Parent urges Denver to fund safety fixes after two student crashes near Skinner Middle School

A Denver parent urged the City Council on Feb. 3 to increase funding for the city's Vision Zero action plan and to install protected pedestrian signals at busy crossings after two students from Skinner Middle School were struck near neighborhood bikeways.

“A student was on the crosswalk with the walk signal when a driver making an unprotected left hit them,” Alejandra Castaneda said. Castaneda told the council she lives in District 1 and that the incidents occurred at intersections along West 40 First Avenue at Lowell Boulevard and at Federal Boulevard adjacent to the West 40 First Avenue bikeway.

Castaneda said the city characterizes West 40 First Avenue as a “low-volume, low-speed street designed to prioritize people who are biking, walking, and rolling,” but that the current leading pedestrian interval and crossing timing are insufficient. “After having to press the pedestrian button, they are made to wait for a long time in front of fast moving, polluting motor vehicle traffic, and then only get a few seconds to start crossing,” she said.

Castaneda asked council members to consider increasing Vision Zero funding in the 2026 budget and to give students who walk and bike to school “an automatic and protected walk signal the entire time they are crossing a busy road like Federal on a city design neighborhood bikeway.”

She said transportation officials have told residents they must balance priorities across street uses but asked that the safety and independent mobility of children be prioritized.

The incidents were described in public comment; no city staff response or formal action was recorded during the public comment session. Castaneda said one incident occurred on January 15; she did not provide specific police or crash report numbers during her remarks.

Searchable tags: Vision Zero, Skinner Middle School, West 40 First Avenue, pedestrian safety, school crossing.