Somehow Edgewater manages to pull off small-town charm even while bordering downtown Denver. “Everybody is on a first-name basis here in Edgewater. You wouldn’t even think most of these people had cars,” says Cody Ford, owner ofTo better cater to the town’s walking culture, the City of Edgewater undertook and approved a Traffic Calming and Mobility Plan in 2019, which identified much-needed changes to the 25th Avenue corridor to better support pedestrians and bicycle users.
This Edgewater main street runs from Sheridan to Benton Street along the northwestern corner of Sloan’s Lake. The plan is to turn it into a one-way street with wider sidewalks and bicycle lanes. The pandemic also convinced the city to increase the patio area for the various restaurants that line the street, which include Joyride Brewing Company, US Thai Cafe and Edgewater Inn.
Healy hypothesizes that because the business is more alternative and only open in the evenings, it slipped through the communication cracks leading to anxiety and frustration when the street was shut down and construction crews started digging up the street.
Ford says that Providence has not seen a significant dip in traffic. “I’m a huge advocate of the City of Edgewater and the way they look out for small businesses and the things they try to mitigate the damages,” he notes. “There’s actually a guy that’s out here all day long; his job is basically to move road closure signs for trucks making our deliveries. ...