On opening day of the new Colfax, one rider stood at a curbside bus stop that no longer existed. Near Downing, a driver turned left out of the new bus lane, and the cars around them had to swerve to avoid a crash. The Denver Gazette reported both moments on Sunday, Sept. 27, the day the center lanes between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard became bus-only.
It has been about a month, and both mistakes come from the same change. Colfax through Capitol Hill now carries less car traffic than it did before construction began, and it has much more room for people walking and riding the bus. For a neighborhood where many Colfax trips start on foot from a side street, the new layout tends to work in the resident's favor. Once you see how it's put together, it's also much easier to use.
One Lane Each Way, and a Median Between Them
The biggest change is the one you see first. Denver7 reported that general traffic dropped from two lanes to one in each direction, and the two center lanes are reserved for RTD buses. A curb median now separates eastbound and westbound traffic, according to the City of Denver's project page.
Jonathan Stewart, the project director, told Denver7 that the layout helps buses move faster and "makes turning right on Colfax a lot easier, so you don't have to cross over the bus lane." Right turns got simpler. Left turns got much harder, and that's where most of the daily adjustment happens.
| Then | Now, Broadway to Colorado |
|---|---|
| Two general traffic lanes each way | One general traffic lane each way |
| Buses pulled to curbside stops | Buses run in center lanes and stop at raised center platforms |
| Left turns at most cross streets | Left turns only on a green arrow at marked turn lanes |
| Bikes and scooters shared the curb lane | Bikes and scooters are not allowed in the bus lanes or on sidewalks |
Left Turns Now Happen Only at the Arrows
The Downing near miss on opening day came from a habit the street no longer allows. Under the city's rules, drivers may turn left only on a green arrow at intersections that have a left-turn lane. Denverite's guide to the new street adds that U-turns are allowed at those same protected intersections when it's safe. The new medians also block left turns from many of the side streets that cross Colfax.
For a Capitol Hill driver, the old move of swinging left onto your own street now often means going to the next arrow, making a U-turn, or coming in from a parallel street. The city has published a left-turn map and table on its project page, and checking it once before your regular trips is worth the time.
According to Denverite, officers are issuing fines for using the bus-only lanes:
- Drivers: $135 for driving in the bus-only lanes
- People on bikes or scooters: $65 for riding in them
The city also says pedestrians should cross Colfax only at designated crosswalks when the walk signal is on. These are summaries of reported rules and amounts, offered as general information and not legal advice. The city's project page is the place to confirm current details.
Fewer Stops, Placed in Pairs
The rider waiting at the old curb stop ran into the second change. The sidewalk stops where people used to board the 15 and 15L are gone, and Denverite reports that the new stations come in pairs, one platform for each direction. In and around Capitol Hill, RTD's Route 15 schedule lists stops at Colfax–Broadway, Colfax–Downing Station and Colfax–Josephine Station.
The Ogden Street stop is one that went away. A week before the opening, a Denverite photo showed an RTD notice posted there announcing it would disappear. The same article says RTD dropped several stops so the routes would run faster, even though fewer stops means a longer walk for some riders.
Riders get a few things in return. The raised platforms let you step straight onto the bus without climbing stairs, and the stations have benches, windscreens, security cameras, emergency phones and artwork on the overhead shades. Bikes, skateboards, scooters and pedicabs aren't allowed on the platforms. Riders board through the front door on the right side of the bus, and bike storage is inside near the rear door. RTD says buses will eventually arrive every 4.3 minutes. Ticket machines, multi-door boarding and schedule displays come later, when full service begins.
About 180 Parking Spaces Along the Whole Corridor
For drivers, parking is the hardest adjustment. The city told Denver7 that some street parking was removed and about 180 spaces remain between Broadway and Colorado. Stewart said all of them are free two-hour spaces. That total covers roughly two miles of Colfax, the length Denverite gives for this first segment. Free parking won't last indefinitely. Denverite's rider guide says payment will be required when BRT fully launches, which it puts in 2028, and it notes there is also free parking on the side streets.
Business owners have been direct about why this matters to them. "If you can't park, you have no access," Mark Richardson, co-owner of Denver Juke Joint, told Denver7. Stewart answered with the other side of the design. He pointed to cleaner sidewalks, 200 new trees and better visibility, and said that when a space is open, "you can park right on Colfax and still get to that business if you're in a hurry."
With so little parking on Colfax itself, the people the street serves most easily are the ones who arrive on foot from a few blocks away. In Capitol Hill, that describes a lot of the people who use it.
The Capitol Hill Stretch, Block by Block
Westword described crossing back into this section after the construction that continues farther east this way: "The road is smooth and freshly painted. Sidewalks are open, and in some stretches full of pedestrians doing the simple act of … pedestrianing." Here's that walk heading east from Broadway, using businesses that were open through the construction or opened during it.
- Nob Hill Inn, 420 E. Colfax Ave. The longtime bar warned it might close at the end of September unless it could pay for repairs. The Denver Post reported on Sept. 10 that its fundraiser had reached the goal that would let it stay open.
- Champagne Tiger, 601 E. Colfax Ave. Westword reported that its Sunday drag brunch kept it going through construction. Owner Chris Donato told Westword the new street "looks clean and modern," with more light and more trees than before, and that the stations "integrated local artists into the design."
- Good Bones Coffee, 1201 E. Colfax Ave. Owner Carson Allen opened during construction. He told Denverite, "it's risky opening a business when most of the roads are shut down. The community really rallied behind us."
- Sadboy Creamery, 1201 E. Colfax Ave., Ste. 101. The ice cream shop shares the Good Bones address and held its grand opening on Sept. 19, according to Westword, a week before the bus lanes opened.
- Lifetime Tattoo, 1510 E. Colfax Ave. Manager Zac Otto told Denverite that walk-ins are "a big part" of the shop's business. He said revenue fell 46% during construction, and he hopes the reopening brings people back to the street.
- Squire Lounge, 1800 E. Colfax Ave. Just past Downing, the bar's own calendar lists events for October 2026.
- Pete's Kitchen, 1962 E. Colfax Ave. General manager Alex Barakos told Westword that "relief is the big word" now that the work is done.
Of everything on that list, Lifetime Tattoo's 46% figure shows most clearly what the new Colfax has to deliver. A shop that depends on walk-ins needs people on the sidewalk, and wide, open sidewalks with a bus platform every few blocks are what the new design provides.
A Month In, the Owners Are Still Waiting to See
The owners Westword spoke with didn't call it a recovery yet. Bo Porytko of Molotov Kitschen + Cocktails, farther east at 3333 E. Colfax, said traffic "is actually still pretty bad," and that "it's going to take a decent amount of time for people to start coming back to Colfax." Steven Waters of FiNO, at 3015 E. Colfax, said he hadn't yet seen a large rush of customers. Barakos asked for the simplest kind of help: "get their butts out on Colfax and spend some money and support all these places."
Construction keeps moving east of Colorado Boulevard toward I-225, which means the Capitol Hill section is the finished part of the street for now. The 15 and 15L stop at Downing and Josephine, the sidewalks are open, and the free two-hour spaces are there for anyone who drives in.
If the new Colfax has you thinking about which nearby blocks fit the way you get around, the team at Mile High Lifestyles knows this corridor well and is glad to walk it with you. Start Your Property Search whenever you're ready.
