Jason Heller
Audio By Carbonatix
Bookstores are usually quiet spaces, but the aisles of Capitol Hill Books now echo with noise from rattled windows and construction equipment. “You should think of bookstores sort of like libraries,” says Holly Brooks, who’s owned the 44-year-old store since 2004. Inside the shop, though, it’s so loud that she has to repeat herself to be heard.
The din is caused by Denver’s Bus Rapid Transit project. The first phase of BRT construction. from Broadway to Williams Street along Colfax Avenue, started in October and is projected to last six to ten months, with the full project anticipated to continue until 2028, when it will reach Interstate 225 in Aurora. Brooks isn’t sure her bookstore at Colfax and Grant will make it that long.
“This is just monstrous,” she says. “There’s nowhere for customers to park. They tore out all the parking meters on our block of Colfax. And no one took into consideration that during the legislative session, they put yellow bags over the Grant Street meters. The only parking lot next to us charges $40, and no one wants to spend $40 to come in and buy a $6 book. Then there’s all their gigantic machinery. I don’t know how we’re going to survive.”
And in their comments on the Westword Facebook post, some readers admit they don’t know what they’ll do without Capitol Hill Books. Says Fred:
I love this place!
Adds Karla:
I hope it can survive. I first went there back in 1991 when I lived in Cap Hill. I need to take time over the next few weeks to visit the store and buy some books. I hope others reading this article will do the same.
Notes Nicole:
All due to a ridiculous bus project that shouldn’t even be happening. I hope they can survive. Thank you to our mayor and city council and the lovely Californians who left CA due to being unhappy but continue to vote the same way.
Replies Erin:
Sounds like this store is dying anyway, but y’all want to scapegoat the BRT.
Explains Maggie:
Bookstores have extremely small margins. Any bumps in the road put them as risk.
Adds John Paul:
The BRT is literally terrible, and there are only a handful of cities it was actually good in. The only other city in this region that has one is Albuquerque, and it destroyed Route 66 in that city. Not to mention with the four buses that service East and West Colfax already, and do an amazing job of that, it just seems like a waste of taxpayer money – for another corporate entity not controlled by our city, like it should be.
Concludes Amy:
Just take all the character away from Denver.
When were you last at Capitol Hill Books? Have you traveled along East Colfax since the BRT project started? Post a comment or share your thoughts at editorial@westword.com.
