METRO Invites Community to Shape Shared Vision on University Corridor

It’s not often someone gets to decide how to enhance the beauty of spaces that make up their community. But METRO has been inviting residents to share their opinions with a hands-on approach. One notable initiative is the METRORapid University Corridor Project, which will provide more than 23 miles of top-of-the-line transit service to some of the region’s busiest and most congested areas.

To gather valuable insights and feedback, METRO organized interactive urban design meetings throughout September. Meetings were open to everyone, from homeowners and civic leaders to students and transit users, to share their thoughts and ideas on how METRO should move forward with the project.

Shared Vision: Workshops give the public a chance to share what concepts are most important to them and their community.

“When it comes to the actual implementation, I want METRO to really take the time to put the money in and create something that is beautiful, that’s well lit, that’s innovative,” said Desmond Calloway, a resident of Segment 3, which runs between Wheeler Transit Center — along the METRORail Red Line — and the Eastwood Transit Center.

During the interactive meetings, community members were invited to visit various stations where large display boards were set up. The boards allowed attendees to review and express their preferences by using stickers, post-it notes, pushpins, and colorful tape. To ensure that everyone's questions were answered, METRO staff members were present to provide assistance and facilitate discussions.

Your Feedback Matters: Feedback boards allowed attendees to review and express their preferences by using stickers, post-it notes, pushpins, and colorful tape.

“I’m hoping that as I am going through various stations I’m learning information, but most of all, that you all will listen,” said participant Youlette McCullough as she arrived at the Segment 5 event. The segment travels between the Fifth Ward / Denver Harbor and Tidwell Transit Centers. A large part of the alignment also travels along Lockwood Drive.

So far, METRO has organized more than twenty in-person meetings and a handful of virtual events aimed at collecting valuable feedback from the local community. The most recent workshops provided an opportunity for the public to delve deeper into the discussions and express their priorities regarding the proposed concepts and their impact on neighborhoods.

"We have the opportunity to understand what the community’s collective preferences and priorities are,” said Tanya McWashington, vice president of Public Engagement.

“We don’t want to design or build a project that is not reflective of the community, and by engaging the public during the design phases, we have the opportunity to understand what the community’s collective preferences and priorities are,” said Tanya McWashington, vice president of Public Engagement.

METRO is working hard to craft a shared vision for the corridor that reflects the needs and desires of the people it will serve. More meetings are planned for early next year.

“We will be coming back to the community to follow up on the feedback we received during the urban design workshops in September and look forward to our ongoing work with the community,” added McWashington.

Watch Video: METRO and community members gather to create something beautiful.