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About the Alameda Lane Repurposing Project

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Project details:

  • Two traffic lanes will be permanently removed throughout the entire project zone (13 blocks)

  • Bollards and other obstacles will permanently prevent left turns at three intersections: Grant, Pennsylvania and Corona

    • Residents on Grant, Pennsylvania and Corona will no longer be able to turn left out of their neighborhood onto Alameda 

  • Bollards installed along the center line of E Alameda Ave between S Logan and S Pennsylvania

  • Medians with bollards added at Washington, Emerson, Downing and Marion St Pkwy

  • Median installed at Franklin

  • Construction scheduled for September 2025

Our aim: Pause the project to determine the best way to keep Alameda safe and effective as a key east-west route through central Denver.

We want to see DOTI:

  • Engage the community through a more inclusive, meaningful public process

  • Provide the public with access to clear, transparent data to measure the project’s real impact if implemented 

  • Protect Wash Park users by safeguarding its main access points.

  • Protect Wash Park residents by limiting cut-through traffic and preserving full access to their streets

  • Support local businesses by keeping them accessible and thriving with help from the neighborhood and city

Key Concerns

Traffic Concerns

  • Reducing road capacity will worsen existing congestion

  • New left-turn lanes will overflow during rush hour, blocking other lanes.

  • Using only past traffic data ignores Denver’s rapid growth

    • Major developments like Cherry Creek West and Cherry Lane are already in progress

Risk to Park Areas

  • Turning Virginia Ave into a busy, dangerous road near Wash Park is short-sighted

  • Past DOTI changes made Virginia & Marion a key park access point — adding more traffic here makes no sense

Neighborhood Safety & Livability

  • Making it harder for residents to access their homes from Alameda creates unnecessary challenges

  • More traffic on residential streets lowers quality of life and can hurt property values

Harm to Local Businesses

  • More congestion and confusion will drive customers away and reduce foot traffic

  • Most businesses here are small and locally owned

Driver Behavior & Safety Concerns

  • More drivers may cut through nearby neighborhoods, putting kids, pedestrians, and cyclists at greater risk

  • Other areas with “traffic calming” have seen drivers speed through narrow residential streets

  • Pushing traffic onto streets not built for it will lead to safety issues and future costs for the city

Lack of Supporting Data

  • A major redesign may not be needed to meet DOTI’s goals

  • This stretch of Alameda has fewer safety issues compared to other parts of the High Injury Network

Need for More Inclusive Planning

  • Only two public meetings — one during COVID — isn’t enough

    • An attendee at the Lincoln Elementary meeting described the tone of the meeting as “checking a box,” with no opportunities for public comment 

  • Residents and drivers most affected haven’t had their voices heard

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DOTI?

More about the city agency responsible for the project

Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) has been planning the Alameda Lanes Repurposing Project, which will significantly and unnecessarily modify E Alameda Avenue between S Grant and S Franklin Streets—affecting the West Wash Park, East Wash Park, and Country Club neighborhoods, as well as many commuters.

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Click here to view DOTI's webpage with information about the project. (Scroll down and click on "Alameda Lanes Repurposing Project" to see details.) The "project materials" provided to the public are quite difficult to decipher; our coalition has met in-person with DOTI staff to better understand the specifics.

How will Virginia Ave. be impacted?

Those who access Wash Park as pedestrians or cyclists should be concerned

The city's public information about the Alameda project says that, after changes are implemented, about 490 cars per day will re-route on to Virginia Avenue. This is one of our committee's major concerns. Virginia Ave is a quiet, residential street that runs along the north edge of Wash Park. Diverting traffic onto Virginia Avenue will push vehicles into areas heavily used by cyclists and pedestrians to access the park and their homes. 

 

Additionally, we believe that the city's estimate of diverted cars (490/day) is unrealistically low. One of the unique characteristics of this stretch of E Alameda Ave is that there are limited east-west through streets to take as an alternative to Alameda Ave. (Just north of Alameda is the Denver Country club and to the south is the park.) That means that Virginia Ave is one of the only options for diverting off Alameda when traffic grinds to a halt.

I signed the letter. How else can I help?

More ways to make your voice heard

If you are interested in joining the volunteer committee organizing the letter to the Mayor, use our Contact form to get in touch with us.

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Please send this website (ActForAlameda.com) around to others you know who might share our concerns. Ask them to sign the letter ASAP.

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Lastly, you can also contact DOTI's staff and decision makers directly to express your perspective. Consider reaching out to:

Who's behind "Act for Alameda"?

More about the neighbors and businesses organizing pushback

In spring 2025, after over a year of city silence on the project, a small group of concerned neighbors, business owners, and commuters formed an informal committee called Act for Alameda. We are:

  • Jill Anschutz – lives in the construction zone (District 6)

  • Rye Austin – represents regular Alameda commuters

  • Kim Kolesar – lives in the zone and owns a Wash Park business

  • Nanci Ricks – nearby neighbor in District 7

 

We’re volunteers—not part of any organization—who live, work, and travel Alameda daily. We've seen other recent Denver street changes cause confusion and raise safety concerns for drivers, pedestrians, children, and pets. Our goal is to build a community coalition to ensure any changes to Alameda maintain its role as a key east-west route, avoid unintended consequences, and improve real safety issues

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In late June 2025, our committee met in person with DOTI staff and gained much more clarity about the plans. After that meeting, we felt it was urgent to inform our neighbors.

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We outlined seven main concerns in a letter to Mayor Johnston and launched this website to invite others who share those concerns to join us.

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