Volume 55, Issue No. 3
Slow Down
A Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. Publication
March 2016
Neighbors Raise The Call For Crackdown on Traffic Scofflaws By Cara DeGette GPHN Editor
Pinewood Derby Days 2016 Cub Scouts from Pack 286 celebrate the successful conclusion of this year’s pinewood derby race. A record number of 61 Cub Scouts constructed their cars from blocks of wood and raced them in Fellowship Hall of Park Hill United Methodist Church on Friday, Jan. 22. Liam Pilarowski is this year’s first place finisher, followed by Samuel Gisi in second place, and Sean Donelson in third place. Cub Scout Pack 286 is proud to be chartered by the Park Hill United Methodist Church. Photo courtesy of Dave Pilarowski
Colfax Business District Eyes Improvements Projects Include Pedestrian Crosswalk & Improved Lighting Along Corridor
Special to the GPHN
With $10,000 in pledged support from Greater Park Hill Community, Inc., the Colfax Mayfair Business Improvement District is pursuing the installation of a pedestrian crosswalk at Colfax and Fairfax Street. The crosswalk, which would include better lighting than currently exists, is part of a nine-month streetscape planning process completed in December. The Business Improvement District is working to implement two projects this year
“Colfax is a vital part of our community, but it’s been neglected for too long.” -- GPHC Board President Tracey MacDermott
“The final plan recommends a set of modest improvements designed to support local identity while making it easier and safer for continued on page 9
‘How are we supposed to be safe?’
On Feb. 8, Keiser posted this eyewitness account on the Park Hill Neighborhood Facebook page: “An Aurora Police SUV was speeding westbound on Montview this morning as I was stopped with my two young daughters southbound on Forest,” Keiser wrote. “We commute with my bike and pull-behind trailer. I began to turn west in the bike lane when I noticed that the cop was illegally swerving into the bike lane to pass on the right. No lights and no indication that it was an emergency. He then proceeded to speed through the 20 mile-per-hour school zone that is marked with a blinking light without
This artist’s rendering shows the preferred alternative for improvements at Colfax and Fairfax Street. Illustration courtesy Hilarie Portell, Colfax Mayfair Business Improvement District
Race, Poverty & Living In Floodplains
Page 16
Birdland: Welcome Back, Cormorant
continued on page 7
Page 11
Inside This Issue
Page 3
March 2016
and next along Colfax, which is Park Hill’s southernmost border. In addition to the crosswalk, the BID is working on a plan to install bike racks and improve the lighting at Colfax and Krameria.
A series of direct hits, near misses, and a cop car speeding through a school zone with no lights, no siren, and on his way to no apparent emergency, has energized a groundswell of residents intent to crack down on traffic violators in Park Hill. Over the past several years, Park Hill has experienced a rapid spike in traffic – much of it a direct result of nearby development in Stapleton and Lowry. Critics have long contended the city did not plan appropriately for the increased traffic on existing neighborhoods. More cars means more traffic. And more speeders, traffic outlaws, and plain rude drivers. Efforts to highlight the problem, and to remind people to slow down when driving through Park Hill’s residential neighborhoods, have largely been organic, via social media. Ideas from building do-it-yourself speed bumps to installing traffic lights and designating more pedestrian crosswalks have sprouted up. One group is organizing a coordinated public education campaign to urge people to “Drive Chill, Park Hill” (see sidebar, page 7). “This springs from the idea that we can’t control the actions of out-of-neighborhood drivers, but we can control our own, said Andy Keiser, who is helping to organize. “In short, our mission as I see it is to clog our neighborhood roads with safe Park Hill drivers, thereby making it inconvenient for those out-of-neighborhooders to use Montview, 23rd, 26th, etc. as thoroughfares in the first place.” The citizen-driven efforts have so far been largely focused on the southern portion of Park Hill, from 26th Avenue to Colfax, where speeders and other violators often ignore speed limits and swerve into bicycle lanes and particularly along the east-west streets.
Fairy Tales Make A Comeback
Next GPHC Meeting Thursday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. 2823 Fairfax St., Denver
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