For more than a century, West Colfax has been one of the most iconic streets in Colorado.
It’s where art galleries sit beside family-owned restaurants and neighborhood shops. Where buses stop just steps away from murals, studios, and cafés. Where commuters, cyclists, artists, and neighbors all move through the same stretch of road that connects Lakewood to the rest of the Denver metro area.
But when West Colfax first took shape in the late 1800s, it wasn’t originally designed for the kind of neighborhood life that exists today.
Now, West Colfax is in the midst of a transformative effort to reshape part of the corridor into a safer, more walkable, and better-suited space for the community that calls it home.
The West Colfax Transportation Safety Project brings a series of improvements to the corridor between Sheridan Boulevard and Teller Street, running through the heart of 40 West Arts District. The goal is simple but ambitious: make the street safer and more comfortable for everyone who uses it—drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians alike.
Designing a Street for a Bustling Corridor
Anyone who spends time along West Colfax knows it’s more than just a roadway.
It’s a place where people catch the bus or light rail to work, walk between small businesses, visit galleries during First Friday Art Walks, or grab dinner with friends. But historically, the infrastructure hasn’t reflected that dynamic mix of uses.
City data shows that the corridor has experienced a high number of crashes over the years.
In a five-year period between 2015 and 2019, there were 820 crashes along a 1.5-mile stretch of Colfax, including 283 serious injuries and six fatalities. Nearly 100 of those incidents involved pedestrians or cyclists.
Rather than accept those numbers as inevitable, city leaders and community members began asking a different question: What would it take to make Colfax safer for everyone?
The answer became the West Colfax Transportation Safety Project.
What’s Changing on Colfax
The redesign focuses on a series of improvements intended to make the corridor more predictable, easier to navigate, and safer for people traveling in different ways.
One of the biggest changes will be the addition of continuous center medians, which help organize turning traffic and reduce unexpected vehicle movements.
New designated pedestrian “Z-crossings” will create clearly marked places for people to cross the street mid-block, helping guide foot traffic toward safer crossing points while making those crossings more visible to drivers.
The project will also bring pedestrian hybrid beacons, improved lighting, bus pullouts, landscaping, and upgraded sidewalks. In some areas, an underutilized traffic lane will be repurposed to create more space for pedestrian infrastructure.
Taken together, these changes aim to transform Colfax, designed primarily for vehicle throughput into one that better reflects the way we actually use it today.
A Project Shaped by the Community
One of the most notable aspects of the project is how much local input shaped its design.
Over the past several years, the City of Lakewood has hosted open houses, pop-up events, workshops, and community meetings to gather feedback from residents, business owners, and transit riders.
Artists from the 40 West Arts District were even invited to help imagine how public art could be incorporated into the corridor, reinforcing the neighborhood’s cultural identity while improving safety.
The community’s priorities were clear: improve safety, preserve the character of West Colfax, and support the small businesses that give the corridor its personality.
The project secured $10 million through Colorado’s Safer Main Streets Initiative, along with a $2.5 million local funding match from Lakewood—the largest award granted through the statewide program.
Progress Already Underway
Construction is in full swing, bringing parts of that vision to life.
According to Joe Ott, Planner for the City of Lakewood’s Comprehensive Planning Division, during a recent project update at a recent WCCA Meeting, Phase 1 construction—which includes the median improvements—has been completed, with final landscaping scheduled for completion in spring 2026.
The West Colfax Transportation Safety Project and the North Dry Gulch Improvement Project, both in progress, will dramatically improve the corridor. Along with other planned improvements, we can look forward to a safer and more welcoming West Colfax—and a corridor well positioned for more reinvestment.
Future phases will continue expanding pedestrian infrastructure, including sidewalks, lighting improvements, and safer crossings throughout the corridor.
Reimagining Our Iconic Corridor
West Colfax has always been a storied location where many diverse communities intersect.
It’s home to artists, small business owners, longtime residents, and thousands of people who travel through the corridor every day. Making the street safer helps create a place where those communities can continue to grow and thrive together.
Safer crossings mean easier access to transit. Better sidewalks mean more people walking between businesses and galleries. Improved lighting and design create a sense of local pride and help create a corridor that feels welcoming long after the sun goes down.
In other words, the project isn’t just about transportation. It’s about reshaping one of Lakewood’s most important streets into a place that works better for the people who use it every day.
And when the project is complete, West Colfax won’t just remain iconic. It will become safer, stronger, and more connected than ever before.
