestic and international borders. The lawsuit is ready to stand trial in the Maricopa County Superior Court on October 21.

One invoice recorded the sale of two heads for $500 apiece to a medical school in Israel. On another, a pair of shoulders went to Athens, Greece, for just $300. Someone’s arms made their way into a surgical workshop for $750.

This happened to families in Arizona, Michigan, and Illinois.

“It’s really body snatching without them having to dig up the graves,” Michael Burg, a Denver-based attorney representing eight of the plaintiffs, said in a press release about the case. “[BRC] lied to them.”

Background

The initial FBI investigation began in 2013 after officers in Houston caught wind of International Biological, Inc. (IBI), a body brokerage, shipping body parts across the southern border. State agencies recovered thousands of bodies and dozens of boxes of records from IBI’s offices in Michigan. Those records also implicated BRC and Anatomical Services, Inc. (ASI) in the crime.

After a lengthy investigation, it was determined that the three companies had been acting as one since at least 2008, when it began selling body parts to international clientele.

As a brokerage, the business marketed itself as one that didn’t sell infected parts. But, the investigation found that it made most of their money from bodies of people who suffered from sepsis, hepatitis B, C, and HIV, even when family death records explicitly stated so.

BRC’s warehousing process exposed much of its inventory to cross-contamination. A deposition from one of the FBI officers who raided BRC’s Arizona office revealed that body parts were often organiz-ed by limb after they were dismembered with infected parts mixed with clean ones.

Customers were never given access to any of the death certificates, medical records from donors, or medical social history questionnaires administered by BRC among caregivers or next-of-kin. If a customer found out the body they purchased was infected, BRC would offer to sell the body at a discounted rate in order to ensure the sale.

This is not the first time BRC owners Stephen and Sally Gore have been in a courtroom over their business practices. AZCentral reported that Stephen Gore had pled guilty to federal charges for the illegal use and sale of human body parts in 2014. He was sentenced to four years in prison, but served no time because of good behavior.

“Placement” And “Matching”

BRC also told donor families that they treated the deceased with dignity and respect. They offered services like the recovery of and “placement” and “matching” of tissue with scientists and medical researchers to unsuspecting customers. They printed details of these services in brochures and pamphlets that were given out in their offices.

To an untrained ear, this language sounds as if the deceased will be kept intact during transportation. But, as one customer who worked in the non-profit organ donation industry noted in her deposition, the terms “placement” and “matching” are code words for dismemberment.

“These words are meant to disguise the fact that BRC was helping medical providers find organ donors even after body donors asked them not to,” she said.

That customer’s mother came to be known as BRCIL-2013164. Her whole body was sold to IBI for $5,000 because her body contained hepatitis B. It was later dismembered and shipped on an international course.

Will Power

Typically, an individual’s last will and testament dictates how their body will be disposed of after death. However, enforcing the power of wills can be tricky because it falls under the broad domain of gift law.

According to the Clinical Journal of The American Society of Nephrology, the primary law governing organ donation in the United States is the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA). UAGA was enacted as a part of the Uniform Codes, which are passed from state to state.

UAGA is “uniquely designed to support the system of transplantation” in that it “excludes [transplantation] from the federal prohibition, and because the donee of the anatomic gift is the transplant recipient, such payments do not abrogate the legal construct of organ donation as a gift.”

A key aspect of the law is consent, which differs from what doctor’s refer to as “informed consent.” Organ donors must consent for their organs to be harvested for transplants, which is as simple as having “ORGAN DONOR” on your driver’s license.

On the other hand, doctors are required to gain informed consent before treating a patient. Informed consent describes the process of discussing the risks and benefits of all available means of treatment with a patient. Since body donations don’t include the element of risk or benefit to the deceased because the transaction occurs after death, therefore, informed consent is not necessary.

BRC prepared questionnaires for customers asking if they wanted the deceased’s body organs to be placed and matched. However, those services didn’t only extend to those who marked “YES.”

Arizona has an especially lax enforcement system for these laws, which helped make it one of the nation’s hotspots for whole body donations. The entity in charge of overseeing these companies, Arizona’s State Health Department, focused its resources on combatting the opioid crisis instead of cracking down on illegal organ harvesting, according to an AZCentral report.

In contrast, Colorado has strict laws governing the operation of body donation companies and funeral homes, both of which are regulated under the same statutes. For starters, someone who owns a funeral home cannot simultaneously own a body donation company. Colorado also requires owners of either company to maintain records of where human remains are distributed.

Nearly 4,000 people — approximately seven percent of the state’s population — are whole body donors. That is roughly five-times the national average, the Illinois-based Cremation Association of North America says.

This ecosystem helped BRC expand its territory across the Atlantic.

BRC made little effort to conceal its business dealings, according to the court documents. Potential customers would contact BRC’s office in Illinois. If that location didn’t have the requested body parts, Gore provided the body part from Arizona. Records for all of the transactions were stored in each of the company’s offices.

To Burg and the other lawyers representing the plaintiffs, the case does not question organ donation as a whole. It asks if the consent of the dead matters as much as the will of the living.

“If someone says we’ll pay for expenses and cremation and your loved one’s body will go to specific places (to help cure diseases), you are pretty much going to say, ‘Sure, why not?’” Burg told AZCentral. “Am I saying none of these places are legitimate? No. But there have been a sufficient number of cases where misrepresentations have been made. There’s a price list for everything from a head to a shoulder, like they are a side of beef. They make money, absolutely, because there’s no cost in getting the bodies.”

Glendale City Manager Jerry Peters Retiring After 17 Years

by Mark Smiley | Sep 20, 2019 | Main Articles

by Mark Smiley

Following a 17-year career, City Manager for the City of Glendale Jerry Peters has announced his retirement effective October 31, 2019. Peters was appointed by the Glendale City Council in 2004 after serving as Deputy City Manager under then City Manager Cliff Dodge for two years. Peters holds the record as longest tenured City Manager in Glendale history (15 years), surpassing Gary Sears (1985-1987) by three years. Peters has assisted in overseeing big changes in the landscape of the city.

The completion of Infinity Park along with the addition of a professional rugby team; the construction and opening of the Glendale Sports Center; Glendale CitySet; the expansion of Glendale’s Super Target as well as the massive remodel in 2019; redevelopment of King Soopers; and the extraordinary beautification of Cherry Creek Drive South, are a just few of the major projects that occurred during his tenure.

“Jerry has played an important role in what I call the Vatican of Freedom,” said Glendale Mayor Mike Dunafon. “His influence in helping to build this city to what it is today is something we will be forever grateful.”

Peters has also seen tragedy under his watch. Two fires, 11 years apart, are among them. One person perished in the fire at Spanish Gate apartment complex in December 2003. The other fire was at Solana Apartments (now Amli) in 2014, which only generated minor injuries. “Jerry’s handling had a sense of calm and a steady and professional approach to both situations,” said former Glendale City Councilmember Ricky King. “He was able to deal with the media, the residents, and the business community with poise and grace.”

Peters’ relationship with current Mayor Mike Dunafon dates back to Dunafon’s high school days at Golden High School where Peters was his football coach. “I’ve known Jerry essentially my entire life,” said Dunafon. “The life lessons I learned from him while I played football for him in high school are still applicable today.” Little did Dunafon know as a high school teenager in the early ’70s, they would be working together as Mayor and City Manager decades later.

Peters’ history with Glendale predates his days as Deputy City Manager and City Manager. He helped launch the Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce in 1999, operating out of the attic of the old Loews Hotel. He fondly remembers meeting with prospective members in the lobby of the hotel or in Tuscany, the restaurant off the lobby.

In addition to his duties as the first Executive Director of the Chamber, he was the production assistant for the Glendale News. “In the early days of the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle (then Glendale News), Jerry was of great help in transforming the publication from a four-page black and white limited circulation paper, to what would become the dominant voice in the Cherry Creek Valley,” said Charles Bonniwell, Publisher of the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle. “All of us will miss his steadying hand in the growth and prosperity of Glendale.”

Dating back further, Peters helped put together the Denver Broncos broadcasts on KOA Radio from 1978 to 2003. Peters grew up in Ogallala, Nebraska, and graduated from University of Northern Colorado in 1967. He then became a teacher and football coach at Golden High School until 1972, when he became the Director of Public Relations for Colorado School of Mines.

Peters served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam era. He was stationed at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, from the early to mid-’60s.

Linda Cassaday, who has been Deputy City Manager under Peters, was named Acting City Manager by the City Council and she will assume Peters’ duties on November 1, 2019. “Jerry has been an incredible mentor to me during my time with Glendale,” said Cassaday. “He displays compassionate leadership every day in his dealings with City employees, City Council, and the public; and he will truly be missed by us all.”

Chuck Line, who will continue his role as Deputy City Manager and Community Development Director, has worked with Peters the longest. “Jerry’s leadership over the past 15 years implementing Mayor Dunafon’s vision, has ushered in an era with Infinity Park, a thriving commercial environment, and a revitalization of our housing stock,” said Line. “His presence will be missed, but his accomplishments will not.”

Peters and wife Liz plan to enjoy retirement to its fullest by traveling and doing things he has been unable to do while serving as City Manager.

Stapleton Property Owners Vote To Keep Name By A Landslide

by Mark Smiley | Aug 23, 2019 | Main Articles

by Mark Smiley

In June 2019, a neighborhood group, Rename St*pleton for All, launched a campaign to change the name of the Stapleton neighborhood due to former Denver mayor Benjamin Stapleton’s affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan. On Monday, August 19, 2019, property owners  overwhelmingly voted against the name change.

Of the 10,550 eligible voters, 3,590 people cast their vote, a 34% turnout. Sixty-five percent of the property owners around the land once occupied by Stapleton International Airport voted to keep the name which many felt was surprising due to the amount of publicity the name change had received. “I understand why people would want to change the name but, in the end, I voted to keep it as is because where does it end?” said Tara Johnson, property owner. “This is my neighborhood and I am proud of the name.”

“I was trained as an historian,” said Harold Scramstad in a statement to the Stapleton Front Porch. “If we start holding everybody in the past to the almost unreasonable standards that we’d set for ourselves, almost nobody is going to measure up. We should keep the name and invest it with all the qualities that we want a community to be — that 100 years from now, people will say, “Stapleton, that was the experimental community that really worked very hard to get it right.” Not, “There’s a community that in a smug or self-satisfied way thought it was solving its problems of the future by changing its name, because that didn’t really change anything.”

The Stapleton Master Community Association (Stapleton MCA) oversaw the election and indicated that the amount of voters nearly tripled the usual turnout. “We are disappointed and saddened by these results, but we are not especially surprised,” Rename St*pleton For All, said via Facebook. “Our work is not done. We love our neighborhood, and we invite all supporters to join us in doing the work to make our community one that truly welcomes and includes all.”

Stapleton served as mayor during the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s and appointed Klansmen to lead the police department and other city offices after his election to office in 1923 and to fight off a subsequent recall effort. But by 1925 he opposed the Klan and helped destroy its political influence in Denver and Colorado. “People seem to forget that Mayor Stapleton’s ties to the KKK were short-lived and he championed the eradication of them soon after he was elected,” said Tim Miller, property owner. “All of the good that Mayor Stapleton did seems to have been erased from history.”

The charge to change the name of the neighborhood dates back a quarter of a century. When the old airport was leveled in the 1990s and Denver International Airport opened, the neighborhood formerly occupying Stapleton Airport was named Stapleton. Backlash over the name dates back to this time and was revived in 2015.

Even though this name change was rejected by voters, the campaign has had an impact in other areas. In 2017 and 2018, the Rename St*pleton for All group was successful at having organizations drop the name Stapleton from their organization. The Stapleton Foundation became The Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities, the former Stapleton Development Corporation now only uses the acronym SDC, and the Stapleton Citizens Advisory Board is now just the Citizens Advisory Board.

Those efforts have continued into 2019. Earlier in August 2019, Denver Parks and Recreation agreed to rename the Stapleton Recreation Center in Globeville, and this spring, the name of the Denver School of Science and Technology’s original campus changed from DSST Stapleton to DSST Montview.

Not all efforts of having organizations change their name have been successful. In May 2018, the SUN board asked Stapleton residents to vote on whether to change the RNO’s name from “Stapleton United Neighbors” to “Central Park United Neighbors.” A 66% vote in favor was needed and it fell short by eight percentage points.

The vote cast on August 19, 2019, needs to be ratified by the Stapleton MCA Board of Directors. Brookfield, the master developer has the ability to veto the board’s decision, but it is unlikely they will go against the vote.

“For an entire generation, Stapleton was an airport — it did not cause racial issues,” said Richard Caldwell in a statement to the Stapleton Front Porch. “It was the place the Space Shuttle landed on a 747; the Beatles, Nixon, and The Rolling Stones landed. We all lined the fences to watch planes come and go, people from all backgrounds and races — and we got along fine.”

For more information on the Stapleton MCA, visit www.stapletoncommunity.com.

Denver E-scooter War: Sidewalks Or Bike Lanes

by Mark Smiley | Aug 23, 2019 | Main Articles

by Marissa Smitton

Scooters have become an alternative to cars for many people, especially city residents with quick commutes. In 2018, Denver made over a thousand electric scooters (e-scooters) publicly available to citizens via companies such as Bird and Lime. Since, scooters are becoming an increasingly popular mode of transportation. With their increasing popularity lies a traffic jam and possible safety issues on sidewalks. Denver Public Works is considering a city ordinance that will ban e-scooters from sidewalks and allow them to be legally operated in the bike lane. This legislation has Denver citizens expressing polarizing viewpoints regarding where the scooters should operate. While some residents are in favor of scooters scooting left to the bike lanes, other citizens are opposed and offer their own safety concerns.

After reviewing citizens’ expressed opinions about the scooter program, Denver Public Works is considering the ordinance in an effort to increase the safety of people both on and off the scooters. With the recent influx of public scooters, insurance has had little time to catch up. “Currently, there is no mandatory liability insurance that e-scooter riders need to carry,” Daniel Foster of Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, LLP informed Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle. This leaves potential victims of scooter riders with little recourse to retrieve compensation for injuries.

This and other factors prevail while Denver Public Works carefully considers solutions. When speaking with the Chronicle, Public Works Chief of Staff Nicholas Williams expressed that, “the main benefit of this ordinance change is that it will minimize instances of scooter/ pedestrian conflicts.” Williams went on to say, “the most common complaint I receive from residents involves a scooter rider traveling at a high rate of speed and endangering a pedestrian.” E-scooters can reach a speed of 15 mph.

This isn’t the first time legislation has been proposed for the e-scooters. Former Denver Councilperson Mary Beth Susman sponsored the original bill banning scooters from sidewalks. Susman admitted she was unsure as to what this new ordinance offered but ventured a guess that it would “get rid of” the stipulation of the original bill that stated scooters could use sidewalks if posted speed limits exceeded 30 mph. This would seem to be the case, as the new ordinance proposes a total ban of e-scooters from sidewalks.

Most Denver residents who spoke with the Chronicle were in favor of the bill. Denver resident Carson Cameron expressed that scooters “clog up the sidewalks” and hinder accessibility for people who utilize wheelchairs. If scooter riders used the bike lanes, it would provide more accessible space to move around. This sentiment was echoed by fellow resident, Sarah, who also utilizes a wheelchair. E-scooters are technically still allowed on the sidewalk if riders are traveling less than 6 mph, and their use can limit available space for people with physical disabilities or limitations. In highly populated areas such as downtown and Denver University, this is a concern.

Another pro of e-scooters being relegated to bike lanes is that more citizens may be encouraged to ride their scooters, thus reducing car emissions such as smog and other air pollutants. This is the case for resident Jenn Vaught. “I would ride more,” Vaught responded to the Chronicle when asked about the ordinance. Car emissions directly impact the ground ozone level and reduce air quality. This affects everyone, particularly people who are older or have asthma or other breathing concerns. During summer months, air quality alerts frequently report moderate to unhealthy levels of air quality. E-scooters may not be appreciated on sidewalks, but safe operation in bike lanes may improve the air we breathe.

The ordinance should also ensure scooters remain in congruence with other transportation and vehicle laws, which is important to some Denver citizens. This was confirmed by Public Works Chief Williams who said, “it will simplify the rules of the road to mirror those of bicycles, which most people are already familiar with.” Resident Brenna agreed with the idea of scooter riders following similar laws to cyclers and voiced concern for people who operate the scooters intoxicated. If e-scooters were held to similar standards as other vehicles, then citizens can better understand the regulations of operating the transportation devices.

Not all Denver residents are in favor of scooter legislation and have their own safety concerns if e-scooters are permanently banned from sidewalks. Some Denver commuters are concerned that scooters will create even more traffic on already congested streets. A negative of the bill expressed by citizens is that strictly relegating scooters to bike lanes and roads may cause an increase in vehicle accidents. The scooters have been known to cause accidents and most recently, a person died in a scooter related accident on August 4, 2019. The victim, Cameron Hagan, was struck by a car while attempting to cross the street on a scooter. He marks the first scooter-related death in Denver.

Some citizens feel e-scooters may simply be too slow to keep up with traffic flow. But research shows this may not be the case. Bike riders average around 12 mph in city bike lanes, which e-scooters can exceed. This would mean that scooter riders can at least keep up with typical bike lane traffic flow. But some cyclers don’t want the extra traffic. “I just think it’s already too congested,” Denver resident Michael Lewis said. Michael expressed frustration when commuting around the Park Avenue area. “The scooters would only add to that,” he concluded.

E-scooter riders who litter pose another concern. Although leaving a scooter on the sidewalk unattended is not allowed, many people do it. It contributes to clogging up the sidewalks and hindering accessibility, mentioned prior. If scooter riders were banned from sidewalks permanently, there could be an increase of scooters left in bike lanes or in traffic, which again could lead to an increase of motor vehicle accidents.

While the ordinance to ban e-scooters from sidewalks is well-intentioned and for many, long overdue, other Denver citizens pose practical questions to the logistics of adding another transportation device to the bike lane. There are numerous positive aspects of riding e-scooters including but not limited to decreased pollution, and increased sidewalk accessibility. But there are also cons such as increased road traffic and increased accidents. Regardless of where individual Denverites stand, the consensus on both sides is safety first. The safety of citizens on the road should not be compromised for the safety of citizens on the sidewalk and vice versa. Citizens for and against the bill want to feel safe, and they want others to feel and be safe as well.

Boulevard One: Lowry’s Big Finish

by Mark Smiley | Jul 26, 2019 | Main Articles

Final Neighborhood Development Nears Conclusion; Retail, Signature Condo Completion Likely In 2020

by Glen Richardson

Lowry’s 70-acre Boulevard One — an infill site about the size of Cherry Creek — has commenced construction of its retail zone and signature condos with buildout likely by mid-2020.

Unlike the rest of Lowry, Boulevard One has been built with very high-density and massive traffic concerns. Boulevard One is seen by some as a way to maximize the profits for developers at the expense of the rest of Lowry and surrounding neighborhoods.

Once the tail end of historic Runway One at the former Lowry Air Force Base, the multimodal, mixed-use community features mostly rowhomes, townhomes, attached homes and apartments. There are approximately only 130 detached single-family homes. According to developers, Boulevard One’s dense urban hum is a new way of thinking about how to live, work and interact as a community.

Bounded by 1st Ave., Monaco Parkway and Quebec St., it abuts both the old section of Lowry to the east and south and the Crestmoor neighborhood on the west that created community tension. There were 60-plus public meetings and a lawsuit against the project. Originally planned as 10-12 story buildings and 1,200 dwelling units, it was downsized to 800 units with a maximum of five stories for rowhomes, apartments and commercial space.

Final Projects

A curving “main street” named Lowry Blvd. is now open connecting Monaco Parkway to Quebec St. through the middle of the rectangular development. Mixed-use projects soon will anchor each end of the street. The Met, Boulevard One’s signature condominium community is already under construction on the west side. It is designed to be the project’s “artfully designed” gateway to Lowry Blvd. at Monaco Parkway. Located on 3.72 acres, it will feature a public and private art collaborative showcasing various artists within the project’s common spaces and communal grounds.

Two three-story buildings are taking shape on either side of Lowry Blvd. at Mon-aco with a total of 90 upscale condominiums being built. The one, two and three-bedroom homes will range from 1,000 to 1,850-sq.-ft. with 10-ft. ceilings, expansive windows and two-car underground parking.

A 350-unit luxury apartment block will face Quebec with single-family and rowhomes dominating the western two-thirds of the site. A five-acre community park forms the transition from the apartment block to the rest of the residential area. Except at the Lowry Blvd. intersection, a landscaped berm is being retained and will incorporate the site’s public art program. The berm was built as a buffer to the Crestmoor neighborhood in the 1970s when flight operations ended at Lowry.

Retail Zone Underway

Local firms Confluent and Kelmore Development broke ground in April on The Boulevard at Lowry, the development’s retail and commercial zone. The groundbreaking for the project coincided with the 25th anniversary of Lowry’s transformation from an Air Force base. When completed the project will have approximately 140,000-sq.-ft. of building space. The 1.5-block section is designated for restaurants, retail, office and entertainment venues. Boulder-based grocer Lucky’s Market will have 25,000-sq.-ft. on the ground floor of a three-story commercial building in the commercial zone at the site.

Situated on more than five acres at the northwest corner of E. Lowry Blvd. and Pontiac St., it is the last zone to begin development thus completion could be as late as the fourth quarter of 2020. Unlike the original Lowry development, however, it will be the only commercial development at Boulevard One.

Pedestrian trails throughout Boulevard One will lead residents to the commercial core with restaurants, cafés, boutiques, entertainment and other retail. The space will include professional offices plus community work-play spaces. A mixed-use center will feature a plaza, seating and public art.

Traffic Concerns Remain

Denver’s rapid growth plus the addition of Boulevard One has increased traffic congestion concerns for Lowry, Crestmoor and the entire northeast corridor. Quebec St. is a “high injury network” street according to the city, and the area between First Ave. and Lowry Blvd. is a “pedestrian priority area,” where families, seniors, children, people with disabilities, transit riders and others are trying to get to various destinations. Safety modifications are being completed at Quebec and First Ave. and at Quebec and Lowry Blvd.

LRA claims traffic volume and parking at Boulevard One will be the same as the office use at the demolished Air Force Finance & Accounting Center estimated at about 9,500 car trips. In addition they say car trips will be dispersed by the numerous connecting streets. As for parking, they say the same ratios have been applied at Boulevard One as the rest of Lowry. LRA installed a new signalized intersection at Monaco and Lowry Blvd. on the east side of Monaco Parkway. In addition to adding a neighborhood connection it has somewhat dispersed area traffic.

Improvements such as wider medians extended through the crosswalk to shorten the crossing distance; smaller turning motions for motorists; elimination of bus pullouts; and slightly narrower travel lanes have or will be made. These are not major changes but may improve pedestrian safety while helping to accommodate a growing volume of vehicular traffic. When completed the mixed-use center will include a mobility hub with bike racks, scooter parking, car share parking and a meeting spot for Uber/Lyft or a future shuttle. The “Flight Ride” art installation will be repurposed as a meeting spot and waiting area.

Grand Finale

When completed Boulevard One will contain about 800 residential units housing more than 1,800 people. Upon completion the total will include approximately 250 rowhomes and attached homes plus about 420 apartments. The total includes 14 townhomes and 72 apartments designated to offer “affordable prices and rents.” Multi-story buildings located within the interior of the site are rising a maximum of 4-5 stories.

Residents on the west side of Boulevard One will have an easy walk across Monaco to the established Crestmoor Park, which has a great trail that loops the park for power walks-runs. Crestmoor Park itself will likely become far less quiet and intimate than it was in the past.

On the east side of Boulevard One, the original Lowry is known for its green spaces, such as Sunset Park and Great Lawn Park, offering playgrounds, meadows and summer concerts. Housed in a former aircraft hangar, Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum exhibits aircraft from different eras. Big Bear Ice Arena has skate sessions and hockey games.