Dropping in on Denver's Developing Diversity
From Gulch to Glitz: The 39th St. Greenway
Cars Too
In late August Becky and I flew to The Mile High City to perform a bit of grand parenting assistance. We too were assisted by a rather neato bit of infrastructure. I’m about to give you a two minute tour with a video at the end as a reward. So, grab your scooter!
Our daughter’s family lives in Denver on the northern edge of Park Hill, a section that, up until twenty years ago, would’ve been called home by middle-class laborers. These days it’s getting incrementally peppered by the upwardly mobile sector from all races, though mostly white, seems to me.
The contrasts within north Denver are noticeable to aliens like us and endemic of a rapidly changing region. It’s a strange yet alluring built environment where a sanctioned homeless village sits a few blocks away from a row of six $1.5 million town homes. In between: Light industrial tracts, some abandoned, some busy, mix with empty lots returning to prairie grasses behind chain link fences.
Within walking or easy biking distance are two wonderfully genteel coffee shops, an Asian/International super store, and a bike co-op where I was able to wrangle a beater for a $50 donation.
When I wasn’t helping in the house, driving up and down Colorado Boulevard (a daily reality for many Denverites), or thrashing around on my cheap wheels, I was tethered to four year old Lightening McQueen. And since baby V. isn’t old enough to serve as guide, the boy and I will jump on scooters and show you around.
The Greenway is Both
Just outside his door you’re drawn to a transit tributary that is literally breathing new life into the neighborhood. The first thing you’ll notice is a whimsical steel sculpture that looks like ribbon candy except for the patina.
Next you’ll see the greenery: A linear park built around a former drainage creek. On the left side of the gulch runs 39th Street. On the right side is a smooth cement pathway, perfect for scooting!
Just a few years ago the street itself would’ve been a sketchy stretch at night, flanked on the left by a massive former Army Depot. I can’t emphasize “massive” enough.
What began in 1942 as the Denver Medical Depot is now the retrofitted York Street Yards, a gravitational pull for 30 & 40somethings making bank (or at least trying to).
Skiptown, a full service bar and dog park where one can work remotely amidst the bays of canines and their attendant aromas, leases a large space. Blessedly, Elemental Bakery and Coffee is also a tenant, a fresh hang for kids like us, caregivers with babies, and Very Important-Looking People talking shop.
It’s in Thar Somewhar
You can’t see the creek easily, so engulfed as it is with native plantings and smartly placed limestone boulders that one can use for traversing the gulch.
Excuse us while we explore. OK, we’re back.
When it storms, as it did on one of the afternoons (not unusual for a city at the base of the Front Range of the Rockies), the creek is allowed to handle the deluge.
The water first enters a series of ducts capable of trapping limbs and larger pieces of trash. That detritus is dealt with properly rather than becoming floating attractions.
The native cattail grasses and small trees use their extensive root systems to drink in water, and the widening of the creek banks allows for slow drainage. All of these features mitigate flooding to the surrounding area.
Wow. It’s like nature, given the chance, knows how to deal with the “menace” of excess water!
As we continue rolling, please bear with our numerous “pit stops.” We shall have to repose at numerous gravel resting areas set with benches. At the the end of the Greenway, a delightfully rugged playground requires at least fifteen minutes of our time.
But Will it Safe?
On one of our outings we noticed a man taking shelter from drizzle in the coils of the steel sculpture. Another guy seemed to be waking up from a night under a bridge.
Homelessness is a perennial epidemic in Denver and the source of a lot of wrenching debate and engagement. The village of tiny homes on 40th Street is a small part of Denver’s multifaceted response. Headway, if any, is slow and fitful.
Part of this park’s promise, besides the ample sunshine and quality of its features, is the diversity of its users. At any given hour one can spot joggers, bicyclists, and stroller pushers. These are the kind of eyes on the street Jane Jacobs says makes a place feel and act safer.
It’ll Catch On
The beautifully functional 39th Street Greenway works with nature and doesn’t cut against her grain. As it turns out it will spur investment too. More importantly it gives a four year old a safe track for becoming Lightening McQueen.
Other successful “ways” I’ve experienced are The Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia, The High Line in Manhattan, and the two river walks in Greenville, SC and San Antonio, TX.
If you have more to share please leave a comment.
Here’s your video reward. You can ignore the audio. I shot this for my local Strong Towns Lancaster friends because, like me, they geek out over human-friendly development. Hey, we all have our hobbies!