Map: Where to Park Near Colfax During BRT Construction

As East Colfax undergoes a massive transformation to put a Bus Rapid Transit line along the popular Denver corridor, businesses are worried customers won’t want to battle construction through 2027 while they wait for the project to be completed.

Business owners along the first segment of Colfax slated for construction between Broadway and Williams have cited the removal of street parking in front of their businesses as a particular area of concern, so the city of Denver has developed a tool to help people find parking during construction.

The Plan Your Trip parking map is designed to help people identify places near Colfax where parking is available by identifying business lots, paid lots and city-designed parking zones on side streets.

“The overall goal of the Plan Your Trip parking map is to address limited parking in the construction zone while the rapid transit line is being constructed and at the request of businesses,” says Nancy Kuhn, a spokesperson for the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. “People can use the map to find parking spots nearest the places they like to shop and dine and also where on-street parking and off-street lots can be located.”

Owners and employees of the Lion’s Lair, Nob Hill Inn and Squire Lounge cited the removal of parking as a major blow to visitors and business stability during construction.

“They took away all of the street parking out in front of my place," Lions Lair co-owner Tony Meggit told Westword in February. "I've lost at least 20 percent of my business because no one has a place to park.”

Meggit voiced the same concerns at a March 27 meeting held at the Velvet Banjo to connect businesses with project partners and the city.

“It’s just really aggravated me,” he said.

The city wants to show people how to continue to access businesses and traverse Colfax, according to Kuhn. The parking map is just one part of that effort.

“In the coming weeks, people will begin to see banners on the construction fencing to help communicate that businesses are open and to point to walkways,” she says. “Signs drawing attention to RTD bus stops have also been added.”

As was the case for grants meant to help businesses dealing with a loss of revenue during construction, the city’s parking solutions to BRT construction problems arrived months after construction began.

The Denver Economic Development & Opportunity department opened grant applications for the Business Impact Opportunity fund February 18 after construction had began in early December 2024. (Businesses with annual gross revenues less than $100,000 can receive up to $7,500, while those with annual gross revenues over $100,000 can receive up to $15,000.) The city has not announced which Colfax businesses ended up receiving grants during the first round of applications, which closed on March 18.

DOTI, which is overseeing the $150 million BRT project, is also expanding areas on nearby streets where two-hour or fifteen-minute parking is allowed on a temporary basis during construction. For example, the department added a 2-hour parking zone on Race Street outside of Illegal Pete’s on Colfax.

“The parking map being created for East Colfax is, and will continue to be, a work in progress as implementation of the rapid transit line moves and shifts along the corridor,” Kuhn says. “We do expect to be making some adjustments, so we encourage people visiting the corridor to visit the website and check the map before they go for updated versions.”

Here is the current parking map for East Colfax during BRT construction: