October 16, 2014 VOLU M E 31 | I SS UE 1 6 | 5 0 ¢
WheatRidgeTranscript.com
SPECIAL SECTION
INSIDE
J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Council eyes Wadsworth study By Hugh Johnson Wheat Ridge city council took a look at a study to improve Wadsworth Boulevard from West 35th Avenue to West 48th Avenue. Formally known as the Wadsworth Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) study, the project looks at improving Wadsworth to include multiple modes of transportation while addressing key traffic and congestion issues. Nothing is set in stone yet as the city is simply conducting a study. If plans do materialize, no construction is expected until at least late 2018 or 2019.
The study will examine environmental restrictions surrounding any potential improvements such as residential and business impacts, maintaining good air and water quality, and preserving historical buildings among other factors. The city held a public meeting April 23 to garner input from Wheat Ridge residents. Through three screening processes the city has whittled the number of propositions for Wadsworth down to three. The first is increasing the right of way of Wadsworth from 100 feet to 125 feet with edge enhancements. This proposal calls for 5-foot sidewalks, 10-foot tree lines and 11-foot driving lanes on either side of the street. An economy package of sorts, this
option seeks to beautify the corridor with minimal construction, utilizing the sidewalks and tree lines already in place from 38th to 44th. Option two is a full build, increasing the right of way to 150 feet. This option includes 10-foot sidewalks, 10-foot treelines, three 11-foot driving lanes heading north and south and one 11-foot, two-way cycling path which would connect 35th avenue to the Clear Creek Trail. The proposal also calls for a 28-foot, raised median which would prevent illegal left turns (over double yellow lines). The final option calls for 200 feet of right of way. This option allows for an 11foot frontage road and an 11-foot median
on either side of the road. The main road remains the same from option two with the exception of a one-way cycle track on either side of the road. This would allow for cafes and other businesses to build outdoor patios that lead right up to the road. Perhaps more importantly. it would also allow for slower traffic in the frontage lanes while maintaining the regular level of traffic in the through lanes as 85 percent of those who travel on Wadsworth use it as a through street. District One Councilman Jerry DiTullio criticized the last option because the city would have to acquire too much private property. A notion DiTullio felt would go over poorly with residents.
Jeffco students rally to gauge recall support By Crystal Anderson
canderson@colorado communitymedia.com In support of change, more than 150 students, parents and community members gathered Oct. 11 at Clement Park, 7306 W. Bowles Ave., Littleton. The rally was organized by a group of more than 40 student leaders behind the “Jeffco Students for Change”, “Jeffco Stand
POSTAL ADDRESS
Up” and “Jeffco Student Network for Change” Facebook pages to gauge public opinion and inform attendees of the recent actions taken by the board. “What we’re looking for is our next step,” said Thomas Sizemore, a junior at Lakewood High School. “The rally is a way to get everyone to hear the same message.” A mix of speeches and music, the event’s message sought change, and called upon community members to stand up in support of a change, and if interested, to stand behind a possible recall of the conservative majority on the Jefferson County Board of Education, Julie Williams, John Newkirk and Ken Witt. “I know a recall takes a lot of work and a lot of money, but I’m confident it can happen,” said Chalen Gordon-McGlone, a senior at Evergreen High School in his speech. “We have to work together.” While a recall effort has not been mobilized as of now, students asked community members to sign up if interested in learning more, to gauge whether there was support for the action. “We are still very apprehensive about a recall,” Sizemore said. “It’s definitely a huge step, and it’s something we don’t want to go into easily.” While the rally had a smaller
Max Pivonka asks former Jeffco student, Ryan Zimmerman and Denver resident, Emily Dowell to sign a list for more information on a possible recall. Photo by Crystal Anderson than expected turnout, support for change and for the students was seen from a variety of sources, including merchandise selling, and stops from a few political candidates, Andy Kerr, Jane Goff and Mary Parker, who had signs and tables placed to one side of the rally. “I was very interested in the students and their voice and list-
ing to what the students had to say,” said Laura Boggs, candidate for the Colorado State Board of Education. “My hope is that the students can come to a place where they do feel heard and that the board does something that makes students feel heard and really digs in and gets to a place where there is a good robust community con-
versation and it gets back to running to board meetings in a way that that’s possible,” Boggs said. For the students, the rally was simply the next step in the process of uniting groups together and enacting change. “We’re not going to stop,” Sizemore said. “We are going to keep fighting until we’re heard or this is resolved.”
WHEAT RIDGE TRANSCRIPT (ISSN 1089-9197)
OFFICE: 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210 Golden, CO 80401 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Jefferson County, Colorado, the Wheat Ridge Transcript is published weekly on Thursday by Mile High Newspapers, 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210, Golden, CO 80401. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT GOLDEN, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: Wheat Ridge Transcript 722 Washington Ave, Unit 210 Golden, CO 80401 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. GE T SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
Governor hopefuls stray onto new ground Hickenlooper, Beauprez debate safety, housing issues By Vic Vela
vvela@colorado communitymedia.com Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Congressman Bob Beauprez sparred over issues voters are familiar with at this point in the gubernatorial campaign during an Oct. 9 debate in Fort Collins, but they also addressed issues that haven’t been making as many headlines. Yes, the two tangled over the death penalty — as they have the entire campaign — but the KUSA-sponsored debate, held at Colorado State University, also focused on other areas of public safety, affordable housing and even red-light cameras. Beauprez, a Republican, blast-
ed the Democratic incumbent for not fighting hard enough for a construction-law reform bill from earlier this year that he believed would helped rein in rising housing costs around the state. Beauprez said Colorado’s tough construction-defects law discourages builders from making affordable condos because of high insurance costs. “There is something, especially in the Front Range, that has driven up rents and housing prices and that’s called the construction-defects legislation,” Beauprez said. Beauprez said Hickenlooper provided “absolutely zero leadership” when a reform bill that was introduced late in this year’s legislative session failed to gain steam. The bill would have made it more difficult for condo owners to sue builders over construction defects. Hickenlooper agreed that changes to the law need to be
made, but said rising rental costs are attributed to other economic factors. “It’s certainly not the defining factor in the incredible inflation we’ve seen in housing costs,” he said. “That’s been going on for a number of years.” Also during the debate, Beauprez made news for saying he would like to see a repeal of laws that allow for the legal sale of marijuana. The former congressman cited health concerns while laying out his position. “Yes, I think we’re at that point where the consequences we’ve already discovered from this might be far greater than the liberty the citizens thought they were embracing,” Beauprez said. Hickenlooper made news of his own at a debate earlier in the week, where he said voters were “reckless” for supporting last year’s Amendment 64, which legalized recreational pot sales and use in Colorado.
In spite of his concerns over the impact that marijuana use can have on a developing brain, Hickenlooper wouldn’t go as far as saying that the constitutional amendment needs to be repealed. “But I do think we need more resources to make sure that kids and parents understand this is not like sneaking a beer out when you’re younger,” the governor said.
Public safety discussed
Beauprez has been trying make hay out of public-safety issues this campaign, which played a role in this debate as well. Beauprez criticized Hickenlooper for failing to guide through new public-safety measures during last year’s legislative session, including a bill that would have created a felony DUI and another Hopefuls continues on Page 5