I'm looking for opinions of the city of Sheridan and Englewood

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

Livecontent, I just saw the statement that you made in March following my post. You assumed that my comment on the quality of schools in Sheridan was based on "viewing" the area and that because it is old that the schools are not good. That is not a correct assumption. I have worked in Sheridan for many years and am familiar with the government, the school system, the demographics, etc. I also know a lot of people who live there and have experienced the schools firsthand.

It's very easy for anyone to check CSAP scores to find school's performance. Another factor is to look at the number of students on the free lunch program.

I have reread my post. I did not mean to offend; it was just a general observation about viewing areas. However, as a former New Yawker, I tend to run off with my mouth, and never stop talking or writing; and I lose the sense of what I am saying. I really do not remember what was in my mind, at that time. I do apologize if I made you feel bad. Your knowledge of Sheridan is obviously better than mine.

Livecontent

[D-town 720]

I like these two city burbs. Lots of trees. The area around fort logan has lots of trees and older looking hoods. Thats all I know from my bus ride through there to work.

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by livecontent

Oh, really??? I would love to see some statistics to back up your statement.

Thanks,

Livecontent

The crime stats from city-data.com show that Englewood has a very high crime index and Sheridan too, both higher than I could find for other cities in the metro area. That being said, it's almost all property crime, not violent crime. The fire department and police departments are quite busy for cities of their sizes and maybe on a per capita basis are busier than Denver and Aurora, but not in raw numbers. The busiest Denver fire truck runs about 2.5x as many calls as the busiest Englewood fire truck.

However, Littleton and especially Centennial are much safer than Englewood and Sheridan. Property crime is still a crime and it costs money and time and lowers the desireability of an area.

Sheridan really has nothing to draw people into it to live. You can shop at the stores in Sheridan and still live elsewhere. Residential areas aren't kept up very well and being so small there's not really any part of Sheridan that would be considered desireable to live by most people. Sheridan schools aren't very good either. They are small so they don't have the opportunity for programs that other area schools have. Also, athletic competition is in a lower division, so competition isn't as local. Sheridan is in the Arapahoe Library district so even though the library itself is very small, patrons have access to a vast variety of books, movies, CDs, etc to be delivered to the library via Prospector.

Englewood is bigger but within city limits still doesn't have any areas that could really be called affluent. It does have a better sense of civic pride than other cities in the metro area. Englewood High School is still fairly small by metro Denver standards, so see above. Englewood has an independent library, so while it's nice, it has limited collection access. Materials can still be requested by Interlibrary Loan, but that's much more limited and slower than Prospector (which brings together Denver, Aurora, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, CU, CSU, etc) collections for automatic delivery to home library. Englewood is not a member at this time of Prospector.

This board seems to be heavily tilted toward 'car-free' living. So living near a light rail station is nice for either of these areas. However with my travel being mainly east-west and not north-south, light rail isn't important to me. For people who don't have a need to go downtown, Englewood/Sheridan don't really have anything to offer that other areas around town don't have as well, except affordability and that's mainly due to smaller houses rather than better $/sf.

[livecontent]

chilicheesefries,

Thank you for that extensive post. Yes, I was already aware that Sheridan and Englewood have more issues with property crime than Centennial. Yes, Centennial is a nicer place to live, for most people and especially if you have children. However, for a senior citizen, who does not drive, Englewood, would serve nicely, because of the basic shopping close by, Walmart and King Soopers. Also there is that new development near the Sheridan Station that will have a Target. The public transportation options are good with the rail and especially the Broadway Bus. There is also a free shuttle from west to east in Englewood. Most importantly, for me, there is Swedish Hospital and the clinics.

It is interesting to note that there are many senior living apartments, near the hospital. That would make sense and give seniors and good little compact community, with most services, to live.

Yes, the initial build out of the rail does not have good options for east and west travel. You will see that many of the new rail, under fastracks, is east to west mainly in the north. However, we need to connect the southwest and southeast corridor with a cross line in the south. I suspect that will happen many years in the future.

Livecontent

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by livecontent

Thank you for that extensive post. Yes, I was already aware that Sheridan and Englewood have more issues with property crime than Centennial.

I only referred to Littleton and Centennial because the drive-by poster had mentioned them as safer, not because I live there (and you had asked for citation of him saying they had higher crime than Denver and Aurora). In fact, the stats on city-data suggest Englewood and Sheridan have higher crime than most any other city in the Denver area, including Lakewood, Westminster, Thornton, Aurora, Denver, etc. Not something I would want if I had a car to park on the street or rode a bike and chained it up. I meant no offense and will gladly concede that your home of Arvada constantly battles for the title of safest large city in Colorado.

Originally Posted by livecontent

Yes, Centennial is a nicer place to live, for most people and especially if you have children. However, for a senior citizen, who does not drive, Englewood, would serve nicely, because of the basic shopping close by, Walmart and King Soopers.

I will be the first to admit Centennial is a horrible place for seniors. Note that there is a large difference between eastern Centennial, which is most often talked about in the forums and western Centennial, which is older residential, much like Englewood and Littleton. Either is not great for seniors. Littleton, however has a thriving senior community. I've known multiple seniors who live in one of the city affiliated senior living centers. The city operators the Omnibus and Shopping Cart services to help seniors make appointments, shopping etc. It's not as close to Swedish or the clinics, however, so there is a tradeoff.

Originally Posted by livecontent

Also there is that new development near the Sheridan Station that will have a Target. The public transportation options are good with the rail and especially the Broadway Bus. There is also a free shuttle from west to east in Englewood. Most importantly, for me, there is Swedish Hospital and the clinics.

It is interesting to note that there are many senior living apartments, near the hospital. That would make sense and give seniors and good little compact community, with most services, to live.

I'm not familar with the Sheridan Station (I'm assuming you mean light rail, if so it's not built yet)? I love the Costco there (it's the Riverpointe complex). It's a lot cleaner and less busy than the one at Park Meadows although tax is quite higher. The Super Target there is nice too, although because of the tax + PIF, if I'm getting a lot, I'll go to other area ones, which are closer to me. However, I will say that the parking lots here are not pedestrian friendly at all! We were at Target and didn't want to put the twins back into their car seats, so I was walking with them in their stroller while my wife drove to Costco. There is no sidewalk along the main path between SuperTarget and Costco, so you have to walk almost to the street and across and even then it doesn't flow so well across the entries from the street to the parking lot. Needless to say after almost getting hit by some idiot, I got into the car and rode to Costco. However, Costco isn't probably a great hit with people who are walking or taking public transportation because of the size of the items that they sell.

Originally Posted by livecontent

Yes, the initial build out of the rail does not have good options for east and west travel. You will see that many of the new rail, under fastracks, is east to west mainly in the north. However, we need to connect the southwest and southeast corridor with a cross line in the south. I suspect that will happen many years in the future.

I'll be the first to admit I rarely go downtown, but when I do it's usually easier for me to drive unless it's for a Rockies game or Elitches or something like that. However, it's interesting that the dividing line for traveling from downtown south is 2 zones to Hampden Station and past that is 3 zones with fare almost doubling. When I take light rail, I almost always drive up to Hampden and go, saving $3/person round trip assuming no discounts. The only light rail line that would make sense for me would go East-West somewhere between Hampden and C-470. This will be unpopular, but I believe there is a real (albeit small) chance that Fastracks will not be built out as originally planned as the numbers don't add up and if it came to a vote again anything could happen. That would place a greater premium on the existing lines/stations and leave a lot of people disappointed who were further down the schedule.

[yodi]

Originally Posted by chilicheesefries

For people who don't have a need to go downtown, Englewood/Sheridan don't really have anything to offer that other areas around town don't have as well, except affordability and that's mainly due to smaller houses rather than better $/sf.

I can't speak for Sheridan but will speak for Englewood. Even without the benefit of light rail it's really nice to be able to walk to the local library, farmer's market, grocery stores, restaurants, doctor's appointments and live music venues in Englewood. It's hard to find walkable neighborhoods in Denver metro that are so affordable. It's not perfect but it's an excellent option for people who enjoy older homes with character, neighborhoods with mature tress and walkable areas but can't afford or don't want to pay a lot of money for their home.

[DOUBLE H]

I lived in the Englewood/Littleton area for nearly 30 years before moving to the western slope. When Cinderella City was dying, that area had problems to say the least. I like what they have done to revitalize the area, Englewood has done a real good job on it.

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by yodi

I can't speak for Sheridan but will speak for Englewood. Even without the benefit of light rail it's really nice to be able to walk to the local library, farmer's market, grocery stores, restaurants, doctor's appointments and live music venues in Englewood. It's hard to find walkable neighborhoods in Denver metro that are so affordable. It's not perfect but it's an excellent option for people who enjoy older homes with character, neighborhoods with mature tress and walkable areas but can't afford or don't want to pay a lot of money for their home.

I agree with your statement and upon rereading my statement apologize for dismissing so readily Englewood.

Walkability is harder to find. For me it's not an issue because of the family, my walking ability is very limited. I can walk within 1 mile to King Soopers, Albertsons, Safeway, Whole Foods, restaurants, etc. I can drive within 10 minutes to everything else (Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, Doctor, Hospital etc. etc.). Local library is within 1/4 mile once the new location opens. That I will walk to. Don't walk to grocery strore because can't push double stroller and carry 10 bags of groceries. Streets At Southglenn will do for Centennial walkability what has been done by similar types of developments around the area. I again want to emphasis Centennial is a strange city geographically and western Centennial has quite a lot in common with Englewood and Littleton with mature trees, etc (more expensive though than Englewood speaking to your point about affordability).