"It's not about survival; it's about re-engaging and bringing people back." Frank Locantore, executive director of the Colfax Business Improvement District, said that to Westword in mid-October, a little over two weeks after the cones came down. His point holds on the Capitol Hill blocks today. The construction is finished, but the people the street lost during it haven't fully come back.
It has been almost four weeks since September 27, when the two center lanes of East Colfax Avenue between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard became bus-only. The street was redesigned to favor people who walk to it and ride along it. Drivers still have a route, but a narrower one. That redesign explains most of what's going on along the Capitol Hill stretch this fall, from confused left turns to coffee shops that are quiet in the morning.
Four Ways to Use the Street, Four Different Sets of Rules
The completed section runs about 2.5 miles, and Westword's reporters drove, walked and rode all of it. How the new rules feel depends on how you arrive.
| How you're using Colfax | What's different now |
|---|---|
| Driving | Outer lanes only, with one through lane each way. Left turns only with a green arrow at intersections that have a left-turn lane |
| Riding the 15 or 15L | Board from elevated center platforms. Seven stations in each direction on the reopened stretch |
| Walking | 27 intersections improved for crossing, with new sidewalks, crosswalks and street trees |
| Parking | About 180 two-hour spaces on Colfax, free for now, plus free parking on side streets |
The city's East Colfax BRT project page has the full left-turn map and table for every intersection from Broadway to Colorado. A curb median now separates eastbound from westbound traffic. Station and parking details come from Denverite's rider guide, which also notes that bikes, skateboards, scooters and pedicabs aren't allowed on the platforms.
Driving Is the One Mode That Got Harder
Of the four ways to use the street, only driving became harder. Sage Kelley drove from Broadway to Colorado and back for Westword and found the layout "less confusing in practice" than it looks on planning maps. Stay in your lane and wait for a marked turn lane. In that same 20-minute round trip, two vehicles moved into the bus lane to turn left, and both forced buses to brake hard.
Some of that confusion comes from phones. The Denver Post reported that apps like Google Maps have sent drivers to left turns that no longer exist. A Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokeswoman said the city is working with Waymo, Apple and Google to update their routing. Until that's fixed, the left-turn map on the city's page is a better guide for a short trip across Capitol Hill than whatever your navigation app suggests.
Kelley also noted that the single lane and longer red lights for pedestrians could slow rush-hour driving, and wrote that "the priority here is riders and walkers." Everything else in this post follows from that priority.
Walking Is Where the Improvement Is
Hannah Metzger walked the corridor for Westword. She described level, clean concrete, trash cans on every block, freshly painted crosswalks, and second crossing buttons on some medians. With the benches moved to the center platforms, people waiting for the bus no longer crowd the sidewalk.
The platforms changed how waiting for the bus feels, too. Katrina Leibee got off at the Colfax and Franklin-Park station and found big stops with orange benches, trash cans, a blue emergency phone and artwork on the roofs. She wrote that waiting there "feels comfortable and safe." One thing to know before you ride: every stop requires a street crossing. If your bus pulls in while you're still waiting at the crosswalk, you can miss it.
Chris Donato of Champagne Tiger summed up how the street looks to Westword: "There's more light on Colfax than there's been. There's more trees." He also said the stations worked local artists into their design.
The Storefronts Held. The Foot Traffic Is Still Catching Up.
During two years of construction, Colfax businesses opened, closed and turned over. Even so, Locantore told The Denver Post that occupancy on the street was still 84% as of late September, the same as before construction started. Denver Economic Development & Opportunity gave grants to 152 affected businesses, nearly $2 million in all. Locantore also said "some (businesses) are hanging on by their fingertips."
So the storefronts are still filled. Getting customers back is a separate problem. On her walk, Metzger stopped for coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Lula Rose near Madison Street. It was quiet inside, and the barista told her they were waiting for foot traffic to return once people realize the cones and fences are gone. Steven Waters of FiNO at the All Inn told Westword that the reopening hadn't yet brought a large influx of customers. Waters also pointed to who has been filling the empty spaces:
"A positive is that we haven't seen large chains or big national retailers, or things that are not local and small and independent, retake those spaces."
On the Capitol Hill stretch, that pattern shows up in these names:
- Sadboy Creamery, 1201 E. Colfax Ave., Suite 101, opened its first storefront on September 19. It sells packaged pints and push-pops, not scoops or cones. Locantore named it as one of the corridor's recent openings.
- Nob Hill Inn, 420 E. Colfax Ave., faced a September 30 closing deadline unless a fundraising drive came through. The Denver Post reported on September 10 that the $15,000 goal had been met and the bar would stay open for the foreseeable future.
- Champagne Tiger got through the construction partly on its Sunday drag brunch, according to Westword.
- Pete's Kitchen had stretches when its sidewalk was torn up and its front door couldn't be reached. Owner Alex Barakos told Westword that "relief is the big word."
Bo Porytko of Molotov Kitschen & Cocktails told Westword that traffic was "actually still pretty bad" in the first days. He expects people to come back gradually, not all at once. Barakos's advice was simpler: "get their butts out on Colfax and spend some money."
The Fall Calendar Is Built to Bring People Back
The Colfax BID's fall event series marks the end of construction. The Denver Post reported that it began October 8 with an Opera Colorado performance at Champagne Tiger. Several of the dates left fall on the Capitol Hill blocks, within walking distance of the new stations:
- Today, Thursday, October 22: The Colfax Grubhop offers $1 slices at SliceWorks, 700 E. Colfax Ave., with Atomic Cowboy/Fat Sully's Pizza and Enzo's Pizza farther east.
- Through October 24: Victorian Horrors, readings of gothic tales in a one-hour program, runs at the Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania St., according to the museum's events page.
- October 28 to 31: The Ghosts of 1340 Penn at the museum, with a Victorian séance version October 29 to 31.
- Tuesday, November 10: A free Colfax Art Underground kickoff runs 4 to 8 p.m. at Velvet Banjo, 741 E. Colfax Ave. All ages are welcome until 8 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 11: Uncalled Four at Satellite Bar, 308 E. Colfax Ave.
- Saturday, November 28: A Rainbow Socks nature tour starts near the Cathedral Basilica, 401 E. Colfax Ave.
On Halloween afternoon, the 20th annual Boo & Brew runs 1 to 4 p.m. a short bus ride east. It starts at Hooked on Colfax, 3213 E. Colfax Ave., continues through Bluebird District businesses, and is free for kids.
What Is Still Temporary
The current setup is an interim phase. On the completed stretch, display boards with real-time bus information arrive with full service, along with off-board ticket machines and multi-door boarding. Denverite puts that in 2028. Denverite also reports that the two-hour spaces on Colfax are free only for now, with payment expected once full BRT launches. The Denver Post describes the full project, which will run from Union Station to I-225, as scheduled for completion at the end of 2027.
Construction has moved east. As of Westword's October 13 walk, work was still active near Bellaire Street, east of Colorado Boulevard. The next phase covers Colfax from Colorado Boulevard to Niagara Street. From Broadway to Colorado, the work is done for now. The free parking and the empty seats at Lula Rose are both available this fall.
I follow how changes like this new Colfax shape everyday life in Capitol Hill, from which blocks are getting busier again to which businesses have reopened. If you'd like to talk about the neighborhood and what these changes mean for your plans, reach out to Alex Rice. Start Your Home Journey whenever you're ready.
