Johnston has hosted eight such meetings across Denver in the past few months, all focused on safety; he plans to shift the focus to vibrancy and affordability in subsequent rounds. At each, participants divided into groups, and then their comments were read to the entire gathering. At this town hall, residents' concerns touched on youth violence and high rates of theft....but once again, speeding was the main topic, with abandoned cars coming in second.
Compared to some of the other town halls, the meeting at George Washington was sparsely attended, with only about a dozen city officials and forty or fifty residents from District 5, which includes such neighborhoods as Cherry Creek, Montclair and Hilltop, and District 6, which covers the Belcaro, University Hills and Virginia Village neighborhoods.Johnston, who spoke at the start of the meeting, heard just one group's comments before he had to leave. Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, who represents District 5, declined to comment on the gathering. Councilman Paul Kashmann, who represents District 6, tells Westword that the meeting had "no surprises."
While speeding was the most common complaint, some residents had a lot more to say about youth violence. One woman who'd been the victim of youth violence when a fifteen-year-old attacked her said the city needs to provide activities to keep kids like that occupied. Other residents made a similar demand for "youth engagement," as one discussion group phrased it.
"We need equitable programming across the city and different response to youth violence so that we're not just sending kids into the criminal justice system," one resident commented.
"We need equitable programming across the city and different response to youth violence so that we're not just sending kids into the criminal justice system," one resident commented.
During past Community Conversations, residents have applauded the Denver Police Department and demanded a stronger police presence, and similar sentiments were voiced at this meeting.
"DPD needs more resources," one resident commented. "Response times lag, and there aren't enough officers to respond to crimes around the city. We need to do more to help our wonderful DPD boys in blue."
"The police department is still not fully staffed," Kashmann notes. "We need to be more aggressive and attentive to what really may be serious crime taking place in our community."
Residents also asked for more lighting in parks. Demands for lighting for residential streets, trails and parks also came up at a Community Conversation in West Colfax, a neighborhood that has a lot of green space and homelessness. At George Washington, however, one group said that while "the streets are well lit," the parks are not.
But residents were grateful for the parks that had been upgraded and maintained, including Crestmoor and Cranmer. One group said they liked the "lively" events at these parks, and other comments praised the new playground equipment at Crestmoor.
District 6 Councliman Paul Kashmann listens along with residents from east Denver and other city officials as Lisa Whipple talks about how new towing laws hurt her business.
Bennito L. Kelty
Only a couple of groups mentioned homelessness, which has been a bigger topic at other meetings. "The mayor's office is doing a great job addressing the needs of the unhoused," read a comment from one. "There's a need for more information about our immigrant and homeless population because we have amazing neighbors who want to help," read a comment from another.
While speeding was the number-one concern — with nearly every group mentioning it — residents weren't happy with the roundabouts designed to slow vehicles, especially in the Lowry neighborhood. One group said that the roundabouts need "clear instructions" for how to use them, and another said they did little to prevent speeding in Lowry.
"People are looking for actual traffic solutions," Kashmann says. "For the people who don't give a damn, we need to engineer our roadways to make it difficult for them to drive inappropriately. Speed tables, roundabouts, narrowing traffic lanes are all tools that have been proven to have an effect."
One resident who came from District 4, which had its meeting two weeks ago, said that "poor driving behavior is endemic across the city. I don't know what we can do about that as constituents.”
A couple of groups mentioned the "complicated" bike lanes, mostly along busier residential streets, saying that the barriers confuse both drivers and cyclists.
But the biggest problem involving vehicles? Abandoned cars along residential streets in the neighborhoods north of Leetsdale Drive and east of Colorado Boulevard. After the meeting, Lisa Whipple, a landlord, told Westword that her job has gotten harder since the Colorado Legislature passed a measure in early May banning tow trunks from coming onto private property without being asked by the property owner.
"I guess they think it's predatory, but the tow trucks used to come onto my property and take away the cars that didn't have a permit. My tenants were really happy with that and thankful," she says. "Now I have to go through my lot myself, find cars that don't have permits, tag them and call the tow truck to do that. I don't have time to be doing that every day. I have 573 units and 2,000 people living there. It's not working for me."
At the most recent Community Conversation in Southeast Denver, Johnston told Westword that he plans to roll out road safety improvements across the city soon. But Kashmann warns that the city's budgeting process isn't until September, "and that's when good intentions are either manifest or we hear why they aren't going to take place."
