Denver, CO
Sacrificing Convenience for Safety Is the Right Thing to Do
Lauren Antonoff
More than halfway into his first term, Mayor Mike Johnston finally met with his own Bicycle Advisory Committee and reiterated a familiar promise: Denver can increase road safety without taking any convenience away from drivers. “We want this to be a city where it is safe and easy to get around by bike or by foot,” Johnston told Westword after the meeting. “We want to build infrastructure and a culture that makes that easier, and we think we can do that without making it more difficult for drivers.”
The mayor is wrong. If Denver is serious about making our streets safer for everyone — people driving as well as people walking, biking, rolling or taking transit — then we have to be honest about what that requires. Real safety improvements will sometimes mean slowing cars down, reallocating space or asking drivers to take a slightly longer route. In other words, we must be willing to trade a bit of convenience for a lot of safety.
We already make this trade-off all the time. Parking in front of the fire hydrant across from my house would be extremely convenient, but I don’t do it because it would put my neighbors at risk if a fire broke out. I don’t enjoy going through security screening every time I attend a Denver City Council meeting, but I accept it because it keeps a critical public forum safe. These small inconveniences are simply part of living in a community where everyone’s well-being matters.
So why is the idea of asking drivers to accept minimal inconvenience — a few extra minutes, a block or two of walking from their parking spot to their final destination — treated as politically impossible, even when it could prevent deaths and life-altering injuries?
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Denver committed to Vision Zero nearly a decade ago, pledging to eliminate traffic fatalities. Yet year after year, the death toll remains stubbornly high, topping eighty lives lost annually since the pandemic. The reason is not mysterious: City leaders have consistently prioritized driver convenience over safety, even as people continue to die on our streets.
For generations, Denver’s street designs have catered not just to driving, but to driving dangerously. The majority of streets on the city’s High Injury Network — just 5 percent of streets where half of all traffic deaths occur — are major arterials like Colfax, Federal, Colorado, Speer and Alameda. These corridors are engineered to move as many vehicles as quickly as possible. People walking and biking are left to navigate speeding traffic with minimal protection, crossing up to eight lanes just to reach the other side.
We know what works. The data is unequivocal: On streets like these, the most effective safety improvements reduce the space available for fast-moving vehicles. Road diets, narrower lanes, shorter crossings and dedicated space for sidewalks, bike lanes and bus lanes all make streets safer for everyone — including drivers — by bringing speeds down to survivable levels.
And yet, Mayor Johnston’s recent decision to abandon the planned road diet on Alameda Avenue is only the latest example of the city retreating from proven safety measures because they might inconvenience drivers. The city noted that its revised plan for Alameda would save drivers an extra sixty seconds of driving time, compared to the original road diet.
The mayor must confront a hard truth: We cannot keep people safe without changing the status quo, and the status quo is built on prioritizing speed and convenience over human life. Denver cannot have it both ways.
So the real question for Mayor Johnston is this: How many lives is Denver willing to sacrifice to preserve driver convenience?
So far in 2025, we have lost 87 people — and counting.
Denver, CO
Kalshi Promo Code DENVER: Claim $10 Bonus for July 4th World Cup, MLB Trades – Denver Stiffs
Take advantage of a $10 sign-up bonus by signing up with Kalshi promo code DENVER and making $10 in trades on the World Cup, MLB or any other available market. Start the registration process by clicking here.
This introductory bonus applies across the full slate of July 4 knockout round matches, featuring Canada against Morocco and France taking on Paraguay, as well as any other World Cup match scheduled for the week. Not to mention, there are tons of options for baseball fans with a full slate of MLB action this weekend.
Kalshi Promo Code DENVER: Trade $10, Get $10 Bonus
Eligible new Kalshi customers receive a clear path to a $10 sign-up bonus designed for the full slate of World Cup Round of 16 matchups. Whether users are analyzing Morocco taking on Canada or evaluating France against Paraguay, this introductory bonus provides additional capital to trade on any of the scheduled knockout stage matches.
To utilize this promotion, users must be at least 18 years of age and make a first-time deposit of at least $1. The $10 bonus successfully unlocks after the user executes $10 in total trades on the prediction markets. Kalshi operates in all 50 states, giving soccer fans a regulated, nationwide platform to trade on World Cup outcomes.
World Cup Matches: Win Probabilities
The Saturday World Cup matches look lopsided on paper. Morocco and France are massive favorites against Canada and Paraguay, respectively. However, knockout stage games can be unpredictable. All it takes is one moment of brilliance, or a terrible mistake, to completely flip a game on its head. Take a quick look at the current probabilities for Saturday’s games.
Matchup (Home vs. Away)
Home Win %
Draw %
Away Win %
Canada vs. Morocco
17%
28%
57%
Paraguay vs. France
5%
13%
84%
It’s also worth noting that there are tons of options for MLB fans. Start making trades on games like Yankees-Twins, Mets-Braves, Dodgers-Padres and more. All it takes is a $10 trade to unlock the $10 bonus.
Getting Started With Kalshi Promo Code DENVER
Claiming the introductory offer requires a straightforward, sequential process. Follow the steps below to secure the sign-up bonus ahead of the opening whistle for Canada vs. Morocco and Paraguay vs. France:
- Create an Account: Register by providing standard personal information. Users must also upload proof of identification to verify their identity and comply with platform regulations.
- Enter the Promo Code: During the registration workflow, input the Kalshi promo code DENVER to officially opt into the welcome offer.
- Make a Deposit: Fund the newly created account with a first-time deposit of at least $1.
- Trade on Predictions: Execute $10 worth of trades on Kalshi’s prediction markets. There is no requirement to place a single trade worth $10; the total cumulative volume of all trades simply needs to reach the $10 threshold to qualify.
Once these steps conclude and total trade volume hits $10, the $10 sign-up bonus unlocks and appears in the account balance. Once activated, this bonus provides the flexibility to trade on any of the upcoming World Cup matches scheduled throughout the week.
Denver, CO
Out-of-order elevator at Denver Housing Authority property leaves disabled tenants looking for answers
Carlos Soto has an added 100 feet and two flights of stairs on every trip to his front door. He says he has to carry his walker every step.
“My whole routine has changed,” Soto said. “I try to not go down as much. If I need groceries or something, I try to hold off and not do it.”
Soto claims the elevator — just steps from his second-floor apartment — has been out of order for over three weeks.
▶️ WATCH: Soto shares the impacts of the out-of-order elevator with Denver7’s Alex Dowd
Out-of-order elevator at DHA property leaves disabled tenants looking for answers
Despite the difficulty, he walks the path three or four times every day.
“I have to take out my dog, so she can go potty and stuff,” he said. “I need to go to the store, get groceries, and I gotta go to work in the morning, and in the afternoon, I gotta come back up.”
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, landlords must make reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities. Colorado’s Safe Housing for Residential Tenants law says owners and landlords have to repair uninhabitable issues within two weeks.
Sen. Tony Exum Sr. — one of the prime sponsors of the bill in 2024 — said a place is “considered uninhabitable when there’s conditions that are unhealthy or unsafe.”
That includes when a disabled tenant is unable to easily or safely access their apartment. However, the landlord must be aware of the issue first. Then, “the onus is on the landlord to make reasonable accommodations to to fix the problem,” Exum said.
KMGH
Are reasonable accommodations being made at Sol Apartments where Soto lives?
Denver7 reached out to Denver Housing Authority — which announced the Sun Valley apartment’s grand opening alongside its partners a little over a year ago — but they said they couldn’t accommodate the request for an interview or statement due to the Fourth of July holiday. They did offer to respond the following week.
DHA employees told Soto in an email that they were “working to resolve the elevator issues.”
The issue, Exum said, is common in apartments.
“There can be an extension [for landlords],” he said “For instance, if they’ve contacted a third party to do the repairs.”
Soto says the housing authority told him they had contacted a third party for repairs, but that they offered no repair timeline or alternative options.
“Maybe make [the building] more accommodating,” Soto said. “Plan A didn’t work, so let’s try Plan B now, and get me up here somehow.”
Under the Safe Housing for Residential Tenants law, landlords are able to move tenants to hotels or nearby properties until the issue is resolved.
Soto says until the elevator is working again, he’s forced to use the stairs or use the elevator and the sky bridge next door, adding even more time to his already long commute.
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