It was just a couple of days ago we published our first post on the new CDOT Headquarters building proposed next to the Decatur-Federal transit station. Today, we have a quick update due to having received a few new renderings that more clearly show the proposed structure. Thank you to everyone at CDOT and RNL Design for providing the new images!
Landscaped plaza and rain garden at the southeast corner of the project:
Overhead view looking northwest:
We can see clearly from these new renderings that the main pedestrian entry to the building is at the southeast corner, putting it in a good location for access to the light rail station across the street. However, let’s take a closer look at the site and the issue of pedestrian access to the train station:
The nearest crosswalks over W. Howard Place are at Federal and at Decatur. No one leaving the CDOT building, and I mean no one, is going to walk over to either Federal or Decatur to cross the street via the crosswalk to get to the transit station. They will either cut through the tree lawn immediately south of the building entry and cross the street there, or follow the diagonal sidewalk to the corner of the property next to the access drive and then cross the street. Neither of these situations is considered safe and both would be technically jaywalking, right? With increased automobile traffic along W. Howard Place after the building opens, and with RTD buses using the street to access the station’s bus gates, providing a safe way for CDOT employees and guests to cross the street conveniently from the building entry is critical.
Here’s where CDOT, RTD, and the City can prove their commitment to prioritizing pedestrians over vehicles, encouraging transit ridership, and working towards Vision Zero: 1. Add a sidewalk across the tree lawn immediately south of the building entry to connect to the sidewalk along the north side of W. Howard Place; and 2. Add a mid-block crosswalk directly at that point to provide pedestrians with convenient and safe access between the building entry and the transit station. You know, something like this:
Is that messy from a traffic engineering perspective? Probably. Will it cost a little extra money? Most likely. Is it the right thing to do? Definitely.
I think that should be W. Howard, not W. Holden.
Good catch, thanks! Holden is on the other side of the station. I fixed it in the text and will update the images soon.
smallest improvement makes all the difference.
all CDOT employees have eco-passes, but so few actual ever use their passes. I hope that getting a lot of employees to commute via transit is a big priority for the new building
“all CDOT employees have eco-passes”. Yes, for now. Once CDOT moves downtown that’s far from a sure thing, as the cost of the passes will go through the roof.
They should put up the blinking light pedestrian signals like they have in Boulder along Canyon. I wish we had these in a few places around Denver to prioritize pedestrians, increase safety and act as traffic calming devices. This would be a good spot for them and I wish there were some along 17th near Sloans Lake (other roads near parks deserve them, too), too.
I agree with you completely. You read my mind. The blinking light pedestrian signals should be used a lot more around Denver. They work wonderfully in Boulder.
I also agree with this. There are many places in central Denver where people cross mid-block, where there aren’t pedestrian street-crossing facilities, that would benefit from this type of thing. Maybe this area would be a good place to test this kind of crossing since it isn’t that busy.
It should be noted that Federal & 14th/Holden is one of the most dangerous intersections for pedestrians in the city.
Agreed. There have been multiple pedestrian fatalities at this intersection which were likely a result of the ridiculously over-designed Colfax-Federal clover leaf interchange and an 8-lane cross-section on Federal. Tons of pedestrians walk to and from the bus stops on both sides of Federal at this intersection. If the sidewalk and midblock crossing is their first priority, then converting that interchange to an at-grade intersection and improving/ shortening all of the pedestrian crossings should be their second priority.
Re: Blinking yellow lights
They may work in Boulder, but I’m not sure about Denver. Wheat Ridge has installed a few of these around town; the one I use the most is on West 32nd (two-lane street) near Wheat Ridge High School so I can access Crown Hill. It’s a 50/50 proposition that drivers will stop when the lights are flashing…..
Chucolo, I’d hope that we can create a better pedestrian culture than Wheatridge has. In the case of the crosswalk on 32nd, it comes as a surprise to any motorist, and motorists are already traveling at higher speeds than posted as noted by the flashing sign that tells everyone they are speeding. It is not a great spot for a pedestrian and none of the non neighborhood roads in Wheatridge are. Heck, I think we could make this is raised crosswalk with flashing lights, which will require people to slow down. This shouldn’t be an area with the amount of traffic that a traffic hump should overly irk drivers, think of Cheesman Park. I feel similarly about 17th along Sloans. This should be a road that discourages fast driving, with the bike lane already in place, the growth within the St. Anthony’s redevelopment and the high usage of the park during all daylight hours.
What about a bridge from the 5th floor of the building? I feel we could get innovative with the space. The crosswalk could still exist for ADA compliance. What are some other ways we could re imagine the areas use with pedestrian traffic increasing (hopefully)?
I just want to note how profoundly embarrassing it will be for the TRANSPORTATION department to have spent millions of dollars on a new headquarters and have it end up being the epitome of bad transit/pedestrian planning. This will be a giant PR black eye for CDOT if they don’t come up with something “efficient and elegant” as they say nowadays. I can hardly wait for the TV news video in which a reporter shows what it’s like to dash across the street while narrowly avoiding death to then catch a train.