Is traffic really that bad in Denver? (Colorado Springs, Fort Collins: transplants, house)

[SQL]

I think it's gotten more congested due to lack of adequate infrastructure. The problem is there aren't enough highways/avenues (don't confuse with expressways). In the older Midwest, where I'm from, the metro areas were designed with the automobile and larger populations in mind, because that's where a lot of manufacturing jobs were during the early and mid-20th century. There are highways and avenues that serve as major arteries throughout the metros, which make for relatively quicker commute times overall. There's not much of that in Denver Metro, especially on the east side of town.

That said, I don't think traffic is quite as horrendous as some of the more populated coastal cities (but then again, should it be?). It is quite a nuisance, however, that it takes such a relatively long time to travel short distances across town due to the counter-intuitive roadway designs. I don't think Denver really prepared itself to be a big city. And then when the dam broke in the past 10 years or so, this is the end result. On the upside, they are investing in expanding and making some of the more congested interchanges more adequate (6th & I-25, Santa Fe & Alameda). And RTD is expanding bus lines and light rail.

[randomparent]

I think it's hilarious that so many wannabe denizens underestimate the importance of living where you work. We try to tell them....

[SQL]

Originally Posted by randomparent

I think it's hilarious that so many wannabe denizens underestimate the importance of living where you work. We try to tell them....

COL sorta has an impact on that. Where I work (near downtown) is one of the highest cost of living neighborhoods in Denver. As much as I'd love to buy one of the few four-story, $1MM+ town homes down the street so I can simply walk to work, I can't.

Lots of young professionals are forced to move further away from work so they can afford housing. There's also examples like my GF, who don't want to work close to where she teaches so she doesn't run into all her students while she's out on the town or shopping.

Of course, we've been trying to tell you this as well, but it quite often falls on deaf ears (or blind eyes, I suppose).

[emm74]

Originally Posted by SQL

COL sorta has an impact on that. Where I work (near downtown) is one of the highest cost of living neighborhoods in Denver. As much as I'd love to buy one of the few four-story, $1MM+ town homes down the street so I can simply walk to work, I can't.

Lots of young professionals are forced to move further away from work so they can afford housing. There's also examples like my GF, who don't want to work close to where she teaches so she doesn't run into all her students while she's out on the town or shopping.

Of course, we've been trying to tell you this as well, but it quite often falls on deaf ears (or blind eyes, I suppose).

Hyperbole much?

No one goes around telling people they need to buy a million dollar townhouse downtown so they can walk to work. What people do say is something like if you work in the Tech Center, you probably don't want to live in say, Thornton, or any other set of locations that makes no sense for a daily commute.

And your GF's story, while valid, has nothing to do with the cost of living. Even if she could afford to spend anything she wanted on housing, it's reasonable she would want to live in a different neighborhood than her students and their families.

[guyatwork37]

Originally Posted by emm74

Hyperbole much?

I disagree. That story is literally Hitler.

[Hschlick84]

Originally Posted by SQL

I think it's gotten more congested due to lack of adequate infrastructure. The problem is there aren't enough highways/avenues (don't confuse with expressways). In the older Midwest, where I'm from, the metro areas were designed with the automobile and larger populations in mind, because that's where a lot of manufacturing jobs were during the early and mid-20th century. There are highways and avenues that serve as major arteries throughout the metros, which make for relatively quicker commute times overall. There's not much of that in Denver Metro, especially on the east side of town.

That said, I don't think traffic is quite as horrendous as some of the more populated coastal cities (but then again, should it be?). It is quite a nuisance, however, that it takes such a relatively long time to travel short distances across town due to the counter-intuitive roadway designs. I don't think Denver really prepared itself to be a big city. And then when the dam broke in the past 10 years or so, this is the end result. On the upside, they are investing in expanding and making some of the more congested interchanges more adequate (6th & I-25, Santa Fe & Alameda). And RTD is expanding bus lines and light rail.

Since I moved to Arizona last June, I've noticed there's more people in the Phoenix metro than Denver. However, their infrastructure and interstates seems to keep up with the population growth much better than Denver. If you want 'real' freeways, drive on Superstition freeway through Mesa and Gilbert. That's how wide C-470 should be in order to accommodate the traffic around the south Denver suburbs.

They're also spending money on their light rail system so the metropolitan area doesn't become like LA either.



vs

[guyatwork37]

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

Since I moved to Arizona last June, I've noticed there's more people in the Phoenix metro than Denver. However, their infrastructure and interstates seems to keep up with the population growth much better than Denver. If you want 'real' freeways, drive on Superstition freeway through Mesa and Gilbert. That's how wide C-470 should be in order to accommodate the traffic around the south Denver suburbs.

They're also spending money on their light rail system so the metropolitan area doesn't become like LA either.



vs

I agree, that fact that c470 isn't at least 3 lanes on each side is ridiculous, especially since the land is available to do so. It honestly should be four a side. And the lanes they are putting in being a toll road seems a slap in the face.

[2bindenver]

C470 open on a wintery weekend in April of 1989. My first weekend here as a new resident. The ol' Rocky Mountain News called it the "ghost highway" on Sunday, but on Monday a retraction was warranted.

[mettler]

I don't know if all the bridges c470 goes under can/could handle an expansion of two more lanes. At the same time, if people are driving slow in the left lane an additional lane might not make much of a difference. Whose idea was it not to make the beltway a complete circle? It looks like a mangled pac-man. My vote goes for a better metro. The metro here is ridiculously bad. When I have to drive downtown the thought of taking the metro doesn't even enter my brain, which is not how it should be. When living in DC if I had to go downtown the thought of driving never entered my brain.

Denver is waiting too long. I witnessed Charlotte go through this when the population there exploded, but Charlotte pulled the "imminent domain" card out when building their beltway. Of course that didn't sit well with everyone, but their beltway is nice and many lanes. And, it is a circle.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by mettler

I don't know if all the bridges c470 goes under can/could handle an expansion of two more lanes. At the same time, if people are driving slow in the left lane an additional lane might not make much of a difference. Whose idea was it not to make the beltway a complete circle? It looks like a mangled pac-man. My vote goes for a better metro. The metro here is ridiculously bad. When I have to drive downtown the thought of taking the metro doesn't even enter my brain, which is not how it should be. When living in DC if I had to go downtown the thought of driving never entered my brain.

Denver is waiting too long. I witnessed Charlotte go through this when the population there exploded, but Charlotte pulled the "imminent domain" card out when building their beltway. Of course that didn't sit well with everyone, but their beltway is nice and many lanes. And, it is a circle.

Golden