DENVER — Whether you live along the Front Range or are just stopping by, Peña Boulevard is the main gateway to Denver International Airport—a road now struggling to meet the region’s growing demand.
It’s the only way to get to and from Denver International Airport, which can turn into a traffic nightmare at certain times of day.
“I mean, if you make one wrong turn, like it takes 10 minutes to loop around, which [happened] today,” said Denver resident Casey Rosener, who picked her friend Victoria Torres up from the airport on Saturday.
Airport officials are now exploring ways to make it easier and safer to move around on a road that wasn’t designed to handle the traffic volume we see today.
According to airport data, approximately three times more people travel on Peña Boulevard annually than pass through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel.
When the airport opened in 1995, the boulevard was projected to serve up to 50 million annual passengers.
The data shows Peña Boulevard's most dangerous stretch runs from 56th to 40th Avenue, where heavy traffic volumes fuel the highest crash rates. Rear-end collisions happen most often due to chronic congestion.
“When Peña is backed up, if you're going towards the airport, the side streets will get very backed up, because there's nowhere else to go, and people are trying to maneuver around it,” said Green Valley Ranch resident Madison Carroll.
Denver International Airport is listening to concerns like Carroll’s through a virtual open house designed to gather feedback on what you want to see – not just on Peña, but in the surrounding area, like on-ramps, side streets, and even transit lines.
The project specifically focuses on the section of Peña Boulevard between I-70 and E-470.
The open house is part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, a required environmental impact review needed to unlock federal funding for the project.
“They need to really work on getting some stoplights in here, [not just] stop signs,” added Carroll.
A survey conducted last year has already given some insight as to what people want to see – like better access for Green Valley Ranch residents, more transit options, and a second airport entrance.
“I guess earlier signage,” added Rosener, echoing another concern that was brought up in that survey.
Some other ideas include building an ‘airport-only’ road or adding an express lane, though not everyone agrees that widening the roadway is the perfect solution.
“Even though it's counterintuitive, one more lane is proven not to be effective. It makes traffic worse,” said Rosener.
The virtual open house is only the beginning of the conversation – even though the feedback form on the website will only be open until February 2, airport officials say they’ll continue to hear your voice through future community outreach events.
With input from the community, the airport aims to identify the best solution for Peña Boulevard by year’s end, addressing congestion and safety for all travelers.
