ADA Compliance Requirements for Bus Stops

[Bryan Wilson]

Hello,

Please see the thread below.

It is my understanding that bus stops must be installed at a certain height to meet the minimum ADA Compliance requirements. This height correlates the lowest elevation of the bus door & the resulting difference between the two creates the slope of the bus ramp.

I believe the bus stops along Larimer are sufficient, but unfortunately the 2900 Block is still able to be closed, like this past Sunday. I believe this results in the ART District Connector being rerouted to streets without ADA Compliant Bus access.

Can you please share the minimum height requirements for the bus stops along streets like Larimer?

Keeping the bus stops accessible along Larimer needs to be our primary objective. We can then shift our focus to closing Walnut to thru-traffic instead. I saw the ramps get lowered for riders numerous times today.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWkY26HDNk3/?igsh=OHp3bzRkemhsYjNv

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Respectfully,

Bryan Wilson 

On Sun, Mar 29, 2026, 10:21 AM Bryan Wilson <bryan...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Councilmember Watson & RTD Board Member Guzman,

It's my understanding that a block party is still scheduled for today on the 2900 Block of Larimer Street.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisionZeroDenver/comments/1s3gmvr/where_will_the_through_traffic_be_directed_for/

Here's a safety concern...

Where does the traffic go once it's rerouted off of Larimer? 

I think this question needs to be answered and also the impacts to the surrounding need to be taken into consideration. 

I've experienced drivers getting frustrated and driving recklessly through the neighborhood because once they are diverted off Larimer the very next street, which is Lawrence also has a diverter because it's a Neighborhood Bikeway.

I do love the idea of dedicating streets to pedestrians, but not at the expense of the safety for everyone on nearby neighborhood streets. 

Instead we should consider doing this on a street like Walnut, since it does not have a Neighborhood Bikeway adjacent to it.

We can then plan for protected bike lanes along Larimer, to prevent them from being obstructed by drivers and to prevent drivers from parking and obstructing the corner sight triangles.

Lastly, here's an accessibility concern ...

As you can see in the photo street is now part of the RTD ART District Connector. We need to ensure that it can easily navigate this corridor so that riders with limited mobility can access the bus stops.

This is another reason to have protected bike lanes and planned to build out the bus stops into the street like other stretches of Larimer. I've also observed drivers obstructing the bus stops, which prevents the bus from pulling to the stop and lowering the ramp appropriately.

Maybe your office can connect with the local RTD board member to help advocate for the constituents and patrons utilizing that route.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. 

Respectfully,

Bryan Wilson 

On Sat, Mar 21, 2026, 12:03 PM Bryan Wilson <bryan...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello,

The City of Denver has installed a number of Neighborhood Bikeways around the City. This is great! Many of those Neighborhood Bikeways also included the installation of one or more diverters as a traffic calming measure to eliminate cut-thru traffic and generally reduce the overall traffic volume on the Bikeway. This is also great!

Here's the issue...

When a diverter is installed on a street that is identified as a collector or an arterial, the traffic naturally spills onto the adjacent streets. This creates excessive cut-thru traffic on streets that are typically identified as neighborhood or local streets. This is a disservice to those communities because it creates unnecessary noise & even dangerous situations.

The diverter installed on Franklin at 14th is an example.

The City of Denver Street types map indicates that Franklin St is a Residential Collector. https://www.denvergov.org/files/assets/public/community-planning-and-development/documents/planning-general/blueprint-denver/street_types_map.pdf

It's identified as a collector because it was intended to funnel traffic to Colfax Avenue & Park Avenue. The diverter causes an excessive number of drivers to use adjacent streets like Gilpin as a cut-thru to Colfax & right now, Park Ave.

Going forward, we need a moratorium on installing any diverters on a streets that have been identified as a collector or an arterial, unless neither of the adjacent streets are local or neighborhood streets.

Larimer St in the RiNo neighborhood is another example. Not only is the adjacent street a local street, but Lawrence is also a Neighborhood Bikeway. Requesting that this street also remain open to thru-traffic to limit the cut-thru traffic on the Neighborhood Bikeway as well as the surrounding community. Instead, we should implement other traffic calming measures on Larimer, like a road-diet or protected bike lanes and build out the bus stops for the ART District Connector.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Respectfully,

Bryan Wilson 

Posted on Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisionZeroDenver/s/IPE8grxL39 

[Bryan Wilson]

Hello again,

Just wanted to check-in...

I've taken the ART District Connector to the RiNo Art District & have noticed some issues that could be a problem for those with limited mobility.
Issues are as follows:
- parked cars prevent the ART District Connector from pulling up to the curb to lower the ramp for anyone with limited mobility.
- no sidewalks along several blocks of Walnut. This again is an issue for anyone with limited mobility should we detour the ART District Connector off Larimer & onto Walnut for closed blocks like the 2900 Block.

I think the solution is to plan for Protected Bike Lanes along Larimer & build out the bus stops into the street like we have done along other streets, including Larimer past Broadway.

We can then consider closing one or more blocks of Walnut to through traffic, shifting our focus off of Larimer. That is also why the Shared Streets Program was included in this thread.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Respectfully,
Bryan Wilson

[Bryan Wilson]

Hello again, 

I don't believe I've ever received a response on this request, so I've changed the subject line.

Can we please...

- Shift the Shared-street plan for Larimer to Walnut? In doing so, plan for diverters on Walnut at Broadway & Downing. Then, select two other locations for Diverters or even make one block completely car-free. 

- Adjust a few of the No Parking Zones near the bus stops on Larimer, potentially shifting a couple of the bus stops closer to intersections to better accommodate the bus pulling to the curb. 

- Long-Term, identify Larimer for future protected bike Lanes to then build out the bus stops into the street so that they can't be so easily obstructed by parked vehicles.

There are a lot of issues at play in this area prompting these requests. 

- Walnut has a number of streets with no sidewalks at all. By identifying Walnut as a Shared-street, we could make it safer for pedestrians to navigate the street by using the roadway in the sections where there aren't any sidewalks available. 

- Again, since Walnut has no sidewalks, how are riders with limited Mobility expected to access bus stops, if we shift the art District connector from Larimer to Walnut? How is that not an ADA compliance issue?

- Larimer is currently identified as a bike route with unprotected bike lanes. These bike Lanes are often obstructed by parked vehicles including delivery drivers or even the USPS. By identifying Walnut as a Shared-Street, we can identify it as a Neighborhood Bikeway. This will give bike commuters a connection while we wait for protected bike Lanes on Larimer. 

- Market Street has a protected bike lane that terminates after it changes to Walnut and intersects with Broadway. By identifying Walnut as the Shared-Street, we can plan to install diverters at each end to connect Market to Walnut. 

- When we divert traffic off of Larimer, where is it expected to go? Why divert Traffic off of Larimer, only to increase traffic on Lawrence, which is a Neighborhood Bikeway?

Councilmember Watson and RTD Board Director Guzman, could you please schedule a joint meeting to discuss these issues and potentially change the plans?

If all of these issues have already been discussed and are being addressed then I would like to know those solutions, but as previously stated no one has responsed.

Thank you again for your help addressing these issues.

Respectfully,

Bryan Wilson