Navigating the long, circuitous trip to the airport
Re: “Widening of Peña gets green light for study phase,” April 2 news story
Do we really need to spend $15 million over five years to study the traffic on Peña Boulevard? It’s obvious to anyone who regularly goes to the airport that a growing airport and rapid development of the land east of Peña combine for constant and worsening traffic jams. It also appears fairly obvious that Peña was originally designed to be expanded with adequate room already in place for an additional lane in each direction.
Light rail only works if frequency, security, and reliability are improved, but even then, it’s only a partial solution for those who happen to live near a light rail station. To think others spread across the Front Range will commute to a light rail station and then take a lengthy connecting trip to the airport (2-3 times longer than taking an Uber) defies common sense. Further, the continued growth in the vicinity of the airport will drive the need for more capacity on Peña regardless of improvements to light rail.
How about we save the $15 million and get started now on what’s obviously needed. No study necessary. Alternatively, Peña becomes a nightmare before our city leaders realize it must be expanded. Why not be proactive in order to best serve area residents with efficient access to our constantly growing “world-class” airport?
Larry Harmsen, Englewood
While RTD struggles with low ridership, Denver City Council is looking into widening Peña Boulevard. This will just encourage more people to take their cars to the airport.
RTD must step up its game. Two experiences in the last month illustrate RTD’s need for passenger-focused management:
A colleague recently started his trip by going to Union Station to catch the A Line train to DIA. However, it wasn’t running from Union Station that weekday. Why not? He had to take a costly Uber to the airport to make his flight.
Last week, I rode the A Line from DIA. It took close to an hour for the train to reach my stop at 40th & Colorado. On the straightaway along Peña Boulevard, the train rolled at 5-10 mph, then parked. No obstacles, no station, no announcement to passengers about the cause for the delay. We rolled slowly again. Stopped again. Rolled slowly. I could have bicycled faster!
To get people out of cars, public transportation has to be reliable, safe, and efficient. When there’s a delay, communicate to the passengers. It’s not rocket science, folks. Get your act together!
Nancy B. Weil, Denver
The McNichols building is a “superb setting” for exhibit
Re: “Colorado different,” March 30 feature story
As a photographer currently in the “Colorado Perspectives: Visions in Photography” exhibition at the City and County of Denver’s McNichols Building in Civic Center, I respectfully disagree with Ray Mark Rinaldi’s criticism of the venue.
The “cavernous” exhibition space serves as a superb setting for showcasing art, allowing the art to speak for itself without visual distractions interrupting your gaze. While Rinaldi criticizes the “too high ceilings,” “impossible” lighting, and walls “interrupted by windows, columns and emergency exits,” I relish what the room has to offer: immense walls that permit exceptional placement of individual pieces and groupings without being mashed together; spotlights that both beautifully highlight and isolate the works by directing your attention immediately to the art; and ample space to step back and appreciate the large scale of the show in its entirety (and not bump into other guests holding drinks).
The space allows you to immerse yourself in one style or genre of photograph(s) and smoothly glide to the next with no physical obstructions or metaphysical encroachment — savoring one delightful visual morsel at a time.
Too few private galleries can afford such huge square footage due to the cost. Aside from the enormous variety of works (which is wonderfully broad), this exhibition is among the best I’ve seen, largely because of its location!
Howard M. Paul, Denver
Appreciate the benefits of HOAs
Re: “Lawmakers work to protect homeowners from dubious HOAs,” March 30 commentary
When Krista Kafer says she will never purchase a home in an HOA covenant-maintained neighborhood, then that is her right and I respect that decision. I don’t, however, respect the decision of people who buy a home with covenant controls and won’t abide by those rules through lack of knowledge, ignorance or outright unwillingness to follow the rules that are in place and approved by all the other members of the neighborhood.
No one forced anyone to buy a home in an HOA neighborhood. Krista only hears from those owners who fall into one of those three categories, never from the owners who are completely happy that they have someone caring about the upkeep, the maintenance, the property values or a dozen other things that make a great place to live.
As far as the charges about liens and auctioning of homes, those are all a result of one thing: not following the rules the owner agreed to at purchase. You break the rules, you get fined; you don’t pay the fine, and there are consequences. And when you don’t pay the fine for a long period of time, you know what happens — the same thing that would happen if you didn’t make your car payments. The reason why 2.7 million Coloradans live in HOAs is clearly obvious. Bad neighbors are the ones complaining.
Ralph Shepherd, Lakewood
El Salvador prison stocked with victims or criminals?
Re: “A hellscape,” March 30 commentary
The Denver Post and so many weak-minded people lament criminal illegals (there I go again, repeating myself) being deported and their subsequent presence in an El Salvador prison. Why don’t the news media and bleeding hearts care more about the victims of the criminals (e.g., MS-13 and TdA) than the ones who committed the crimes? It seems that in some circles, perpetrators have more value than victims.
Richard D VanOrsdale, Broomfield
For the first time since Inauguration Day, the Trump administration has admitted that it made a mistake, when a Maryland father from El Salvador was deported and sent to that mega (MAGA) prison. Unfortunately, it can’t return him because he’s now in Salvadoran custody.
Oops.
But you know what? A few innocent people are just going to have to pay the price of the administration’s recklessness, but who cares? This whole deportation thing will go away, and there will be something else — worse — that will take its place.
“U.S. military invades Greenland.”
Craig Marshall Smih, Highlands Ranch
Let’s look at what Trump really has said and done about immigrants
Re: “Jeanette Vizguerra’s detention mocks ICE’s important work,” March 23 editorial;
The editorial claims that since President Donald Trump “first launched a bid for president in 2015, (he) has intentionally painted all illegal immigrants as dangerous criminals.” What Trump said in 2015 was that many illegals were violent criminals, but he assumed many were good people.
The editorial states that Vizguerra has repeatedly been granted stays of deportation. Yes, she also re-entered the U.S. illegally after leaving voluntarily, which voided one of her stays, and she is under a final deportation order, according to ICE.
Democrats have failed to support securing the border, and there is no need for immigration reform, only for enforcing existing immigration law. By doing this, the Trump administration has effectively secured the border in two months. Republicans favor legal and controlled immigration, not rewarding those who entered illegally with legal status or rights.
The editorial notes that Vizguerra pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in 2009 for possessing a fake Social Security card. What the editorial didn’t say is that possession of a fake Social Security card is a felony. Another news source has indicated that she was stopped for speeding in 2008 and also charged with having no driver’s license or proof of insurance. It was in 2009 during a second traffic stop for expired tags, when officers found the fake Social Security card. She was originally charged with felony counts for identity theft and forgery but was apparently given leniency when she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for attempted use of false documents. This conviction was the cause of her deportation order.
Steve Lloyd, Cheyenne
In defense of Aurora
I am a Colorado native and have lived in Aurora for half my life. As everyone but the president acknowledges, we are not being overrun by Venezuelan (or far more prolific – American) gangs.
Aurora is a brilliantly diverse community, with over 100 languages spoken in our city. There are definitely pockets of crime, as are present in any large city, but hello? Have you been to Murphy Creek, Blackstone, the Aurora Highlands, Southshore or any of our other perfectly pristine suburban neighborhoods? Wake up! Aurora is home to the Cherry Creek School District, one of the top school districts in the nation. My daughter is a proud product of CCSD, and is now a teacher in the district, giving back to her community by supporting student groups committed to honoring all learners. However, they have to reevaluate their approach to making all students feel welcome, and with the dismantling of the Department of Education, those who have learning differences/disabilities are about to suffer greatly.
I have worked on the Anschutz Medical Campus for over a decade, serving people from around the region and the country. The University of Colorado School of Medicine is a “top tier research institution,” but we are facing numerous cancellations of research grants and contracts that will adversely impact the health of untold numbers of patients, never mind impacting employment and the Colorado economy.
Make no mistake. The single biggest threat to Aurora and Colorado’s way of life is Donald Trump.
Deanna Schroder, Aurora
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