The city of Denver will convert a 16-block stretch of East 13th and 14th avenues to two-way traffic, the agency announced Thursday.
Currently, the avenues are one-way only, with 13th Avenue westbound and 14th Avenue eastbound. City officials said the change will slow vehicles down between Quebec Street and Yosemite Street and has long been requested by residents of the East Colfax neighborhood.
City data shows vehicles in 2023 frequently traveled at over 40 mph, despite a 30 mph speed limit, in the area..
All-way stops will be installed on 13th and 14th avenues at Uinta and Willow streets. The traffic signals at Syracuse Street will be studied for removal after the change is made.
The change is a long time coming, but local neighbors say they were caught off guard.
Monique Helstrom, the president of the East Colfax Neighborhood Association, said she woke up Wednesday, got on the road and was shocked to find cones on the road. The conversion was already underway.
“I was driving home and I was looking around and going ‘What is happening?’” she said.
She said she witnessed several near-misses as drivers adapted to the change.
Helstrom said the funding to convert the streets was secured in a previous bond package, but a timeline for the conversion wasn’t clear. She said an electronic sign was posted on the road that said “New traffic pattern coming soon,” but no date was specified.
She said the neighborhood doesn’t oppose the changes — they’re just frustrated that the city did so without informing residents well in advance.
“I just want everyone to be aware,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do to change it at this point.”
The sudden conversion may not be the only change coming to 13th and 14th.
Funds from the recently passed Vibrant Denver bond will be used for a transformation of 13th and 14th between Quebec Street and Colorado Boulevard — several miles west of the new changes. After studying the corridor, the city will install “safety improvements to address speeding, serious crashes, intersection safety, and multimodal connectivity.”
