Neighbors in Washington Park took a victory lap Friday after Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure agreed to modify plans for a “road diet” that would have narrowed traffic along a heavily used stretch of East Alameda Avenue.

The neighborhood group Act for Alameda told The Denver Gazette that a Thursday meeting with DOTI officials and a representative from Mayor Mike Johnston’s office yielded substantial changes in what had been a plan to cut the flow of traffic from four lanes to two along the busy thoroughfare.

DOTI confirmed it had adjusted its “lane repurposing project” along Alameda to leave two lanes of eastbound traffic intact, while narrowing westbound traffic for a mile-long expanse from South Humboldt to South Pearl Street to a single lane. That will allow for designated left-turn lanes to be installed, feeding streets south of the avenue.

 “They really have listened,” said Lowry resident Rye Austin, a regular commuter along the stretch, who spoke on behalf of Act for Alameda about DOTI’s new accommodations to the plan.

“They were open to a solution that balances safety and neighborhood character,” he added. “At the end of the day, this is what good community planning looks like.”

The opposition group of residents, commuters and business owners formed last summer after DOTI made plans to move ahead on the Alameda project. Opponents reportedly drew 800 co-signers to a letter to the mayor, voicing that the narrowing could “create substantial and lasting negative impacts on traffic safety, neighborhood livability, and the vitality of local businesses.”

The city had maintained the narrowing project was necessary to improve safety, following what it said was a study of speeding and collisions that were resulting from unprotected left turns across two oncoming lanes of traffic. DOTI had added that it had received community requests for better pedestrian crossings near a school.

Neighbors had countered that the project would likely slow traffic on Alameda, forcing cars to reroute into quiet streets surrounding the boulevard. A city engineer had reportedly admitted during a June meeting with residents that traffic on side streets would increase on east-west Cedar Avenue north of the Avenue, and on East Dakota and Virginia Avenues to the south.

Opposition to the project also drew some business owners, who worried that the slowing would increase incidents of drivers cutting through their parking lots to avoid backups at intersections, something they were already observing. Some also voiced concerns that slimming down traffic on the Avenue would cut into their customer traffic.

Not all neighbors were happy with the announcement.

“I’m personally disappointed with the decision,” Bryant Denning, one of a number of neighbors who had been supporters of the original two-lane plan, told The Denver Gazette.

“I interpret it as prioritizing convenience over the safety of pedestrians in area,” he said. “My general takeaway is that the safety issues we have observed will continue as they are.”

The city had carried out a similar lane reduction project along the same corridor from 2008 to 2010, but had returned it to four lanes of flow after rush-hour backups were cropping up at South Downing Street — the busiest intersection along the stretch.

Following an earlier query from The Denver Gazette, DOTI had said that traffic along the corridor had been greater than 20,000 vehicles per day during the previous project, and that it was now averaging 14,800 vehicles, more suited to a lane partial reduction.

In a news release on Friday, DOTI said it had adjusted the latest design to narrow traffic to a single westbound lane for a 10-block stretch from Pearl Street to Humboldt Street, which would allow it to create designated center turn lanes.

“Providing left turn lane pockets on this stretch is anticipated to reduce vehicle crashes,” the statement said. “Vehicle volumes on Alameda Ave. are lower westbound compared to eastbound, so the potential for congestion and traffic diversion is lower with the lane repurposing in the westbound direction, while the addition of turn lane pockets will increase safety.”

“Providing two travel lanes eastbound will reduce the potential for congestion eastbound and diversion to the side streets,” the statement added.

Also included in the revised plan are implements designed to improve safety for pedestrians and for bike or scooter traffic. Those included a flashing beacon, pedestrian refuge island and marked crosswalks at Franklin Street; new crosswalks at Grant Street; and protected bike-lane approaches and bike crossings at Washington and Emerson streets.

DOTI added that traffic signals would be upgraded at Pearl and Emerson Streets. The speed limit along the stretch will be cut from 30 to 25 miles-per-hour as previously planned. The agency said it expects the design aspects to be completed in mid-2026 and to carry out the actual modifications from late next year to late 2027.

In a separate statement to residents, DOTI said that the “partial lane repurposing” would enhance safety, pedestrian visibility and comfort, while minimizing traffic impacts. The project would include corner reconstruction and ADA ramp upgrades at Emerson, along with safety Improvements on Virginia Avenue and Downing Street to mitigate side street diversions.