The $15 million contract that could lead to a widening of Peña Boulevard passed a vote of the full Denver City Council on Tuesday, despite reservations from some of the city’s elected leaders.
Denver International Airport officials have been considering options for Peña Boulevard for years. Traffic on the main road to the airport has grown worse and worse, but the idea of building more lanes has drawn criticism from transit and environmental advocates.
CEO Phil Washington told Denverite in 2023 that he wants a “very responsible” expansion of the road, but airport officials say they’re considering all options, including dedicating new lanes to buses and carpools.
Under the new contract, Peak Consulting Group will lead the proposed project through the federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. That process will include producing an initial design for a rebuilt Peña Boulevard.
Peña Boulevard plans have split city council members. A previous step in the project narrowly passed through the council last year after Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez changed her vote during the final hearing.
Some want the city to put more money into upgrading service on the A Line train to the airport, rather than potentially spending tens of millions of dollars in service of automobiles. Airport officials say they’re open to transit options, but they insist their ability to help the A Line is limited because it’s run by the Regional Transportation District.
The contract was up for a discussion and a vote Tuesday
Councilmember Sarah Parady has been staunchly opposed to the contract and the possibility of widening the road.
“We're at a pretty critical juncture over our climate future. We're not meeting our climate goals, and our airport is growing dramatically,” she said.
Councilmember Shontel Lewis, who represents part of Montbello, is skeptical that the study will result in anything but a lane expansion.
“I'm also a little concerned that this process is little more than a formality, and that even if the [transit-focused] alternative is found to have greater environmental benefits or lower cost to implement, we will simply pursue the alternative of lane expansion, which I think that's exactly [where] we're going to be end up,” Lewis said.
Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, who represents Montbello and Green Valley Ranch, reiterated her support for the contract, saying Peña Boulevard needs a revamp to support people who live in Denver’s far northeast.
“Really for us to get anywhere in the city and in the region, Peña Boulevard is that corridor. Often the drive into town and back has unbearable traffic,” she said. “My neighbors and I have dealt with this for not only years, but decades.”
Several council members said they’ll support the contract, but warned DIA that they’ll hold them to their promise to study ecofriendly, transit-oriented alternatives to ease traffic congestion on the highway.
The council voted 9-2 in favor of the contract. Councilmember Chris Hinds was absent and Councilmember Diana Romero Campbell abstained due to a conflict of interest.
What could Peña Boulevard look like?
Last February, DIA officials released a master plan that outlines the future of Peña Boulevard. The plan identifies five options for the road’s future:
- Adding a bus-only lane
- Adding a “managed lane” either for carpools or tolled traffic
- Building a frontage road for local traffic off the highway,
- Building a collector road to separate airport express traffic and local traffic
- Or doing nothing at all.
Recent meetings about the contract have revealed tensions about whether the project will ultimately be about cars, transit or a combination. Some city leaders and transit advocates argued that widening the road would attract more traffic in the long run, a claim that many studies back up.
DIA officials said the NEPA study will explore public transit-oriented improvements, especially for buses, but played down the viability of investing in the RTD train system in particular.
“We believe that there is ultimately challenges associated with the airport being able to fund [A Line improvements] through this particular project,” airport Senior Director for Sustainability Scott Morrissey said at a committee meeting on the contract.
The city has received lots of feedback on the proposal
A joint letter from transit advocates like Greater Denver Transit, Denver Bicycle Lobby and the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition urged city council members to vote no on the contract unless they could get assurances that DIA will consider investing in improvements to the RTD’s A Line.
During the first hearing on the contract, Council President Amanda Sandoval said she received hundreds of emails and didn’t think she received “one email so far to support this contract”.
During public comment at last week’s council meeting, several Montbello and Green Valley Ranch residents took the stand to call for the contract’s approval, but many also advocated for better public transit.
“I need options to get to my medical appointments and Peña Boulevard is only one of two roads that can get you there,” said resident Eddie Chavez.
