Goal Of New Construction On Federal Boulevard Is To Protect Pedestrians
DENVER (CBS4) - Construction is set to begin this week on a long a busy stretch of Federal Boulevard. The goal is to address maintenance for the roads as well as help protect pedestrians walking along the street.
"It's a major corridor, we've got so much traffic flowing through, congestion is only building," said Maureen McCanna, a resident of Denver's Valverde neighborhood. "We're excited to see these improvements along this stretch of Federal but we'd love for it to continue south."
Reconstruction of Federal will run from West 7th Avenue to West Holden Place for people that walk, bike, use public transportation or drive along that corridor. It's part of the city's Vision Zero initiative and will include new concrete pavement, three continuous northbound lanes, and a raised median with landscaping, according to a news release. Residents living in the Sun Valley neighborhood will be most impacted by this stretch of construction.
"They don't even wait for you to stop, they're turning on you," Lisa Saenz said about some drivers, a resident of Sun Valley. "To actually see it happening now, today, is wonderful. I know it's not going to be overnight but it's a start."
Residents like McCanna can speak to the concern for anyone on foot. She says safety is always a concern when you're walking along the street or crossing Federal Blvd.
"I do have to be a very defensive pedestrian," she said. "Whether I'm walking or biking, I'm very aware of my surroundings."
Crews are slated to work normal hours Monday through Friday but some work will occur overnight and on the weekends, according to the news release.
"It kind of divides us, we need to get rid of that division between our neighborhoods and also the division between cars and bicyclists and pedestrians."
McCanna hopes that the attention moving toward the street and the people that live along it will help to address deeper issues than just cracks in the sidewalk or holes in the pavement.
"People have been here for years if not generations, and it's really important to them."
"It's a long corridor and there's a lot of work to be done."
LINK: www.denvergov.org/federalhoward
Shawn Chitnis reports weeknights for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Email him story ideas at smchitnis@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.