The 16th Street Mall takes civil engineers for granite
Imagine that the 16th Street Mall is Denver's smile, and that the granite pavers are the individual teeth that cost over a million dollars a year to floss, fill and cap. RTD is tired of the expense and wants to rip them up and replace them with concrete. The paver-pattern was designed by architect I.M. Pei to resemble the skin of a Western Rattlesnake, and the folks at Historic Denver want it saved at all costs.
The buck stops at The Downtown Denver Partnership. It is their job to bring together RTD, Historic Denver and an oversight committee (that includes more agendas than a Friday night open-mic poetry slam) to select a civil engineering team. The consultant must then make a complete technical assessment of the 16th St. Mall and recommend rehabilitation solutions, for both the pavers and the other design elements as well.
Applications for the job closed on December 8, 2008 and the interviews begin on December 17th. In an effort to save everyone a lot of squabbles and cash, I offer my solutions here... -- Kenny Be
