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Thank you, Democratic Convention, NOT!!
Posted: August 15, 2008 12:45 pm
by SMLCHNG
This area they are shutting down, is
HUGE. It's one of the most traveled area of Denver each and every single day.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx? ... &catid=188
DENVER - The Colorado Department of Transportation has announced a significant closure for August 28 when the Democratic National Convention will move to INVESCO Field.
A 5.5-mile portion of Interstate 25 through Denver will be closed from the interchange with I-70 to the interchange with 6th Avenue starting at 5:30 p.m. until the conclusion of the event.
"I-25 will be closed for just a short period of time but it's necessary to ensure a safe event for attendees," said CDOT Executive Director Russ George. "While we recognize that motorists traveling through the area will likely experience some delay, we are doing everything possible to keep those delays to a minimum."
During the convention, CDOT will restrict any construction and maintenance work that involves closing a lane or roadway within a 10-mile radius of downtown Denver in order to minimize additional impacts to travelers. Also, from midnight August 23rd through midnight August 29th, no oversize/overweight vehicles will be allowed to travel on the I-25 corridor between I-70 and 6th Avenue.
Stoopid.

Re: Thank you, Democratic Convention, NOT!!
Posted: August 15, 2008 12:49 pm
by aeroparrot
SMLCHNG wrote:
This area they are shutting down, is
HUGE. It's one of the most traveled area of Denver each and every single day.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx? ... &catid=188
DENVER - The Colorado Department of Transportation has announced a significant closure for August 28 when the Democratic National Convention will move to INVESCO Field.
A 5.5-mile portion of Interstate 25 through Denver will be closed from the interchange with I-70 to the interchange with 6th Avenue starting at 5:30 p.m. until the conclusion of the event.
"I-25 will be closed for just a short period of time but it's necessary to ensure a safe event for attendees," said CDOT Executive Director Russ George. "While we recognize that motorists traveling through the area will likely experience some delay, we are doing everything possible to keep those delays to a minimum."
During the convention, CDOT will restrict any construction and maintenance work that involves closing a lane or roadway within a 10-mile radius of downtown Denver in order to minimize additional impacts to travelers. Also, from midnight August 23rd through midnight August 29th, no oversize/overweight vehicles will be allowed to travel on the I-25 corridor between I-70 and 6th Avenue.
Stoopid.

If they tried this with I-93, I-90, and Route 1 in Boston, it would shut the city down.
Re: Thank you, Democratic Convention, NOT!!
Posted: August 15, 2008 12:56 pm
by SMLCHNG
aeroparrot wrote:
If they tried this with I-93, I-90, and Route 1 in Boston, it would shut the city down.
That's EXACTLY what it's doing, Ravi.
Look at the map.. I-25 (runs north/south) from I-70 to 6th Ave.. runs right out of downtown..

Posted: August 15, 2008 1:02 pm
by springparrot
Good luck for people that have to travel in that area

Posted: August 15, 2008 1:06 pm
by ph4ever
Yikes!!!! I'm glad I'm not driving from Texas to Washington. That was the route I took
Posted: August 15, 2008 1:13 pm
by pair8head
Re: Thank you, Democratic Convention, NOT!!
Posted: August 15, 2008 1:18 pm
by AlbatrossFlyer
SMLCHNG wrote::
"I-25 will be closed for just a short period of time but it's necessary to ensure a safe event for attendees," said CDOT Executive Director Russ George. "While we recognize that motorists traveling through the area will likely experience some delay, we are doing everything possible to keep those delays to a minimum."
if they we're truly doing everything possible to keep those delays to a minimum they wouldn't be closing I-25
Posted: August 15, 2008 1:21 pm
by SharkOnLand
And yet they still want people to be out and about downtown so the conventioneers don't end up seeing a ghost town.

Posted: August 15, 2008 1:25 pm
by LIPH
It was fun when the Republican Convention was here 4 years ago. It was in Madison Square Garden. Penn Station is right underneath the Garden. Can you say commuting with all that security in the area was a nightmare? I think you can.

Posted: August 15, 2008 1:29 pm
by AlbatrossFlyer
i'm just waiting for some city to say thanks but no.... especially since i believe the city has to pay for most of the extra security these events need.
Glendale coughed up 4 million in police overtime just for the superbowl...
Re: Thank you, Democratic Convention, NOT!!
Posted: August 15, 2008 1:54 pm
by SchoolGirlHeart
aeroparrot wrote:SMLCHNG wrote:
This area they are shutting down, is
HUGE. It's one of the most traveled area of Denver each and every single day.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx? ... &catid=188
DENVER - The Colorado Department of Transportation has announced a significant closure for August 28 when the Democratic National Convention will move to INVESCO Field.
A 5.5-mile portion of Interstate 25 through Denver will be closed from the interchange with I-70 to the interchange with 6th Avenue starting at 5:30 p.m. until the conclusion of the event.
"I-25 will be closed for just a short period of time but it's necessary to ensure a safe event for attendees," said CDOT Executive Director Russ George. "While we recognize that motorists traveling through the area will likely experience some delay, we are doing everything possible to keep those delays to a minimum."
During the convention, CDOT will restrict any construction and maintenance work that involves closing a lane or roadway within a 10-mile radius of downtown Denver in order to minimize additional impacts to travelers. Also, from midnight August 23rd through midnight August 29th, no oversize/overweight vehicles will be allowed to travel on the I-25 corridor between I-70 and 6th Avenue.
Stoopid.

If they tried this with I-93, I-90, and Route 1 in Boston, it would shut the city down.
That's pretty much what they did four years ago. Boston was gridlocked....
I feel for you, Denverites.... time to go on vaca out of town, if you can...

Posted: August 15, 2008 1:56 pm
by chippewa
While conventions/Super Bowls/things like that are fun for the visitors, I'm sure it's more of a PITA for the locals.
Remember when Denver said "thanks, but no thanks" to the Olympics some years ago? Sometimes the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
Posted: August 15, 2008 2:06 pm
by The Lost Manatee
Gee, I remember when the VP visited Denver last year and they shut down the airport for 2 hours before and after his arrival and again for his departure, Pena Blvd, I 70, I 25 and Speer Ave. It was supposedly a tiny disruption. The only reason I didn't miss my flight was that the airport was shut down and the inbound plane had diverted and was 6 hours late arriving into Denver. Then we got to sit for 2 more hours waiting for the VP to leave town.
This seems to be the price that we, the people, get to pay to have big conventions, events and/or important people visit our fair cities.
Posted: August 15, 2008 2:07 pm
by LIPH
But doesn't it bring a lot of money into the local economy? At least that's the story the use to sell it.
Posted: August 15, 2008 2:10 pm
by SchoolGirlHeart
And from a security point of view, unfortunately there are crazies in the world who want to do people harm and make a big splash in the news, so you have to close off large areas to keep everyone safe....

Posted: August 15, 2008 2:14 pm
by aeroparrot
LIPH wrote:But doesn't it bring a lot of money into the local economy? At least that's the story the use to sell it.
Sort of. BUT, if you block off a lot of the area from people, then it may not have an effect.
Posted: August 15, 2008 2:29 pm
by Marnin Grita Guy
Posted: August 15, 2008 3:40 pm
by SharkOnLand
LIPH wrote:But doesn't it bring a lot of money into the local economy? At least that's the story the use to sell it.
It can bring money into the economy, but when you scare all of the locals away from the city, you're just trading their money for the conventioneers' money.
Posted: August 15, 2008 3:56 pm
by Lightning Bolt
SchoolGirlHeart wrote:And from a security point of view, unfortunately there are crazies in the world who want to do people harm and make a big splash in the news, so you have to close off large areas to keep everyone safe....

exactly...
and in Denver, you're looking at an area that is a hub for transporting commerce (huge number of 18-wheelers on I-70 and I-25). After the OKC bombing in '95, it's imperative to control the flow of traffic around these kind of events.
Re: Thank you, Democratic Convention, NOT!!
Posted: August 15, 2008 4:06 pm
by flyboy55
aeroparrot wrote: . . . If they tried this with I-93, I-90, and Route 1 in Boston, it would shut the city down.
I think it did.
Speaking of memories, that map of metro Denver brings back a few: my girlfriend (now wife) lived in Aurora and it got so I knew every signpost and weed on the frequent back-and-forth between Aurora and Colorado Springs on I-225/I-25. I drove it fast both ways (for different reasons).
