Colfax's First Holiday Season Without Cones: How Capitol Hill's Main Street Works Now

In August, one of Waymo's driverless cars got mixed up in the East Colfax construction zone and stayed stuck for about an hour. A month later, the Denver Post reported that route apps like Google Maps were still sending drivers to left turns along the avenue that no longer exist. City transportation officials said they were working with Waymo, Apple and Google to update their routing.

The fencing came down on September 27, 2026. Since then, Colfax from Broadway to Colorado Boulevard has been a finished street that most people still drive and shop by memory. Full Lynx Colfax service won't start until the rest of the corridor is built. Until then, the Capitol Hill stretch runs on interim rules, and this holiday season falls right in that window. For now, parking is free, the buses are already in their new lanes, and the Colfax Ave Business Improvement District is running a campaign to bring shoppers back.

The left turn you used to make may be gone

The biggest change for anyone driving through Capitol Hill is what happens at the cross streets. Under what RTD calls Bus-Only Lane Operations, cars, trucks and rideshares drive only in the outer lanes. The two center lanes belong to Routes 15 and 15L.

Here's what has changed, per RTD's September 17 announcement and Denverite's guide to the new Colfax:

• Left turns are allowed only where there's a left-turn lane and an arrow.
• U-turns are allowed at those same protected intersections when it's safe.
• New center medians block left turns from many of the side streets that cross Colfax.
• Bus lane fines are $135 for drivers and $65 for people riding bikes or scooters in the center lanes.
• Signals are coordinated with the buses through Transit Signal Priority, which RTD says moves buses through intersections more efficiently.

Denverite reports that the road was repaved, the signal poles were revamped, and the narrower driving lanes are meant to slow traffic on a street the outlet calls one of the most dangerous in Denver. If you're heading to a spot on the north side of Colfax from the south, it's often easier to plan the trip around a protected left than to trust an app that still remembers the old street.

The bus stop moved to the middle of the avenue

The sidewalk stops for the 15 and 15L are gone. Riders now board on raised platforms in the center of Colfax, marked by steel arches. There are seven stations in each direction along the reopened stretch, set up in pairs with one platform for eastbound buses and one for westbound. In Capitol Hill, the stations include Downing and Josephine/York.

Fewer stops means some people now walk farther to catch the bus. RTD's trade-off is a faster trip, and once full service runs, buses are planned every 4.3 minutes during the day. The city says it improved 27 intersections to make crossing to the center platforms easier. Use the marked crosswalks to get there.

A few details matter if you'll be carrying shopping bags or a bike:

• You still board and pay at the front door, and you can exit from any door.
• The bike racks are now inside the bus. Riders with bikes board at the rear door, load the bike, then walk up front to pay.
• Bikes, skateboards, scooters and pedicabs aren't allowed on the station platforms.
• The platforms are raised so you step straight onto the bus, and for riders with accessibility needs the bus rises and deploys a ramp.

The stations have benches, windscreens, security cameras, emergency phones and artwork on the overhead shades. They don't have ticket machines or schedule displays yet, and the new buses haven't arrived either. Those come with full service.

Free parking has an end date

This is the part of the in-between period that helps holiday shoppers most. The city counts around 180 parking spaces along the reopened stretch of Colfax, all marked with two-hour signs, and Denverite reports they're free for now. RTD and the Denver Post also describe new free two-hour zones on the side streets.

Denverite reports that the Colfax spaces will require payment once BRT fully launches. RTD expects that launch at the end of 2027 or in early 2028. Either way, this holiday season and the next both fall inside the free window. Two hours is plenty for dinner and a couple of shops, and the limit keeps spaces turning over on busy Saturdays.

The businesses that made it through

Two years of construction is a long time for small businesses. Frank Locantore, executive director of the Colfax Ave Business Improvement District, told the Denver Post that the BID's district was 84% occupied, the same rate as before construction began. He said few closures could be traced directly to the project, while noting that some businesses were "hanging on by their fingertips." Denver Economic Development & Opportunity said the city gave nearly $2 million in grants to 152 affected businesses.

Holiday spending matters to the businesses that held on. Denverite reported in September that revenue at Lifetime Tattoo fell 46% during construction, according to manager Zac Otto, who said walk-ins are "a big part" of the shop's business. Pete's Kitchen, the late-night diner, asked for support on social media at the worst of the work, and general manager Alex Barakos told Denverite in May that customers came out for weeks afterward.

Some businesses opened in the middle of it. Good Bones Coffee owner Carson Allen told Denverite:

"We knew what we were signing up for in hopes of contributing to the next phase of Colfax, post-construction."

Locantore pointed to a few recent openings along the corridor:

• Sadboy Creamery at Marion Street. The pint shop opened September 19, 2026, at 1201 E. Colfax Ave., #101. As of mid-October, its hours were Thursday and Friday 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday noon to 8 p.m. Those may change with the season.
• Ma's Kitchen Dim Sum & Bar at York Street, at 1514 York St. It's been open since November 2025, so it's no longer new, but it's one of the anchors at the east end of Capitol Hill.
• Pampered Paws at High Street.

Bag of Colfax goes on sale November 28

The Colfax Ave BID's holiday campaign is built around this moment. The 2026 Bag of Colfax is part of what the BID calls the "Colfax Comeback," a push to bring people back to the corridor's independent businesses after years of BRT construction. This year, the bag includes gift cards to Colfax businesses along with local products, which the BID says give buyers reasons to come back to the avenue after the holidays.

The bags are packed to order, and buyers share their preferences at checkout. You get an email when your bag is ready to pick up. Sales open nine days after this post goes up, and the run ends while there's still a week of holiday shopping left.

If you're shopping your way down Colfax this season, park in a free two-hour space, wait for the arrow before you turn left, and cross at the crosswalk to reach the center platform when it's time for the 15 home.

The Colfax you'll drive in 2028 will have paid parking and buses every few minutes. If you're weighing how the new avenue changes life a few blocks off it in Capitol Hill, Moxie Property Group follows these streets closely and is glad to talk it through. Start Your Colorado Search.