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DENVER (KDVR) — After a meeting on Tuesday, those who are at the center of the fight to get speeding and safety issues taken care of on 13th and 14th avenues say they’re disappointed.

The city gave a presentation that did address traffic calming measures on 13th and 14th avenues, but the main focus was on the Colfax Bus Rapid Transit plan. Residents like Eric Haglund, whose home was slammed into in July by a driver, say it is not what they’re concerned about.

“They can’t do anything to undo the damage on my house, that’s done. I’m concerned about the next house that gets damage. I’m concerned about the safety of people that walk up and down these streets and the kids that play out here,” Haglund said.

Denver focuses on different areas for improvement

Haglund lives at 13th and Eudora Street and he’s complained to the city, but the city’s not adding improvements there. It’s focusing instead on the intersections at 13th and 14th at Cherry, Kramaria, Uinta and Verbena streets.

“I support those. I think it’ll make it safer for pedestrians to cross at those intersections, but I don’t see those as being a major solution to the problem of traffic speed and traffic safety on 13th and 14th,” Haglund said.

Haglund believes the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is seeing the problem through the lens of the East Area Plan, and that it’s muddying the request from these residents to slow down traffic here.

“It seemed like they came to talk more generally about the East Area Plan. There was a lot of emphasis on the Colfax BRT, which is interesting, but that’s not what I was there to talk about,” Haglund said. “And I think a lot of other people were frustrated that that was the focus of their presentation. They didn’t seem really prepared to answer questions about traffic speeds or any safety measures that they’re planning to take.”

DOTI releases statement on road plans

DOTI gave more insight into why the Colfax BRT was the focus of their meeting, saying in a statement:

“On Tuesday, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure presented to the community to highlight work being done along Colfax as part of the East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit efforts underway. The Colfax BRT is just one piece of our overall goals to address mobility and safety in and around the east Colfax corridor.

Once work begins for the Colfax BRT, we will be providing better pedestrian accommodations as well as providing vertical elements along the corridor to slow drivers down and make it easier/safer for people to use the BRT service. We will initiate follow up speed studies once those installations are complete to determine how effective they are, and address any new changes we need to make.”

Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure

The bottom line is there are measures coming as a part of the East Area Plan for this community, but it just might not be what residents are hoping for. They worry that during BRT construction, more traffic will be pushed onto 13th and 14th and worsen what they’re already going though.