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WEEK OF APRIL 3, 2025
VOLUME 98 | ISSUE 18
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A sports medicine strategy for her BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project is progressing eastward along the busy Denver roadway.
PHOTO BY MERYL PHAIR
BRT project makes headway on East Colfax Project seeks to bring long-term benefits to corridor but store owners feel immediate impact BY MERYL PHAIR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
At the corner of Colfax and Grant, Capitol Hill Books has offered a wide selection of used books for decades. New this year for the long-time Denver business are the nearby orange construction cones and blocked sidewalks, part of the ongoing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project that is making its way along East Colfax. The bookstore is among the first establishments to feel the impact of the roadway gutting. Owner Ben Hall said the most significant impact they have felt is a loss of foot traffic from off Colfax and the lack of parking in the area. “It’s side streets or nothing,” Hall said. “There’s no parking on Colfax for these several blocks.” As construction moves down the busy street, Hall said he is “slightly” more optimistic about business improving as construc-
tion machines and blocked-off sidewalks will disappear from directly outside the bookstore but that parking will still be an issue throughout the entirety of operations. “In theory when they finish the project, it will be much easier for pedestrians along Colfax,” Hall said. “Unfortunately, that’s in the future, and I have to pay rent.” The BRT is intended to improve the efficiency of public transportation and in the long run bring more foot traffic to area businesses, boosting the commerce of the area. When construction is completed, two side-by-side bus lanes will run down the busy roadway with a lane on either side for generalpurpose vehicles. The project broke ground in October and the first phase from Broadway to Williams Street is currently underway. Construction is projected to move down the street in five phases with
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each segment spanning about 18 months. Work will progress from Williams Street to Monroe Street, then to Niagara Street, Yosemite Street and the light rail R-Line Station at I-225. Budgeted at $280 million, the BRT is slated to reach completion by 2027. Work is currently occurring within the first two segments from Broadway to Garfield Street and is reported to be moving smoothly with no delays. The ongoing construction covers a host of upgrades such as improvements to side streets and sidewalks, storm drainage, ADA-compliant ramps, waterline improvements, traffic signal foundations and station construction is progressing at several sites. “As spring approaches, work will largely resemble current activities, though a few new BRT stations will become more visibly prominent,” said Nancy Kuhn, a spokesperson for the
Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. Kuhn also noted that as work on the BRT progresses on the south side of the street, utility relocation work is being done simultaneously on the north side by several third parties including Xcel Energy to relocate necessary infrastructure for future work assisted with the BRT. Chris Nicholson, RTD Director for District A where construction is underway, stressed the long-term benefits of the project such as increases to property values along the corridor, improving the business environment and making the neighborhood more enticing to residents and pedestrians. “This is a huge infrastructure project, and people are going to feel it,” said Nicholson. “It’s worth keeping in mind what we will get out of this when these three years are over.” SEE BRT PROJECT, P4
Three years ago, Nevaeh Zamora was running cross country as a high school freshman at Pinnacle Charter School in Thornton when her body gave out. Malnourished and overtrained, she tore her hip flexor, an injury that sidelined her and forced her to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about fueling her body. “I went to eating only one meal a day because I thought, ‘Oh, the smaller runners are the fittest and the fastest, and that’s going to get me to that next point.’ And it ended up just running me to injury,” Zamora said. That injury ultimately led her to the Female Athlete Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where she worked with sports medicine specialists, a nutritionist and a physical therapist to heal physically and mentally. “Without the Female Athlete Clinic, I would not be where I am today,” Zamora said. “They definitely took the naarrative that food was bad and shifted that completely. Without them, I don’t think I’d be graduating this year.” Now, the Sports Medicine Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado is home to a first-ofits-kind resource for young female athletes. Launched last fall, the Female Athlete Program SEE STRATEGY, P7
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