News Article: Colorado Avalanche Media Coverage Part VI

[redacted]

It’s definitely gotten worse as the city and state have boomed, but yeah compared to a lot of other cities, it could be waayyyy worse.

Yeah it is worse than it was 5 years ago (unclear if the past couple years are the covid spike that a lot of places are experiencing), but in comparison, Denver is about as safe as you can get for a city of that size (San Diego is probably safer). Denver does seem to have a lot of property crime. Now Denver isn’t certainly Virginia Beach (that place is awesome btw) levels of safe, but it isn’t where you just flat out shouldn’t go to many areas like Memphis or Chicago.

I don’t think perception is helped when the news is constantly posting how bad things always are. I randomly watch local news and it seems like everything is always falling apart everywhere… when statistically and in reality, that really isn’t the case. Bad news just drives engagement to a lot higher degree.

 

[The Merchant]

Dom's model still loves the Avs. They have the highest overall depth rating in the division despite Landy, Bo, Manson and Helm not being included.

 

[katfude]

Huge lol to the gated community pearl-clutchers that think Northglenn and Thornton are the ghetto.

 

[Pokecheque]

Huge lol to the gated community pearl-clutchers that think Northglenn and Thornton are the ghetto.

Oh we're well aware where the *real* ghetto is, most of that is tongue-in-cheek.

Northglenn and Thornton are just kinda run-down strip-mall suburbia. We're not implying there's crack dens on every corner, just every other corner.

 

[Balthazar]

Oh we're well aware where the *real* ghetto is

So if I ever go to the Denver area where is that place tourists shouldn't go?

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

So if I ever go to the Denver area where is that place tourists shouldn't go?

Pretty much anywhere around Colfax Ave from downtown east to Peoria, and west to Federal. East is worse, but neither is great.

 

[Pokecheque]

So if I ever go to the Denver area where is that place tourists shouldn't go?

I mean it's pretty obvious. Downtown is nice, outside of there can get a little sketchy. North Denver is a place I generally avoided (just say "Five Points" and most Coloradans will make a face). There's been revitalization efforts but I've no idea how successful they've been. There's also Commerce City and Aurora, but I've no idea why you'd ever find yourself there if you didn't live there in the first place.

Colfax is probably the longest stretch of scum and villainy in all of Colorado. Ride the RTD 15 if you want about a year's worth of entertainment unfold before your very eyes. I had to ride it briefly to commute from Golden to Denver from work and it was...interesting.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

I mean it's pretty obvious. Downtown is nice, outside of there can get a little sketchy. North Denver is a place I generally avoided (just say "Five Points" and most Coloradans will make a face). There's been revitalization efforts but I've no idea how successful they've been. There's also Commerce City and Aurora, but I've no idea why you'd ever find yourself there if you didn't live there in the first place.

Colfax is probably the longest stretch of scum and villainy in all of Colorado. Ride the RTD 15 if you want about a year's worth of entertainment unfold before your very eyes. I had to ride it briefly to commute from Golden to Denver from work and it was...interesting.

The area around Coors Field and Union Station has gotten shitty in the last few years, basically since the Pandemic started.

 

[Pokecheque]

The area around Coors Field and Union Station has gotten shitty in the last few years, basically since the Pandemic started.

That's kind of a shame, that used to be the area my friends and I frequented when we went downtown. Start out at the Giggling Grizzly and head on over to Polly Esther's or whatever club happened to be nearby at that time.

Closer to Coors there was Splinters, which I believe is long gone. Place was a total dive but it had charm. Pretty sure I've told this story before--my buddy got into a huge brawl on the roof of the Sports Column one afternoon during a Rockies game, he sent the guy to the hospital (f***ing idiot started it for no reason) but was carted off to jail because the dipshit bartender pressed charges on both because he intervened and got hit (not by my friend). My buddy's brother got severely concussed to the point where he was repeating himself and was hospitalized for days. Anyway, charges were almost immediately dropped, but ever since then I've had a grudge against the Sports Column.

 

[sethro109]

So if I ever go to the Denver area where is that place tourists shouldn't go?

If you do visit Denver and find your self driving down i25, keep your eyes peeled for some weird art. The weirdest being the giant red penis that looks like it's made out of boobs.

 

[The Abusement Park]

So if I ever go to the Denver area where is that place tourists shouldn't go?

16th Street Mall sucks pretty hard now.

 

[Ararana]

Dom's model still loves the Avs. They have the highest overall depth rating in the division despite Landy, Bo, Manson and Helm not being included.

View attachment 636666

Are you trying to tell me I shouldn't believe the Dallas f***ing Stars are finally the real deal?!?

 

[S E P H]

I mean it's pretty obvious. Downtown is nice, outside of there can get a little sketchy.

Not really anymore. I wouldn't take my kids to 16th Street Mall, filled with homeless and sketchy stoners. The areas around the Capitol are also effin' sketchy due to the amount of homeless around that area. The city really lost its charm, it was awesome when it had its wild-west type of aura, but I can't really give recommendations to people to go visit it nowadays except LoDo (mostly for food and nothing else) and/or Cherry Creek. Now it's becoming a large "insert California city 2.0" here, but without any cool beach vibe. Even though it's safe in the spectrum of large cities, it has gotten a lot more dangerous in the past decade or so. If I remember correctly, Denver or CO in general has horrible hit-and-run stats compared to the entire USA.

Colfax isn't a place I would go to at night, but it's fine during the daytime. Northwest Denver to Commerce City is probably the worst place I would avoid @Balthazar

 

[redacted]

Colfax on the west side of I25 isn’t bad especially to the north in HiLo. Not always the nicest area, but it isn’t bad by normal standards. To the east is the worst part of Denver, but I’ve never felt unsafe there (and the Ethiopian place on east Colfax is the best in Denver) and has the Mon Chalet with manatee hour. Culture!

The LoDo/Union Station area has taken some steps back since the pandemic. Still not what I’d consider unsafe… but there is clearly some smash n grab going on there (probably the biggest uptick in crime there is this… worlds away from the Bay Area level though). 16th st mall has been in decline for 20+ years and it is showing. Lots of homeless here…

The areas that were in mid gentrification pre pandemic have mostly halted leaving them more block to block and odd for Denver. That includes Five Points (which got fairly nice).

If you want a generality… say out of Aurora and northeast and east Denver. If you end up there though, you’re not going to get shot… just head west on a major road and you’ll be out of it pretty quickly.

Denver is one of the cities that has the weird side effect of the shutdowns. Places that were revitalizing have fallen way off and those that were nicer have take a step back.

The biggest thing I’d say… don’t leave shit out in the open in your car. Don’t mouth off in the bar areas. Stay out of the homeless camps. You’re likely to be fine.

 

[CharlesPuck]

yikes, the truly awful takes on Denver here are laughable. Colfax is fine, if you feel threatened walking on Colfax close to downtown all the way to Colorado blvd, thats on you...

Five Points is a great part of town now too.

 

[redacted]

yikes, the truly awful takes on Denver here are laughable. Colfax is fine, if you feel threatened walking on Colfax close to downtown all the way to Colorado blvd, thats on you...

Five Points is a great part of town now too.

I think part of it is people remember Denver of a decade ago and from that level, there is more crime. So there is the reality that it is increasing. The difference is that Denver started that from a very low level of crime and the standard is based on that. Not what it is like in pretty much every other big city.

 

[Pokecheque]

It always cracks me up when people saying things like that about Denver or how Denver is filled with crime... as a big city, yeah there are some spots of crime and some areas that aren't great. But Denver is probably one of the nicest and safest big cities in the US. Anybody saying that would be appalled by what they see in say Memphis, which is legitimately rough.

Yeah, I haven't traveled a ton in my life but I've been to some places in the U.S. that make the absolute most run-down and scuzziest parts of Denver look positively pristine. Denver is a beautiful city and, at the risk of sounding like a gentrified snob...which I may very well be, even the parts some might consider kinda sketchy are full of fun people and places. Back when we were young men one of my closest friends lived in Poets Row off of Sherman and I absolutely loved that area. He got into some trouble with a homeless crackhead once but apart from that never suffered any ill effects.

 

[redacted]

Yeah, I haven't traveled a ton in my life but I've been to some places in the U.S. that make the absolute most run-down and scuzziest parts of Denver look positively pristine. Denver is a beautiful city and, at the risk of sounding like a gentrified snob...which I may very well be, even the parts some might consider kinda sketchy are full of fun people and places. Back when we were young men one of my closest friends lived in Poets Row off of Sherman and I absolutely loved that area. He got into some trouble with a homeless crackhead once but apart from that never suffered any ill effects.

Yeah one trip to East St Louis would probably open a ton of eyes for many people. You want to see bad and legit feel unsafe… that’s the place. That’s kinda on the opposite side though. Most cities are not nearly that bad either. Denver is far from perfect, but the worst areas of Denver are just the lower end of the middle for most cities. Denver’s middle is one of the nicer in the US.

 

[S E P H]

I think part of it is people remember Denver of a decade ago and from that level, there is more crime. So there is the reality that it is increasing. The difference is that Denver started that from a very low level of crime and the standard is based on that. Not what it is like in pretty much every other big city.

Tokyo crime rates disagree with this sort of logic. I believe Denver has more crime because more people have moved into the area, there are many reasons but one of them is THC. More people, more crime. Tokyo crime rates also disagree with this logic, so it boils down to a cultural problem.

Crime Comparison Between Denver, CO, United States And Tokyo, Japan. Safety Comparison.

www.numbeo.com

 

[redacted]

Tokyo crime rates disagree with this sort of logic. I believe Denver has more crime because more people have moved into the area, there are many reasons but one of them is THC. More people, more crime. Tokyo crime rates also disagree with this logic, so it boils down to a cultural problem.

Crime Comparison Between Denver, CO, United States And Tokyo, Japan. Safety Comparison.

www.numbeo.com

The cultural and legal differences between Tokyo and Denver are vast. Any comparisons are kinda nonsense… I thought I was clearly speaking about US and Canadian cities. The challenges there are far more similar, but I’ll attempt to me more clear next time.

 

[Bonzai12]

Ah you guys are lowering the bar for Denver here.

The 16th street mall used to be one of my favorite places to go. It was like what 1st and 2nd street are in Cherry Creek now, but much more laid back without the snobbery. The legalization bill definitely changed everything. I lived on the 16th st mall and then in LoDo and saw everything first hand. It literally all changed within 6 months to a year and progressively got worse.

I voted yes to pass the legalization bill and was a 30something smoker at the time but if given a chance again I’d vote no. Weed was always super easy to get but now everyone smokes it on the street instead of inside their homes.

 

[Balthazar]

Dater is feeling not feeling well.

 

[redacted]

Ah you guys are lowering the bar for Denver here.

The 16th street mall used to be one of my favorite places to go. It was like what 1st and 2nd street are in Cherry Creek now, but much more laid back without the snobbery. The legalization bill definitely changed everything. I lived on the 16th st mall and then in LoDo and saw everything first hand. It literally all changed within 6 months to a year and progressively got worse.

I voted yes to pass the legalization bill and was a 30something smoker at the time but if given a chance again I’d vote no. Weed was always super easy to get but now everyone smokes it on the street instead of inside their homes.

I don't think it is solely weed... other areas that have not legalized are experiencing similar things, but we are likely looking at a ton of factors and it could easily (likely) play a role.

This is to my earlier point, Denver started from a really high area compared to other places so any regression is immediately noticeable and shocking. Whatever is happening post Covid should be fairly concerning nationwide. There are a lot of spikes and mental health seems incredibly more fracture than it was before. Denver is not immune to it at all, but this is a larger issue than just Denver.

 

[Hennessy]

I haven't lived in Denver in 30 years, but at the time Colfax was still rough, and the Capitol Hill neighborhood wasn't gentrified yet.
Aurora was just a dull suburb.
From all I've heard from friends still living there, it's gotten much worse. But the same is true nearly everywhere. The recession made a lot of people desperate and/or destitute. That's a hole that's much harder to climb out of than it was 30 years ago when I could choose to be a vagabond for a couple of years and bounce right back out of it as easily as I fell in.

 

[redacted]

I haven't lived in Denver in 30 years, but at the time Colfax was still rough, and the Capitol Hill neighborhood wasn't gentrified yet.
Aurora was just a dull suburb.
From all I've heard from friends still living there, it's gotten much worse. But the same is true nearly everywhere. The recession made a lot of people desperate and/or destitute. That's a hole that's much harder to climb out of than it was 30 years ago when I could choose to be a vagabond for a couple of years and bounce right back out of it as easily as I fell in.

Compared to when I first started visiting Denver with regularity (99/00 ish), Denver is immensely nicer and safer today than it was then. Compared to 2015, it has taken a step back for sure. the numbers in the US nationwide post covid are not good at all, Denver is not escaping that trend.