Updated at 4:48 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7
At a queer sports bar in Denver, cheekily named The Tight End, business is only as strong as Colfax Avenue, the street it stands on.
Construction of the city’s first bus rapid transit system has reduced the east-west thoroughfare to a single lane in each direction near the bar. Pedestrians and cyclists, meanwhile, are met with ever-changing obstacles.
“It has been hard. Not having parking has really hurt,” said the bar’s general manager, Taylor Greenlee, who nonetheless looks forward to the long-term improvements, chiefly accessibility and safety.
That’s why progress on BRT feels very much like progress for The Tight End — and they were ready to celebrate a milestone on Tuesday night.
The watering hole held a watch party — not for a game on their multiple big-screen TVs — but for the installation of an enormous, stark white arch outside the bar.
As Denverite’s Paolo Zialcita has reported, the arch is one of dozens that “will act as the spine of” a series of new bus stops that will line the avenue.
Those new bus stops are just one part of the $280 million project, which one day will see riders stepping from raised platforms onto super-frequent buses that cruise the avenue in dedicated lanes.
Loren Hansen attended the celebration, spectating from the bar’s astroturfed patio. He is the executive director of Colorado History Rides, a non-profit that leads guided bike tours.
“This is a moment of history for Colfax. The last streetcar ran on it in 1950 and since then, the transportation we have had is the 15 and the 15 L [bus routes], respectively, that run about every 10 to 15 minutes. Bus rapid transit is supposed to run faster than that and it’s a very exciting thing,” he noted.
Hansen moved to the sidewalk for a closer look as two cranes maneuvered into position for the painstaking process of hoisting the structure. Workers seemed surprised to have drawn a small audience.
The actual lifting came hours later, after the crowd thinned around 11:30 p.m. and the bar closed at midnight. Manager Taylor Greenlee returned the following afternoon to the finished work, which stands 21 feet tall and 87 feet long.
“It’s actually very cute. It’s very clean-looking. We need to get all this fencing away, but it looks inviting,” she commented.
In coming years, crews will erect around 30 more arches from Broadway to Monaco Street Parkway. We do not know, however, whether other Colfax businesses plan viewing parties.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect when The Tight End closes.
