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Instead of a needed crosswalk, a memorial grows along E. 64th Ave. following the death of an 18-year-old

"When I see that part of this street, I just see my daughter on the floor... how her life is ending," Ana Isabel Morales told Denver7.
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COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Morales-Hernandez family home looks out on a busy E. 64th Ave., and frequently, the family members cross the four lanes to get to their church.

"When I see that part of this street, I just see my daughter on the floor... how her life is ending," Ana Isabel Morales told Denver7.

Earlier this month, 18-year-old Isabella Salas Morales was struck by a driver on that street and died days later. Commerce City police said in a Facebook post, "It appears the pedestrian was at fault, crossing where there is no marked crosswalk."

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The Morales-Hernandez family explained there is no marked crosswalk, stoplight or stop signs on this part of the road, and people would have to walk blocks away in order to get to the other side for a crosswalk.

"We have kids in this community. Everybody feels terrified if this can happen again," Morales said.

As the Morales-Hernandez family grieves the loss of Isabella, a memorial has formed along the road with flowers and stuffed animals to remember the young loss of life.

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"My heart goes out to the family and I hope something is done. It needs to be done quick," Francisco Somoza, whose mother lives off E. 64th Ave., said. Somoza explained the reckless driving along this road and the lack of infrastructure supporting the area.

"This used to be the old dog track, so at one point up to now, it's always been this way," Somoza said. "Now that there's a community over here, it really needs to be governed and watched more carefully."

The Commerce City Urban Renewal Authority bought the land in 2011 to bring new life into the heart of the city. Now the Greyhound Parkdevelopment is filled with single family homes to apartments and townhomes.

"It's been an important site in the heart of Commerce City over the years, and so when the dog track closed, the city bought the property, worked closely with the Urban Renewal Authority to spur on redevelopment and make sure that this property really became a community asset and had elements that the community wanted to see," Commerce City Community Relations Manager Travis Huntington said.

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In 2018, the Urban Renewal Plan for Mile High Greyhound Parkreferenced "the lack of sidewalks and the physical barriers to pedestrian movement adjacent to E. 64th Avenue create a danger to the life of pedestrians."

Huntington responded to these findings, saying, "I would say that was initially part of an Urban Renewal Plan that really set the stage for what the next few years would look like. So a short time after that was completed, the city actually started applying for grant funding to get this corridor study done. So while again, the process sometimes takes longer than folks would like, and I certainly can understand that, I will say that process is underway."

The study that Huntington is referencing focuses on E. 64th Ave. Corridor Study from Hwy 2 to Quebec Pkwy in hopes of helping serve all who use the road including drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.

"So the 64th Avenue Corridor study is really an in-depth look at again getting that community outreach, finding out those impacts and what people are seeing and experiencing and combining that again with roadway design and the knowledge of the engineering folks to really be able to put together a plan that makes sense to make this entire stretch of road safer," Huntington said.

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Close to the development, Huntington pointed out the nearby intersection by the Boys and Girls Club that the city worked on, following the concerns of the community. While Huntington explained the city is committed to making infrastructure safer, there still remains the push from those who live along E. 64th Ave. for change to be done sooner.

"Mija, we are going to do something for this, never going to happen again," Morales said. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, and you’re going to help us. You think this is the end. No, it’s not the end."

When Isabella was first brought to the hospital, a fundraiser was created to support the family. Now, donations will help go toward memorial expenses.

Memorial grows along E. 64th Ave. following the death of an 18-year-old