A man rides his bike through an underpass in the River North Art District where Blake Street and train tracks cross over 38th Street in Denver on April 30, 2024. The underpass floods during heavy rains in Denver. Armando Payan has watched northern Denver change over several decades as thousands of residents have moved to Globeville and other neighborhoods near downtown, bringing more traffic with them.
Between 2012 and 2022, census estimates show, the population in a zone that’s seen most of the area’s redevelopment — between Coors Field and 38th Street — grew by 91%. Neighborhood representatives who have sounded the alarm on its problematic conditions are pressing the city government to prioritize fixing the various safety hazards. The issue is catching the attention of elected officials.
After crossing through that busy intersection, a yellow sign orders drivers in the right lane to quickly merge left ahead of the underpass. Underneath the train tracks, the pavement is bumpy. On the other side of the underpass stand new hotels and apartment buildings that dot Walnut Street. Watson said he would have supported requiring nearby developers to invest in improvements to the underpass, but “that was not done.”
A man rides his bike through an underpass in RiNo where Blake Street and train tracks cross over 38th Street in Denver on April 30, 2024. When it comes to flooding, DOTI officials are aware of the challenges caused by the low spot underneath the underpass. Over the last 15 years, the city installed a new stormwater management system nearby that helps prevent flooding in the broader area. But “there remains a need to upsize the local system” affecting the underpass, Kuhn said. “Right now, this system is not planned and has no funding, but, should a major reconstruction occur in the area for some reason, we would reevaluate priorities.”