The city is working to create a plan to notify Google and Apple maps after 9NEWS raised questions to the transportation department.
DENVER — Five days after converting two streets near East Colfax from one-way to two-way traffic, Denver’s transportation department is updating its notification process after failing to alert major GPS navigation apps about the changes.
Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) converted 13th Avenue and 14th Avenue between Quebec and Yosemite to two-way traffic but did not notify Apple Maps or Google Maps of the change. After questions from 9NEWS, the city said it would reach out to the apps and establish a formal process for notifying navigation platforms when permanent roadway configuration changes are made in the future.
“We’ll have someone on the team reach out to the apps this week, and then confirm a process for that notification moving forward for permanent changes to roadway configurations,” a spokesperson for the DOTI told 9NEWS
Jonathan, the owner of John E’s Tires on 14th Avenue, said the confusion was immediate and ongoing.
“All of a sudden, there’s a change,” he said. “I’ve seen people already go on the opposite side of the street, coming back up not knowing that it’s a two-way.”
He added that the GPS apps still hadn’t been updated days after the conversion.
“I still think it’s not updated,” he said. “I’m sure people are still taking the wrong way without noticing.”
According to Jonathan, the lack of advance warning compounded the problem.
“We didn’t even get a warning. Nothing that said, ‘hey, this is going to be a two-way,”‘ he said. “We had officers parked right across the street flashing people to go on the other side.”
The city disputes that no warning was given. According to DOTI, the rollout included variable message sign boards posted several weeks in advance at the entrances of 13th and 14th at Quebec and Yosemite, along with flags at every cross-street intersection, new bollards and additional roadway signage.
Though clearly not everyone saw them.
DOTI said the original plan called for removing all painted lane markings to make the streets “look and act more like a local street,” according to the city. But the department reversed course mid-rollout, adding cones and a striped center line after a series of near head-on collisions.
“The team added cones and a striped center line to make two-way configuration more obvious to drivers. The original plan has been to remove all lines – to make it look and act more like a local street – but we thought the extra treatments were needed during the transition,” the statement from DOTI reads.
Denver City Councilmember Shontel Lewis, who was interviewed Thursday as cars drove the wrong way into oncoming traffic behind her, was direct in her assessment.
“Safety was the goal, and the way in which it was executed actually put folks in unsafe conditions,” Lewis said.
Lewis, along with four other councilmembers, sent a letter to DOTI leadership demanding answers and “a clear explanation of where communication and coordination failed.” The letter was signed by councilmembers Lewis, Sawyer, Hinds, Gonzales-Gutierrez, Parady and Hinds.
The current changes affect a short segment of 13th Avenue and 14th Avenue near East Colfax. Voters approved the Vibrant Denver bond last year, which includes funding for a safety study covering a longer stretch of 13th and 14th between Quebec Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard. The city said any future discussions about converting that larger segment to two-way traffic would include public outreach before implementation.
