Fwd: [EXTERNAL] Why do ALL the New Congress Park Sidewalks Bottleneck to 6ft Wide?

[Bryan Wilson]

Last communication with the CongressPa...@googlegroups.com.

Going forward, I'll use cp4...@googlegroups.com.

Register at cp4...@googlegroups.com if you live in Congress Park.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 24, 2024, 7:50 AM
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Why do ALL the New Congress Park Sidewalks Bottleneck to 6ft Wide?
To: Clark, Jolon M. - DPR HA1418 Manager Department of Parks And Recreation <Jolon...@denvergov.org>
Cc: Tate Carpenter <tateca...@gmail.com>

I appreciate the response, Jolon.

Let's do that now.

I had THOUGHT attempts were made to do just that, but perhaps I was mistaken by the email responses I had received.

Also, as I mentioned before, most if not ALL other park sidewalk installations are 8ft wide or wider. So, it wouldn't be as big of a deal to identify specific routes if it weren't for the bottle-necks of 6ft everywhere.

Have you visited the site?

Please bike there from Cheesman Park & tell me what you think. I brought up this issue numerous times. Now for people to say that bike riders can simply dismount is ridiculous.

I'll try & find those threads.

IMO, someone, likely Scott Gilmore, should be fired.

Thank you,

Bryan Wilson 

On Tue, Jan 23, 2024, 10:41 AM Clark, Jolon M. - DPR HA1418 Manager Department of Parks And Recreation <Jolon...@denvergov.org> wrote:

Bryan,

I was a huge multimodal advocate on Council and I will continue to be in this new role.  This project was well past planning and into construction before I started.  Additionally, while a bike route was identified at the 30,000 foot level for this area, the follow up planning on where exactly and how it would work with other park uses was never done.

We have work to do in order to ensure better coordination with DOTI on bike projects to make sure that the planning that needs to happen is done so that when park construction projects move forward they can be better informed by the mobility planning happening at DOTI, and I am already working with the new Executive Director on that.

Jolon Clark |  Executive Director 

Parks and Recreation | City and County of Denver 

Pronouns | He/Him/His  
Phone: (720) 913-0738

311 | denvergov.org | Denver 8 TV | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

On Jan 23, 2024, at 9:09 AM, Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Thank you, Tate.

The indifference displayed over the last couple years by Scott Gilmore and now Arthur Gilkison is infuriating.

When you get a chance, you should catch yourself up on the whole project.

In short, I brought up the issue of bike access back in 2021 and again when I saw the project start to get mapped out for construction, I think in August.

Now the response from DPR is that we must dismount our bikes to go through the park. What about people unable to do that?

What about families carrying children on bikes that don't have throttle assist?

It's become abundantly clear to me that Arthur and Scott Gilmore have zero interest in improving bike connectivity for anyone in Denver.

I'm now just curious to learn what Jolon Clark is going to do about it.

I thought he was somebody trying to support multimodal transportation in Denver.

I guess time will tell.

Thank you,

Bryan Wilson 

On Mon, Jan 22, 2024, 11:33 AM Tate Carpenter <tateca...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Bryan, 

Thanks for reaching out. As the District 10 PRAB member, it is my job to listen and advocate for community members. I appreciate you copying me on your correspondences on your emails to DPR and encourage you to continue to work with them. I also follow your posts on Twitter and Nextdoor.  While my position allows me to advocate, I am limited in what I am able to do, especially in advancing capital improvement projects and/or coordination with DOTI. As for background, I worked as a council aide for over seven years and am very familiar with the challenges around Congress Park and the city in general.

Thank you again for keeping me in the loop. 

On Fri, Jan 12, 2024 at 9:13 AM Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Tate,
It is my understanding that you are the District 10 Rep to PRAB. Are you willing/able to meet for coffee so that I can catch you up on the history regarding Congress Park & the surrounding areas?

Thank you,
Bryan Wilson
303-395-9273

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jan 12, 2024 at 9:11 AM
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Why do ALL the New Congress Park Sidewalks Bottleneck to 6ft Wide?
To: Gilkison, Arthur J. - DPR CA1002 Staff Assistant <Arthur....@denvergov.org>, Clark, Jolon M. - DPR HA1418 Manager Department of Parks And Recreation <jolon...@denvergov.org>
Cc: Mayorsoffice <mayors...@denvergov.org>, DOTI Advisory Board <DOT...@denvergov.org>, Pulsipher, David C. - DOTI City Planner Supervisor <David.P...@denvergov.org>, Williams, Nicholas - DOTI Deputy Manager Internal & External Affairs <Nicholas...@denvergov.org>, dencc - City Council <de...@denvergov.org>

Follow-up regarding my last email...
I have yet to locate a Denver Park where 6-ft wide sidewalks have recently been installed, like in Congress Park. They all seem to be getting 8ft wide sidewalks or wider.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CYoeBf6WtbvoctAY9
Can anyone direct me to another park in Denver getting anything less than 8ft wide sidewalks besides Congress Park?

Cheesman Park also has two paved paths that are 8ft wide & straddled by trees.
Not sure why there is such a discrepancy with the Congress Park sidewalk installation compared to other parks, but it's there.

Finally, there doesn't seem to be any rationale as to why an 8ft wide sidewalk couldn't have been installed to the north of the swimming pool area.

Again, this is why it seems clear to me that the sidewalk installation seems to intentionally be installed in a way to obstruct bike access. In doing so, it will be difficult for two people to even walk past one another with a double-wide stroller.

Every day that passes without making the correction, the more expensive that correction will become.

Thank you,
Bryan Wilson

PS - Separate but related...
Scott Gilmore stated that the pickleball courts were being removed due to violating the noise ordinance. What is being installed instead & who is making that decision? If all tennis courts, then consider installing pickleball & basketball courts in City Park. 

On Tue, Jan 9, 2024 at 4:00 PM Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thank you for getting back to me, Arthur!

I created a Google Photo album to SEE what I'm talking about.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CYoeBf6WtbvoctAY9 (This will continue to be updated to justify my statements below or document contradictions with other park installations.)

Responses to each point is below in BLUE.

I'll try to be cognizant of my tone, but there are loads of contradictions & incomplete information. I hope my frustration is understandable b/c though I have received similar responses there are missing details to these answers.

Thank you & responses below,
Bryan Wilson

On Tue, Jan 9, 2024, 8:59 AM Gilkison, Arthur J. - DPR CA1002 Staff Assistant <Arthur....@denvergov.org> wrote:

Hello Bryan,

Thank you for reaching out to us with your concerns around mobility and our improvements underway at Congress Park.  I have reached out to our team to try and provide the best answers possible to your concerns that I’ve outlined below.

 

Sidewalks don’t adhere to the East Central Area Plan  and Denver Moves Cherry Creek:  While recommended to connect to the park, there is no requirement or obligation that Parks and Recreation create a new bike trail through the park.  The walk you mention is mainly for pedestrian facility access and, as we have said before, a bike route through this area of the park isn’t feasible.  Our primary goal is to make our parks pedestrian friendly and Congress Park is a smaller, neighborhood park.   

 I realize that there is no "obligation" at this time, which is part of the underlying issue. This is good to have in writing for Denver City Council to read & understand. This project clearly demonstrates that we need to REQUIRE Denver Parks & Rec to include those connections in projects, or at the very least leave the ability for DOTI to do it later. 
For those unaware, Congress Park has fenced soccer fields in the NW Corner of the park, directly to the West of the Congress Park reservoir. The lack of bike connectivity makes this amenity difficult/impossible to access by bike without riding on the sidewalks, which people are going to do.

"We have said before, a bike route through this area of the park isn't feasible." I have repeatedly asked for additional information as to why it "isn't feasible." If you go back through the email threads, no one has been able to answer that question. Look at the photos or go visit the site. There seems to be AMPLE space for a bike connection, & any limitations seem to have been created by the Pool Installation. That was precisely why I brought up my concerns during a meeting with the planners presenting to the Congress Park Neighbors RNO.

I recognize that Congress Park is a "smaller, neighborhood park." However, bike thru access is blocked due to a dead-end at 10th, & no bike thru access connecting 11th in Cheesman Park. That really only leaves 9th & 12th without forcing families & children to have to cross major thoroughfares, which also wasn't improved with this project.  As far as small, neighborhood parks go, please refer to Fairfax Park. That park is probably 1/20th the size or smaller, yet it had 8ft wide sidewalks installed contradicting the "small neighborhood park" argument. Other small neighborhood parks like Verbena Park, Lindsley Park, Skyland Park & 

 

New sidewalk should be 8 or 10 feet wide:  The walk you reference is intended to be ADA accessible and not necessarily a bike route.  As stated earlier, this is intended mainly for pedestrian facility access and widening this walk is not feasible.  This walk is constrained by existing conditions of the fence and slope down towards the pool on the south and the fence for our maintenance area to the north as well as lighting infrastructure along the walk.  Simply widening the walk to the adjacent fences would go against our design standards and also pose a big cost increase to this project requiring removal and replacement of the lighting and related infrastructure as well as minimizing the adjacent slopes.  The walk along 8^th was built with a 6’ tree lawn to provide a buffer from traffic for pedestrians.  The 6’ width was the maximum we could install without impacting some 30 existing trees. We worked with Forestry and our maintenance team over the course of 2 years to design and build these walks.  DOTI will be completing the intersection ramp connections at Josephine in the upcoming year. 

I recognize the increased costs involved with moving fencing & the light posts. These were installed with the pool renovation project, which was why I brought up my concerns back in 2021.
As for impacting trees along 8th, can you please have someone explain how/why that doesn't seem to be an issue on the West side of Cheesman Park? Not only is there an 8ft wide sidewalk there, but it is tree lined with trees at a similar distance apart. Forestry also seems to still be installing new trees, so that argument seems to contradict the practices in Cheesman Park.

 

 

Feels bike access is being intentionally obstructed ex: access to Upper Soccer Fields and Denver Botanic Gardens:  There remain ample opportunities to access both the soccer fields and the botanic gardens via bicycle by routing around the park and/or Denver Water property to 8^th or 11^th Avenues or dismounting to walk through via the park walk to where 9^th Ave picks up again.

This is blatantly inaccurate. Please have someone ride those routes with Children & tell me how they feel. 11th forces riders heading West to go against traffic with no way to trigger the HAWK or RRFB signals. Before you say to press the beg-buttons, those are inaccessible for anyone with a cargo bike. What about commuters who are traveling East/West beyond there? 11th is blocked at Cheesman Park as well with no bike connection.

 

 

Again, we appreciate your park advocacy and hope this helps address your concerns.

Again, I brought all of these concerns up in the past & they weren't being addressed then as they aren't being addressed now. How can anyone at DPR explain all the contradictions from other parks to Congress Park?
I'll have to see if I can find my initial email correspondence to Scott Gilmore.

 

Best,

Arthur 

 

	Arthur Gilkison | Staff Assistant  Parks and Recreation | City and County of Denver  Pronouns | He/Him/His   phone: (720) 913-0739 |
311 | denvergov.org | Denver 8 TV | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 

 

From: Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com> 
Sent: Tuesday, January 2, 2024 5:15 PM
To: 311 <3...@denvergov.org>
Cc: Clark, Jolon M. - DPR HA1418 Manager Department of Parks And Recreation <Jolon...@denvergov.org>; Gilkison, Arthur J. - DPR CA1002 Staff Assistant <Arthur....@denvergov.org>; Gilmore, Scott M. - DPR CA2951 Deputy Manager <Scott....@denvergov.org>; Pulsipher, David C. - DOTI CE3124 City Planning Manager <David.P...@denvergov.org>; DOTI Advisory Board <DOT...@denvergov.org>; Mayorsoffice <mayors...@denvergov.org>; Congress Park Mobility Team <CongressPa...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Why do ALL the New Congress Park Sidewalks Bottleneck to 6ft Wide?

 

If asked this question repeatedly & have yet to get an explanation as to why the Congress Park sidewalk installations don't seem to take I to account that both the East Central Area Plan & Denver Moves Cherry Creek call for bike 

If asked this question repeatedly & have yet to get an explanation as to why the Congress Park sidewalk installations don't seem to take I to account that both the East Central Area Plan & Denver Moves Cherry Creek call for bike connections to & thru Congress Park.

 

This is the new installation to the North of the Swimming Pool that should be at least 8ft wide, if not 10ft.

 

IMO, it seems like bike access is intentionally being obstructed. How are we supposed to access the upper soccer fields or the Denver Botanic Gardens by bike?

 

I brought these issues up well in advance & they were ignored. How is it acceptable for installations to ignore the Micro-Mobility goals of the City?

 

This needs to be corrected.

 

As you can see in the photo, there is ample space for something wider than 6ft along the North side of the pool.

 

This is why we need someone over Denver Parks & Rec to make better decisions for the needs of EVERYONE in the City. 

 

Thank you,

Bryan Wilson 

[Bryan Wilson]

Hello Jolon,

I wanted to see if you had a chance to look over all the emails I sent & come out to Congress Park.

I first brought up the issues of bike connectivity out of Congress Park Neighborhood & ADA Compliant Access into the park YEARS ago. I communicated it to DOTI as well as DPR, including submitting 311 tickets about the issue. 

Scott Gilmore even said that they're not going to include bike connections & that is the responsibility of DOTI & Denver Water.

Now it seems that Arthur Gilkison is following suit. However, it's unclear if he is just echoing what he is being told by someone else, like Scott Gilmore.

For him to tell families with children to go around & take streets like 8th, 11th, York, & Josephine, is ignorant & irresponsible. Start at Teller Elementary School & bike to the Denver Botanic Gardens. Tell me how you would suggest a parent to take their elementary school aged child.

It is my opinion that Scott Gilmore should be fired for intentionally obstructing bike thru access in Congress Park to connect the E 9th Avenue Neighborhood Bikeway. I will at least be holding him personally responsible for any injuries that occur from collisions resulting from this design that failed to take ADA Compliant Access across 8th Ave & Josephine as well as bike access into account.

Perhaps check with David Pulspher to see what happened when I first discussed the issue over email with Stephen Rijo.

This is something that should have been addressed when I brought it up. Instead, Scott Gilmore argued, dug in his heals, & pushed the project forward anyway. Any costs associated with correcting these issues is a result of his negligence.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Regards,

Bryan Wilson

[Bryan Wilson]

Curious if any information was found as a result of my prior email...

I would like to schedule a follow-up meeting hosted on-site at the Congress Park Project. I met with Jolon & Arthur in December about the issues with the Congress Park Sidewalk Renovations, but nothing seems to have changed.

Jolon Clark & Chris Hinds, please coordinate and schedule a time that works for both of you. Perhaps if you schedule two times, one will work for Tate Carpenter.

I'll also invite someone from other council offices to attend once we pick a date. As well as anyone from the Congress Park for ALL Mobility Team.

Please walk/roll/bike over from Cheesman Park, or the 9+CO Development. It's important for everyone to see the wall that was created for mobility in area.

The responses from Scott Gilmore that no bike facilities were being included that was then later echoed by Arthur Gilkison are unacceptable.

The resulting installations all including bottlenecks of 6ft-wide sidewalks and now hard curbs that will only result in injury are frankly negligent.

These need to be corrected especially given the ample notice I provided of the issues being created as well as the existence of the East Central Area Plan & Denver Moves: Pedestrians & Trails.

[Bryan Wilson]

Since I haven't heard back about a meeting, I'm documenting the numerous issues in Congress Park & Cheesman Park on Twitter.

Congress Park & Cheesman Park Mobility Concerns

From my perspective, Scott Gilmore should be asked to resign. It is unclear who else was aware of the meeting/communication that occurred between David Pulsipher & DPR.

I'm going to be making an open records request to gain more information.

Thank you,

Bryan Wilson 

Please Reply ALL with any response or updates

On Fri, Feb 2, 2024, 8:59 AM Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com> wrote:

It WASN'T too late when I pointed out the need NUMEROUS times over the years & even more recently in the Fall.

This is why it is clear to me that Scott Gilmore & company are liable for any injuries that occur. Chris Hinds was also made aware of these issues well in advance, yet didn't take any action.

I'm attaching some key communications for reference & forwarding them all at 9:00am with this email so that they all come through together to the same people.

It's unfortunate that Scott Gilmore wasn't more receptive & that no one who bikes through the area was included in the planning process.

I'm still requesting the meeting to point out each individual issue that is a result due to the installation or omission. I feel it is important that they're highlighted to prevent injury if possible & to ensure they get included into the corrections.

- This email thread to which I'm replying now, which started January 2nd.


- This email I sent August 2nd, 2023, which included the Planning Team, David Pulsipher, Nick Williams, Bi...@denvergov.org, newbik...@gmail.com, 
-
- This email I sent on August 23rd, which had a long thread where my concerns were REPEATEDLY disregarded.

This email thread from May 2022 ,where David Pulsipher even said that DOTI & DPR met.

The excuses seem to be just that... excuses. 

I don't understand why this is acceptable. IMO, this would be worth one or more people being terminated, the project stopped, & corrections made.

Thank you,
Bryan Wilson
 

On Thu, Feb 1, 2024, 8:12 PM Clark, Jolon M. - DPR HA1418 Manager Department of Parks And Recreation <Jolon...@denvergov.org> wrote:

Bryan,

Thank you for your continued advocacy and engagement around this issue. While these high level plans do call for a bike connection in or around Congress Park, unfortunately, the follow up deeper dive planning that would need to happen in order to identify exactly where and how that connection would work with the other park uses and users has not taken place.  It is very unfortunate that this additional planning was not done before the implementation of the parks project and DOTI project at the park were undertaken to see if that could have been accomplished as part of this work at Congress Park.  It is too late at this juncture for this construction to be amended, and we still need to identify the resources to do the planning with DOTI and Parks to plan out where the bike route can go. 

I have already talked about this issue with the new Executive Director of DOTI, and we are talking through how to implement better processes moving forward to bridge between the 30,000 foot level planning that is happening on bike networks, and the individual park planning projects that are undertaken all across the city.  We will work on making sure that we do better to make these connections between the plans and try to map out the specifics of how those bike networks come together so we can better integrate them into our park projects.

I thank you again for shining a light on this project for me as I step into my new role.  We will continue to work with DOTI to evaluate how a future bike route through or around Congress Park can better connect the bike network here in the future.

Thank you.