Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Is it really true that the Frontage Road will be closed to all traffic?

Answer: No! It will only be closed at Colorado to south-bound traffic headed to Denver and CU. Southbound traffic can continue straight through the intersection toward Baseline or can turn left onto Colorado headed east.

Some people got this misimpression from the headline of the Neighborhood Alert flyer, even though the headline is clarified in the very first sentence. Apologies to those who were misled.

Question: What alternate routes can I take if I want to go to Denver?

Answer: There are many alternate routes. See the Denver section of the Alternate Routes page. Also see the trip time comparison chart.

Question: What alternate routes can I take if I want to go to CU?

Answer: There are a few alternate routes. See the CU section of the Alternate Routes page.

Question: Why is the city doing this?

Answer: The City has a Transportation Master Plan (TMP) which discourages use of the automibile and encourages "alternate modes of transportation" which include bicycles, buses, and feet. Additionally, the City Council has approved a Multi-modal Corridor Prioritization Study which basically establishes reduced budget priorities for roadways.

Based on concepts approved by the Transportation Advisory Board, Planning Board, and City Council, the city staff set about to satisfy the following concerns (listed in an email from Bob Whitson to the City Council):
1. Implement new regional transit service, northbound on the frontage road
2. Build continuous detached sidewalks on the east side of the frontage road
3. Build on-street bike lanes, north and southbound on the frontage road
4. Implement new local transit service, east and westbound on Colorado
5. Build improvements to the intersection to improve roadway safety for autos
It may be that city staff has confused reduced budget priorities for roadways with roadway degradation, as is the plan for 28th and Colorado as it affects our neighborhood.

Also see the City's web page about 28th Street and the city's Citizen's Corner web page.

Question: Why put a bus on the frontage road? What bus?

Answer: To service new regional transit stops at College (and the pedestrian underpass) and at Boulder Creek. It is not clear why these transit stops are needed at this location.

The routes are the F, H, S, and T from Denver. These are under-utilized and low-frequency routes. To view the schedule for any route, go to the Regional Transportation District Home Page, enter the route name in the Route schedule quick finder, and click GO!. To view the route map for any route, click the route name: F, H, S, T.

Currently the F, H, and T travel on Foothills Highway between South Boulder Road and Pearl Street. The city and RTD want to move these buses to a road where they can make stops, namely, the 28th Street Frontage Road. However, the S currently runs down 30th Street for this segment and that would seem to be an alternative to the Frontage Road.

Question: Has the city ever counted cars making right turns off the 28th Street Frontage Road onto Colorado or the S-turn toward Denver?

Answer: No. The city has counted cars at the intersection of 28th and Colorado, but has not counted cars turning onto Colorado from the Frontage Road.

Question: Has the city simulated the proposed configuration?

Answer: No. The city has determined the proposed configuration by engineering methods, but has never simulated the resulting traffic flows. The proposal is complicated and untested.