On the first morning of the new East Colfax, the Denver Gazette watched a woman wait at a sidewalk bus stop and try to flag down passing buses. Then she realized the stops had moved to the median. A Capitol Hill rider told the paper, "I was really confused at first."
That was Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. Since then, Colfax from Broadway to Colorado Boulevard has been organized around its center. The two middle lanes carry only buses. The 15 and 15L board at raised platforms in the median. A curb median divides eastbound from westbound traffic. For anyone walking or driving down from City Park, that changes where you cross, where you turn, and where you wait. Under the old layout you could meet Colfax almost anywhere. Now it has a fixed set of entry points.
The bus stop moved, and so did the crossing
The old sidewalk stops on this stretch are gone. Denverite counted seven center stations in each direction, each marked by new steel arches. Riders are asked to reach them at marked pedestrian crossings, and the city says it improved 27 intersections to make crossing easier.
City Park households will mostly use these stations:
- Downing Station, the westernmost of the group
- Franklin & Park Station
- Josephine/York Station
- Colorado Station, the east end of the center-lane stretch for now
RTD's posted 15L schedule lists Colfax-Downing, Colfax-Josephine and Colfax-Colorado among its stops. East of Colorado, buses still run in general traffic and riders board at the old curbside stops. Station names you may see east of Colorado, like Elm and Quebec, belong to later phases.
Paying still works the way it did at the curb. The Denver Gazette's FAQ says riders board and pay at the front door and can exit through any door. The same FAQ puts the combined 15 and 15L schedule at 14 buses an hour, or one every four to five minutes. Bikes are the exception. In RTD's opening announcement, the bike racks moved inside the bus instead of hanging off the front, and riders with bikes board at the rear door to load them. Bikes and scooters aren't allowed in the bus lanes or on the sidewalks, and the city points cyclists to designated bike crossings and nearby bikeways.
What the next phase adds
What runs today is an interim setup the city calls Bus-Only Lane Operations. Full bus rapid transit, branded Lynx, replaces the 15 and 15L once construction is finished along the whole corridor. RTD's own page gives the timing as late 2027 or early 2028.
| Now, since Sept. 27, 2026 | Lynx, late 2027 or early 2028 | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you board | Center platforms, Broadway to Colorado | Center platforms, Broadway to Yosemite |
| Paying | At the front door when boarding | Before boarding, at the station |
| Doors | Board at the front, exit at any door | Board at any door |
| Station screens | Not yet | Schedule displays at stations |
| Scheduled frequency | 14 buses an hour on 15 and 15L combined | City target of a bus every 4.3 minutes during the day |
So the platforms you use today are the permanent ones. The payment and boarding steps are what will change.
Turning left off Colfax is now an arrow, not a gap
The median affects drivers as much as riders. Because a curb runs between the eastbound and westbound lanes, you can only turn left where there's a left-turn lane, and only on a green arrow. The quick left across oncoming traffic into a side street toward the park is gone. If your route home used to start with one, the city's left-turn map shows which intersections still allow it. Expect some of those trips to start a block or two earlier or later than they did.
The bus lanes aren't spare turn lanes either. On opening day, the Gazette saw a driver near Downing use a bus lane to turn left, which set off honking and evasive moves from the cars around it. Before launch, city officials told 9News that driving or biking in a bus lane could bring a $135 fine and riding a scooter in one could bring a $65 fine, and that Denver police would add patrols during the first weeks. This is general information, not legal advice. The city's project page is the place to check the current rules for your own trips.
What the first weeks showed
On Oct. 21, KDVR reported that RTD had logged 3,388 Route 15 and 15L trips since the bus-only lanes opened, along with four crashes. Those are bus trips, not riders. RTD also said 191 operators finished hands-on training before service started.
One of those crashes happened two days after opening, near City Park's southwest corner. The Denver Post reported that on Sept. 29, at Colfax and Williams, a 15L went through a red light and struck an eastbound truck that was turning left on a green arrow. Two passengers reported injuries and were not hospitalized. The truck was making exactly the kind of protected turn the new design depends on. Drivers and bus operators are all still learning the new signal timing.
The coverage so far doesn't include measured travel-time savings or ridership totals. RTD's opening announcement promised faster, more reliable service, and nobody has published numbers on that yet.
The stations double as a gallery
The project set aside 1% of construction costs for public art. A committee of community representatives, working with Denver Arts and Venues, chose five artists to design the station canopies, three designs each. The four stations closest to City Park show work by four of those five artists:
| Station | Canopy artist |
|---|---|
| Downing | Jocelyn |
| Franklin & Park | Justin DeCou |
| Josephine/York | Koco Collab |
| Colorado | Matt Maclean, listed under Access Gallery |
At Downing, the city's gallery shows separate images for the eastbound and westbound platforms. A walk along one side and back on the other shows you both.
November is the first month to use it for something
Business owners on Colfax spent two years working behind orange barrels. Carson Allen, who owns Good Bones Colfax, told 9News the "Colfax ornaments" were finally gone, called the reopened street beautiful, and said he hoped BRT would bring in visitors from farther away.
The Colfax Ave Business Improvement District is answering that with "Anything Can Happen on Colfax," a fall series it describes as an invitation to rediscover the avenue as major BRT construction wraps up. The series has already reached the blocks below City Park. On Nov. 4, a dumpling Grubhop paired $1 dumplings at Ma's Kitchen Dim Sum & Bar, 2301 E. Colfax, and Hong Kong Station, 2205 E. Colfax, with a Nuggets watch party at DNVR Bar, 2239 E. Colfax. Most of the rest of the month runs along the same corridor the 15 now serves:
- Thursday, Nov. 5: Science Riot, stand-up comedy by working scientists, at Cerebral Brewing – Congress Park, 1477 Monroe St. The BID says time and details are coming.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Get Hitched: Vegas Style at the Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax. It runs from 6 p.m., is open to all ages, and features Elvis tribute artist Aaron Black, who will marry couples on stage.
- Tuesday, Nov. 10: The Colfax Art Underground kickoff at Velvet Banjo, 741 E. Colfax, 4 to 8 p.m. It's free, with guided art walks at 4 and 6 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: A pie-season kickoff with Justin from the Okee Dokee Brothers and the 5280 Pastry Co-op. Location and time are still to come.
- Wednesday, Nov. 18: Strange Brews, a magic night hosted by James Lopez, at Goosetown Tavern, 3242 E. Colfax. Doors open at 8 p.m., the show starts at 9, and it's 21 and over.
- Thursday, Nov. 19: Free coffee for East High students, teachers and staff at participating Colfax coffee shops. The BID will name the shops later.
Every one except Science Riot at Cerebral Brewing sits on Colfax itself, along the 15's route. Each of those trips involves the new routine: cross at the marked crosswalk to the platform, pay at the front door, and get off at any door.
Closer to home, Denver Zoo Lights tickets go on sale Nov. 5, for select nights from Nov. 23 to Jan. 3.
Colfax is the edge of City Park that changes most from block to block, and that now includes where you can turn and where you can cross. If you're weighing how the new Colfax affects a home nearby, or just want to talk through what a block or two from a station means day to day, Joaquin Avila is glad to walk through it with you, in English or en español. Schedule a Free Denver Market Consultation.
