REAL ESTATE
Downtown Denver’s revival requires more than bringing workers back, new report says
The report, “The Next Era of Downtown Denver: Reinventing Downtown for the Way We Live Now,” by Richard Florida, a city planning expert and distinguished university professor at Vanderbilt University, argues that building on the activity already drawing people downtown could help Denver become a “national model” for the future of American downtowns. Downtown activity has largely rebounded from pandemic lows, the report found. Foot traffic has recovered to more than 90% of pre-pandemic levels, visitor and resident activity is at or above those levels, and more people live downtown than before the pandemic. “I spend time in downtowns everywhere. I think it’s one of the best downtowns I’ve seen, and I actually think it’s one of the more active,” Florida said.
https://www.denverpost.com/2026/10/16/downtown-denver-revival-developments-housing/
https://3bdb7a96-9ac1-49c3-addc-8585a16c36f7.usrfiles.com/ugd/ff2361_7c29d6cad9db45429486c5c506a35de6.pdf
Experts: Empty downtown real estate is the key to making Denver an iconic American city
“Denver is actually in a moment right now where we’re in a really awesome place relative to the rest of the country, that’s sort of stuck. The values haven’t dropped low enough to be able to do anything with these old buildings, but they know they need to,” said Asher Luzzatto, who plans to convert three office towers in downtown Denver his company acquired into 1,000 apartments and other uses. “We’re in a place where we can do anything, basically,” Luzzatto said. “When you’re buying buildings at $5 a [square] foot, there’s a lot that you can do. … The value proposition right now is you can make a lot of mistakes and still do really well, and I think that’s a good place to be.”
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2026/10/16/denver-downtown-reality-check-panel-florida.html
Denver’s Downtown Development Authority
Really interesting movement in upper downtown Denver: the first DDA loan for an office-to-residential conversion just got City Council approval, with The University Building (910 16th St.) leading the charge! The Denver Downtown Development Authority has committed about $92M to finance conversions at three buildings: the University Building, High Fidelity Plaza, and the Petroleum Building. Another $17M had been committed to convert The Symes Building at 820 16th St., but (per my last post) it was rescinded after the building sold at a foreclosure auction. The new owner there is betting on extreme low rates ($5 NNN!!) to bring tenants back. These buildings sit just blocks apart along the 16th St. Mall, and represent very different bets on downtown’s future!
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gregory-paugh-_denvercre-commercialrealestate-tenantrep-share-7513322568666472450-VyC4/
Denver’s new draft plan for Broncos’ Burnham Yard stadium site prioritizes affordable housing, honoring history
The document describes values and goals for the project, including affordable housing, honoring the local history, restoring the surrounding environment, expanding economic opportunities for residents and businesses, and creating a transportation network into and through the former rail yard. The Burnham Yard Small Area Plan’s release is a key milestone as the team seeks approvals for the stadium project.
https://www.dailycamera.com/2026/10/14/denver-draft-plan-broncos-burnham-yard/
Aurora mayor changes tune on community college with Lowry parcel in play
Earlier this month, the Colorado Community College System put out a request for proposals for the redevelopment of its 145-acre campus in Lowry, which straddles the border of Denver and Aurora. The Community College of Aurora and Community College of Denver both have classes onsite. Roughly 80% of the 18-building campus is in Aurora, which has been the source of much heartburn for the mayor.
https://businessden.com/aurora-mayor-changes-tune-on-community-college-with-lowry-parcel-in-play/
Six more MLSs sue Compass, seeking to beat antitrust claims
Six local multiple listing services across Arizona, California, Colorado, and North Carolina filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to rule that their listing marketing policies do not violate antitrust laws. The legal action follows Compass’s recent lawsuit against the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS) over rules that penalize agents for publicly marketing certain listings outside the MLS. The core dispute centers on a clash between listing services aiming to protect market transparency and prevent freeriding, and Compass pushing for greater marketing flexibility and consumer choice.
https://therealdeal.com/national/2026/10/22/compass-sued-by-six-more-multiple-listing-services/
Rising rates derail CBRE’s real estate deal momentum
The rising cap rates are causing some deals already under contract to be repriced, while other transactions are no longer proceeding and some expected property sales are turning into refinancing deals rather than trades. CBRE executives also noted capital markets activity slowed in September and expect that weakness to extend into next year. “Our view is that part of what’s going on here isn’t just the interest rate situation, and what interest rates are, but what the uncertainty” around interest rates is, CBRE Chair and CEO Bob Sulentic said during the firm’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call on Thursday. “It’s our view is that could settle out in the back half of next year,” Sulentic added. “Of course, none of us know what’s going to happen. As a result — in investment sales, mortgage origination, development, investment management — we’re seeing an impact.”
https://www.costar.com/article/173674672/rising-rates-derail-cbres-real-estate-deal-momentum
The loans left behind: How aging CMBS deals are faring
Among 10-year CMBS loans originated from 2012 through 2016, 1,550 properties remain tied to loans that have not been paid off, CoStar data shows. Loans backing retail properties account for 482 of those properties, followed by office property loans with 471, multifamily with 334, industrial with 109 and hotels with 95. Loans covering 829 of the properties are in special servicing, according to CoStar data. That typically means a loan has encountered problems requiring more intensive oversight. Loans backing office properties account for 380 of those properties, retail for 280, multifamily for 73, hotels for 57 and industrial for 23.
https://www.costar.com/article/1335895546/the-loans-left-behind-how-aging-cmbs-deals-are-faring
‘A dramatic uptick in volume’: Foreclosures on the rise locally
Through the end of August, 495 properties in Denver had been the subject of a notice of election and demand, a formal filing from a lender following a loan default that initiates the county foreclosure process. For comparison, foreclosure had been initiated on 426 Denver properties by the same time in 2025, according to online filings. The recent increases began last year. Prior to that, there were three relatively stable years. There were 347 foreclosure starts by Aug. 31 in both 2024 and 2023, and 354 in 2022. The 2026 number represents a 16% jump from 2025 and a 43% increase compared to 2024. The filings represent both commercial and residential properties, from townhomes to skyscrapers.
https://businessden.com/a-dramatic-uptick-in-volume-foreclosures-on-the-rise-locally/
Unpaid property taxes in Denver skyrocket
The cumulative value of delinquent taxes published by the city last month was $45.5 million — a full 7% of the total. That’s 25% higher than last year, when the September number was $36.3 million. And it’s 74% higher than 2024, when the figure was $26.2 million. Property taxes for a given year in Denver are due by April 30, if making a single payment, and June 15, if making two payments. Taxes not paid by September are compiled and published by the city. Those still not paid two months later are auctioned off. The number of six-figure delinquent parcels published in September has risen from 27 in 2024 to 35 in 2025 and 49 this year.
https://businessden.com/unpaid-property-tax-in-denver-skyrocket/
Do You Really Own Your Home? A Tax Revolt Says No.
Just as it was 50 years ago, the movement appears organic, driven more by meme than political machine, and coming at a moment dominated by consumer concerns around affordability. A surge in home values — up an average of 50% nationwide since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic — has boosted property assessments. Those increases have translated to tax bills that have shocked homeowners and left them worried about the growing burdens of maintaining an asset at the heart of the American dream.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/10/18/property-taxes-housing-affordability-issue-01105514
America’s New Housing Market Is All About Luxury—and It Runs on Cash
On one side, near-record home prices and the recent surge in mortgage rates above 7% have relegated buyers to the sidelines. In many cities, sales are stagnant and sellers are cutting prices for lower-end and entry-level homes to lure back buyers.
On the other is a robust luxury market, where wealthier home shoppers swerve around high rates with jumbo down payments or all-cash purchases. The top third of the market is still buying, and spending enough to push up home prices nationally by more than 4% over the past two years. This dichotomy is playing out across the country. In 33 of the top 50 metro areas, luxury home prices are rising faster or falling slower than starter home prices, according to data from First American Data and Analytics, a real-estate data and economics firm.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/americas-new-housing-market-is-all-about-luxuryand-it-runs-on-cash-8a5fcb8e
Denver Water supply and water use update
“Our customers did a great job shutting off their sprinkler systems in response to our Oct. 1 cutoff for lawn watering. Water use Oct. 1 through Oct. 18 was 33% below the five-year average, meaning our customers saved 1.2 billion gallons of water (3,700 acre-feet) since Oct. 1,” said Greg Fisher, Denver Water’s manager of demand planning. “This is a good start to preserving our critically important water supplies, because Denver Water’s reservoir storage levels are currently at 66% full, well below the average of 89% for this time of year. “We’re all hoping for a good winter, but it’s extremely unlikely that we’ll see enough snow — and more importantly, a robust spring runoff — to fully fill our reservoirs next year. Every customer’s conservation efforts remain especially important as we work together to stretch our storage supplies heading into the winter.”
https://www.denverwater.org/tap/denver-water-snowpack-and-water-supply-update
Why Colorado’s largest natural lake remains full despite drought
Grand Lake, Colorado’s largest natural lake, remains filled to the brim this summer while reservoirs across the state sit low. A federal law passed nearly 90 years ago requires it to stay full so it can carry water to the Front Range. Colorado’s reservoirs are about 60% full on average, a result of extreme drought and last winter’s historically low snowpack. Marinas elsewhere have watched their docks settle onto dirt. Neighboring Lake Granby is at 53% of capacity. The 389-foot-deep Grand Lake is different. Nearby reservoirs pump water into it, and gravity then moves that water through a 10-foot pipe toward the east. Grand Lake Town Manager Steve Kudron said the water serves more than 1.5 million people, including Estes Park. Senate Bill 80, passed in 1939, established the lake as a conveyance for moving water to the Front Range.
https://www.9news.com/article/life/style/colorado-guide/grand-lake-colorado-remains-full/73-7ce2b477-32de-45b7-b672-9eed1af9cd6d
Retail construction starts drop to lowest on record
The pullback reflects conditions that make retail development difficult to justify financially in most markets. Elevated land prices, as well as higher construction costs have pushed the rents required for retail development well above prevailing market levels for many retail formats. Asking retail rents remained flat during the third quarter, doing little to close that gap. Financing conditions also have become more challenging, as the 10-year Treasury yield has risen sharply since the start of the third quarter, increasing the cost of capital for new retail projects that were already difficult to underwrite. Small-format pad sites, the freestanding parcels that are drivers for much of the recent construction activity, are particularly sensitive to those costs.
https://www.costar.com/article/764213711/retail-construction-starts-drop-to-lowest-on-record
Climate Risk Is No Longer Optional in Commercial Real Estate
Today, climate risk analytics are standard metrics in most large transactions and increasingly being incorporated into property-level credit analysis by lenders, according to Deborah Cloutier, CRE, 2027 global chair of The Counselors of Real Estate, founder of RE Tech Advisors, and chief innovation officer at Legence. Cloutier says these metrics are essential for analyzing operational health and asset value. A climate risk assessment establishes the exposure baseline and then analyzes the climate hazards, such as acute and chronic risks of weather-related events; building mechanical systems vulnerability and structural resilience; financial impacts on operating expenses, capital expenditures, estimated loss, insurance and financing review; and transition risk of current and future regulation and building performance standards.In the current environment, where major natural disasters are becoming commonplace and commercial real estate returns are increasingly driven by asset operations and NOI growth—not asset appreciation—climate risk is a critical metric for investors.
https://www.globest.com/2026/09/03/climate-risk-is-no-longer-optional-in-commercial-real-estate/
Yes, the Fed Can Kill the AI Boom
Skeptics assume interest rates could only slow AI companies by raising their cost of borrowing. That is a fallacy. Short-term rates are the benchmark cost of liquidity, affecting overall financial conditions. With each successive increase, tighter credit ripples out along the risk spectrum, from Treasurys to corporate and household loans, equity and so on. The leveraged investors who buy risky assets see their funding squeezed. Appetites for initial public offerings, high-yield bonds, private credit and securitizations dry up. This is why asset meltdowns through history bear the Fed’s fingerprints: the 1929 and 1987 stock-market crashes, the dot-com and housing busts, emerging-market crises in 1982 and 1997-98. As assets deflate, investment follows and sometimes recession comes next. And with recession, inflation goes down.
https://trk.wsj.com/view/68a7bed7f8c1231b9694317fskpvb.348m/b1f763b8
Can a $9 Million Robot Save Our Aging Sewers?
As growing populations and shifting weather patterns strain aging sewer systems, a $9 million EU-funded project aims to build autonomous robots to survey and protect the vast underground networks of pipes—many of which aren’t fully mapped and are difficult to access by humans. Sewage spills are on the rise, contaminating waterways, flooding streets and threatening ecological and public health. Experts say more problematic cases are inevitable in the coming years. Sending a robot through pipes isn’t as straightforward as it might seem: Pipes move when the soil around them shifts, and there are blockages made of sediment that the robot must be able to navigate.
https://trk.wsj.com/view/68a7bed7f8c1231b9694317fsk27i.49t4/387133b8
Nederland says it’s $20M short in planned purchase of Eldora ski area
“When we initially went to market, prospective bondholders told us there were a few things they would like to see,” the letter said. “The two main components were that they wanted stronger security tied to the asset and they wanted us to reduce the overall amount of leverage and debt in the transaction.” The deal was supposed to close by the end of April, a full five months ago. Nederland said its purchase agreement with Eldora parent company Powdr Corp. has expired but that the two parties are still talking and an updated agreement could be reached. Nederland said the deal, if it happens, is now expected to be a sale-leaseback. In an email to BusinessDen, Sterling said that Powdr would be contracted “to continue supporting operations.”
https://businessden.com/nederland-says-its-20m-short-in-planned-purchase-of-eldora-ski-area/
Land Title head starts new company after deal with FirstBank
Freyer formed a new company, which bought FirstBank’s 1031 Corp. at the end of 2025 for seven figures, he said. He subsequently rolled Land Title’s 1031 operation into the new company as well. This month, the company began operating under its new name: Vaulted Escrow & Exchange. As the name indicates, Vaulted also handles corporate and real estate escrow. “Historically, they’ve never been together,” Freyer said of 1031 and escrow. “I don’t know anyone else in this market that’s focusing on this niche.”
https://businessden.com/land-title-head-starts-new-company-after-deal-with-firstbank/
Reality Check: For Power Plants, Changing the Fuel Doesn’t Fix the Economics
Coal-to-gas conversions may appear to offer a pragmatic middle path between continued coal operation and retirement, but evidence from the gas fleet and plants that have already converted suggests that changing fuels alone does not guarantee better economics. Without changes to the incentives that insulate utilities from poor market performance, conversions risk extending the same dynamics that have allowed uneconomic coal plants to remain online. For customers, the stakes extend beyond the cost of natural gas: conversion can mean committing new capital to an aging asset and then paying its operating and fuel costs for decades. Regulators can require clear evidence that extending that asset is preferable to retiring and replacing it and should ensure that utilities share in the financial consequences if the promised economics fail to materialize.
https://rmi.org/resources/reality-check-for-power-plants-changing-the-fuel-doesnt-fix-the-economics/
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
We Know How to Fix Homelessness. Look at Denver.
Denver shows what happens when a city puts into place proven policies with determination and focus. Not only has it significantly reduced homelessness; it embarrasses every other urban jurisdiction that has failed to deal with its Covid-era surge of homeless encampments. Other cities no longer have an excuse. Denver has recorded the biggest recent drop in street homelessness among the largest U.S. cities, according to my analysis of local data. The city’s drop was roughly 13 times the national rate in 2025, the most recent year for federal statistics. Since 2023, Denver’s unsheltered population is down 64 percent.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/13/opinion/homelessness-unhoused-denver-shelters.html
September 2026 Program Update and List of Nominated Opportunity Zones
On Monday, September 28, 2026, Governor Polis submitted 91 “on-list” eligible census tracts to the U.S. Treasury for designation as opportunity zones. This is 25% of the 362 census tracts eligible for consideration, based on a late increase by the US Treasury. You can review the nominated census tracts in the list below or via the OZ 2.0 Designation GIS Tool button below. OEDIT anticipates that the Treasury will officially certify the tracts as opportunity zones by the end of November. The opportunity zones will then go live for investment on January 1, 2027.
https://oedit.colorado.gov/colorado-opportunity-zone-program
Apartment Rent Declines Slowing, Demand Rising As Renter Pool Expands
Median apartment rents declined again on an annual basis in September but clocked the smallest drop in three years, according to Realtor.com. Across the 50 largest metro areas, median asking rents ticked down by 0.4% year-over-year to $1,694. That brings asking rents to 4.5% below their peak in August 2022 but keeps them 14.5% higher than before the pandemic. “While asking rents are below their 2022 peak and concessions are still easy to find, for many households, relief is not the same as affordability,” Realtor.com senior economist Jiayi Xu said in a statement.
https://www.bisnow.com/news/national/multifamily/slowing-apartment-rent-declines-rising-demand-renter-pool-expands
A New Type of Mortgage Is Reviving Long Abandoned Neighborhoods
In the new model, a private lender approves the loan based on the property’s value and potential rental income rather than the income of the borrower. Often, proof of personal income isn’t even a requirement. The new loan product, together with the increasing lure of cheap neighborhoods as housing costs have risen sharply elsewhere, has helped inject capital across American cities that could use the boost, including Indianapolis, Baltimore, Detroit and Memphis. The new mortgages, launched in the mid-2010s and called debt-service coverage ratio loans, are part of a private lending industry that has exploded, drawing borrowers with its flexible underwriting, simplicity and speed.
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/new-mortgage-dscr-loan-d77ff640
HUD Selects National Institute of Building Sciences to Support Acceleration of Innovative Multifamily Housing Construction
During this 12-month initiative, NIBS and its strategic partner MOD X will work with experts from government, industry, building science, engineering, finance, and code development to help HUD address these challenges. The work will focus on creating a clear pathway for manufactured housing in the development of five or more homes and supporting HUD’s planning for future demonstrations of factory-built multifamily housing.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hud-selects-national-institute-of-building-sciences-to-support-acceleration-of-innovative-multifamily-housing-construction-302901257.html
Architects Warn Building Homes Won’t Solve Housing Crisis—Here’s What Could
Specht said Austin, Texas, serves as “pretty good evidence that this works.” When the city council adopted the HOME reforms a few years ago, which allowed owners to build up to three units on a single-family lot and shrink lots to 1,800 square feet, many residents opposed them. However, the reform passed despite the pushback, and Austin later became the largest city in the country to eliminate parking requirements. “Those changes will reshape our neighborhoods more than any 3D printer, and they push architects toward houses that are smaller and closer together but still comfortable to live in,” Specht said. Specht said that the move led the city to build apartments “faster than anyone could move into them,” and rent prices dropped more than in any other city in the country, with home prices down about a fifth from their 2022 peak.
https://www.newsweek.com/architects-warn-building-homes-affordable-housing-crisis-solution-12535866
REAL ESTATE AND MOBILITY
Burnham Yard plan aims to prevent displacement as Broncos eye retractable-roof stadium
Residential permit parking zones, phased multimodal access improvements and specific event-day traffic management to preserve certain corridors for neighborhood use are all strategies contemplated by the plan. Partnering with the Regional Transportation District to restructure local bus routes and add more light rail connections is part of the plan, as is collaborating with the Front Range Passenger Rail District to ensure an event-specific station gets built in the area. The plan also identifies six focus areas “as priority corridors and intersections for targeted investment and design.”
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2026/10/19/burnham-yard-small-area-plan-denver-broncos.html
Largest wildlife overpass in North America located in Colorado with 91% reduction in collisions: “Big success”
“Based on the video feed that we’re collecting, huge success. We’re seeing elk herds cross the bridge. We’re seeing pronghorn for the first time in decades cross over to the west side of I-25 because of the bridge,” said Chuck Attardo, CDOT Environmental Manager. The 209-by-200-foot overpass spans Interstate 25 near the Greenland exit between Larkspur and Monument, an area that has historically seen many wildlife collisions. It was designed especially for pronghorn and elk. “Elk and pronghorn like these big open structures where they can see for miles in each direction,” Attardo said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/largest-wildlife-overpass-north-america-colorado-reduce-wildlife-collisions/
This Colorado city wants to be the first out with rules for delivery drones
“We don’t have the ability to regulate the drones once they are in the air,” said Becky Smith, Northglenn’s director of planning and development. Walmart and Wing also approached Parker and Castle Rock about doing deliveries by drone. In July, the two communities put a moratorium on the practice as they try to figure out what they can do to ensure the commercial drones don’t negatively impact residents. But Northglenn leaders felt there was no need for a timeout, recognizing that the city’s land-use powers would apply only to the ground portion of drone operations. An attempt by state lawmakers this year to craft state and local rules on “unmanned aircraft systems,” which could have given local governments some regulatory guidelines, went nowhere.
https://businessden.com/this-colorado-city-wants-to-be-the-first-out-with-rules-for-delivery-drones/
MOBILITY
Should RTD serve more riders or cover a bigger area? Agency weighs future of metro Denver transit.
A transit system that focuses on ridership would mean faster and more frequent service along fewer routes, project manager Doug Monroe told board members last week, and could also mean less pollution, less traffic and more walkable communities. A coverage-based plan would focus on serving every person and every jurisdiction to meet “lifeline” needs for people who rely on public transit, Monroe said. It would mean basic service in as many places as possible.
https://www.denverpost.com/2026/09/29/rtd-connect-service-plan-survey/
East Colfax Avenue Bus Rapid Transit
On September 27, the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) and RTD launched Bus Only Lane Operations, or BOLO, on East Colfax Avenue from Broadway and Colorado. Customers now board the 15/15L buses from the center-running stations on this stretch and are experiencing some new benefits such as increased security features and on-board bike storage. Pedestrians along the corridor are making use of improved sidewalks and crosswalks. The full Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service will launch when construction is complete across the entire corridor at the end of 2027.
https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Department-of-Transportation-and-Infrastructure/Programs-Services/Projects/Colfax-BRT#section-7
Another self-driving taxi company is on its way to Denver
Amazon’s autonomous cab company, Zoox, is launching a test fleet in the Mile High City this winter. A small group of Zoox vehicles will drive around Denver for a few months to train the self-driving technology in rain and snow, according to the company. The robotaxis will be driven manually by human employees and will carry no passengers, according to Zoox. The company has no plans to open rides to the Denver public at this time. The training vehicles are equipped with steering wheels, pedals and a driver’s seat — all of which the operating Zoox vehicles lack, featuring only an open carriage area with four seats facing each other.
https://www.westword.com/news/another-self-driving-taxi-company-coming-to-denver-40941778/
Driverless Trucks Are Here—and They’re Delivering Bags of Doritos
At least nine autonomous-truck companies are operating in Southern and South-Central states, especially Texas, but many still have human monitors at the wheel, or are being used only in limited tests. PepsiCo’s operation, using trucks outfitted with sensors and computers from an autonomous-truck company called Gatik, is a step beyond, on par with the technical hurdles being cleared by much smaller, lighter driverless passenger taxis from Waymo, Tesla and other companies.
https://www.wsj.com/business/logistics/driverless-trucks-pepsico-texas-arizona-arkansas-ee4495f0
Some U.S. transit systems weigh whether to run trains without a human at the controls
Officials in Washington, D.C., recently advanced a plan that could let computers fully control one of its subways, and Los Angeles is seeking to build a new, completely automated line. Honolulu already has one. The Washington and LA projects, which would take years to implement and still face financial and technical hurdles, come amid an already fierce debate over the safety risks and benefits of automated trains and whether the substantial upfront expense is worth the long-term savings in labor costs. Supporters call the push long overdue, pointing out that American cities lag far behind numerous places across the world that run unattended subways, metros or buses, including several cities in Europe and Asia, as well as major systems in Canada, Australia, South America and the Middle East.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/us-transit-systems-weigh-whether-to-run-trains-without-human-at-controls/4171475/
New areas of DIA’s Great Hall open as $2.1 billion project nears end
Denver International Airport’s years-long Great Hall construction work opened new portions of the main terminal to returning passengers and the public this week, hitting multiple project milestones. On the north end of the main terminal, eight new security lanes, a new exit from the A Bridge for arriving passengers and a new meet-and-greet area became operational. “The end is in sight, and we’re going to be done sooner than later,” said Michael Sheehan, senior vice president for special projects at the airport.
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2026/10/22/dia-great-hall-milestone-new-security.html
Denver ready to fine Veo for sidewalk riding violations
Sidewalk riding has been an issue since rentable e-scooters first appeared in Denver in 2018, particularly downtown and in denser neighborhoods. The illegal-but-largely-unenforced practice was a point of contention when the city solicited bids for a new e-scooter and bike provider last year, and played a role in the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and City Council selecting Veo as the exclusive provider over past contract holders Bird and Lime.
https://www.westword.com/news/denver-start-fining-veo-sidewalk-riding-40951943/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email
Congestion on I-70 corridor costs state economy $2.25B a year, study says
The state has undertaken several projects to improve the flow of traffic on I-70 through the mountains, including a $700 million rebuild of the roadway in the Floyd Hill area and the addition of auxiliary lanes on the west side of Vail Pass, as well as the modernization of the Eisenhower and Johnson tunnels. The problem goes beyond tourists unhappy about not getting the full use of their ski passes or hotel rooms. High housing costs in resort towns have forced many service workers into longer commutes. The more time workers lose on the road, the more likely they are to eventually quit a job. “If congestion along the I-70 corridor worsens, these constraints are likely to translate into higher business costs through increased wages, expanded housing subsidies, and greater employee turnover and absenteeism associated with unreliable travel times,” according to the study. The state has undertaken several projects to improve the flow of traffic on I-70 through the mountains, including a $700 million rebuild of the roadway in the Floyd Hill area and the addition of auxiliary lanes on the west side of Vail Pass, as well as the modernization of the Eisenhower and Johnson tunnels. But combined, the spending has fallen well short of the $30 billion that the study’s authors estimate would make a dent in the time, productivity and money lost to added delays. And while roadway improvements can help with smoother flows in the long run, they can exacerbate delays and congestion in the near term.
https://www.denverpost.com/2026/10/07/congestion-i70-traffic-costs-colorado/
