Lakewood, Colorado October 2013
Preliminary Feasibility Study Lakewood, Colorado October 2013 Prepared for SC SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE DENVER REGIONAL COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS City of Lakewood 40 West Arts Denver Regional District Council of Governments ARTSPACE 250 Third Avenue N., Suite 500 Minneapolis, MN 55401 612.333.9012 www.artspace.org Introduction he City of Lakewood, Colorado, owes its name to a railroad man, W. A. H. Loveland, who platted its first lots in the 1880s. But it owes much of its mid-20th century T growth to America’s love of the automobile and the commercial activities that support the “love of the open road” lifestyle. Before the interstate system was built, U.S. Route 40 was the main drag between Denver and Salt Lake City, and it passed right through the heart of Lakewood on West Colfax Avenue. Although I-70 has supplanted U.S. 40 as the path of preference through the Rockies, West Colfax Avenue remains a major thoroughfare, and much of its historic character has survived. Indeed, to drive along West Looking west along Colfax Avenue in the late 1960s (Photo: Wikipedia Commons) Colfax Avenue today is to be reminded of an era when gas stations, roadside diners and indie motels were staples of the American landscape. But Lakewood itself has moved far past the 1950s. Today it has more than 140,000 residents and is the fifth largest city in Colorado, trailing only Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, and Fort Collins. A measure of its status is the new W light rail line, which opened earlier this year, connecting Union Station in downtown Denver to the Jefferson County Courthouse in Golden.
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