Longest Street in Denver (Aurora, Broomfield: live, zoned, transportation)

[chilicheesefries]

I remember reading somewhere the explanation, but I was hoping somebody could explain this. Colfax is almost universally referred to as the longest continous street in Denver. When I look at the map, I see that Wadsworth looks to be longer. I'm guessing the criteria is that the street name stays the same. Therefore:

Wadsworth officially starts as Wadsworth a few miles south of C-470. It stays as Wadsworth (Blvd., Pkwy, etc) up until it hits Hwy. 36 in Broomfield. This by my measurements is about 30 miles.

Colfax starts as Colfax at I-70 West near Heritage Square in Golden. It continues until it hits I-70 eastside of Aurora. This is about 23 miles. The frontage road along I-70 east of there appears to be called Colfax, but it seems to be pushing it to call this a continuation of Colfax?

Just curious what the explanation of this was.

[adapterdesign]

Colfax Avenue

[livecontent]

It is very simple, Colfax Ave. is continuous and is called Colfax Ave., from Golden just past Strasburg.

Wadsworth is not continuous in any name and has numerous breaks, in Wadsworth Pkwy. Wadsworth Blvd., Wadsworth ByPass, Olde Wadsworth Blvd., S. Wadsworth Way. Just following it closely on the map and you will see breaks in Wadsworth, from one name to the other. The different names make it a different street. For example: Coors Court, Coors Way, Coors Street, Coors Avenue are not the same street---you will learn that when you get lost in a development.

Follow Colfax Ave., You will see no breaks, no separate names; it is all Colfax Ave. The "Frontage Road" is still a street called Colfax Ave. Keep in mind that Colfax Ave. existed well before I-70 and served these communities to the east. Just because you deem it as a frontage road--it is not called that, and was not designed for that purpose--it existed first. So, when you strip away all the latter growth and progress, you will see a very long street--Colfax Ave.

Livecontent

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by livecontent

It is very simple, Colfax Ave. is continuous and is called Colfax Ave., from Golden just past Strasburg.

Wadsworth is not continuous in any name and has numerous breaks, in Wadsworth Pkwy. Wadsworth Blvd., Wadsworth ByPass, Olde Wadsworth Blvd., S. Wadsworth Way. Just following it closely on the map and you will see breaks in Wadsworth, from one name to the other. The different names make it a different street. For example: Coors Court, Coors Way, Coors Street, Coors Avenue are not the same street---you will learn that when you get lost in a development.

Follow Colfax Ave., You will see no breaks, no separate names; it is all Colfax Ave. The "Frontage Road" is still a street called Colfax Ave. Keep in mind that Colfax Ave. existed well before I-70 and served these communities to the east. Just because you deem it as a frontage road--it is not called that, and was not designed for that purpose--it existed first. So, when you strip away all the latter growth and progress, you will see a very long street--Colfax Ave.

Livecontent

I do see the technicalities of Wadsworth being different 'technical' street names and I believe that is the explanation I was looking for. It becomes more clear when you get up north and you see Wadsworth Blvd. is not the main Wadsworth, it is Wadsworth Bypass or Wadsworth Pkwy.

I will have to say that I might not include the 'Frontage Road' along I-70 to be part of the continous Colfax, not because of the name, but because if you stay on Colfax Ave. you end up on I-70 and you have to turn off to stay on Colfax Ave. I've seen the frontage road on this stretch labeled Colfax Rd., Picadilly Rd and Colfax Ave. by different maps I looked at. Anyways, technically it may not be continuous here depending on definition. Anyways, it's still longer than the fragmented Wadsworth.

[chilicheesefries]

Also, Colfax being the longest in the country is false.

See this great site on Colorado Highways where he lists a couple that are longer.
Colo Hwys: Hwy Trivia

[chilaili]

Nobody said it was the longest in the country

[chilicheesefries]

The city of Denver does on their website on the link Adapterdesign posted

[livecontent]

It is just marketing and hype. Denver claims they invented the cheeseburger. But, who really cares. Many cities make the same claim. You go across the country and you hear this and that, the biggest and the greatest, the first, the only---it is all harmless fun.

Even the churches get into this:

The First Church of Something or Some Belief. Perhaps they should practice what they preach, a little humility. Maybe they are not talking about which is First to be established, but the First to get you there. In that case I will take The Last Church of Salvation--so I can be a sinner on earth, longer.

Then we have the banks: how many first banks or 1st. Banks How come there are no 2nd. Bank, or third.

No one wants to say that they bank at the 4th Bank of Commerce, and worship at The Sixth Church of the Divine.

Well, at least banks and churches have something in common---they take your money and promise you a dubious return.

Livecontent

[robertzimmerman]

Originally Posted by chilicheesefries

The city of Denver does on their website on the link Adapterdesign posted

I always thought that Sepulveda Blvd in LA was the longest street.

Sepulveda Boulevard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[DenverAztec]

Colfax isn't the longest street, it is the longest 'commercial' street. Basically meaning that is all business and not residential. Other streets in Denver or Denver Metro are longer but they are not completely business zoned.

http://www.colfaxavenue.com/

One website identified Colfax Avenue as the longest commercial street in the United States. According to www.wikipedia.org, West Colfax Avenue began as a trail during the Colorado Gold Rush, being a well-traveled route to the mountains’ gold fields. The existence of West Colfax Avenue has been confirmed as far back as the spring of 1859 when it became a major thoroughfare for goods, people and transportation service to and from the Colorado Mountains.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colfax_Avenue

http://www.spaceanalytics.com/projects.html