Car2Go Comes to Belmar

The painted lines and signs went in a few weeks ago, and the cars themselves arrived yesterday, so it's official: Car2Go has come to Belmar.

The car share service offers auto rentals by the minute, hour, or day. You have to have a membership, but once you do, renting your car is as easy as swiping a card and typing a few details into the car's touchscreen. (See http://denver.car2go.com for details).

Right now Cars2Go is offering Belmar residents a free membership with the code Belmar0030, which is cool.

Realistically, though, I don't see myself using this service. Although I try and bike or walk whenever possible, I own a car and I drive somewhere outside of downtown Lakewood nearly everyday. But I do see Car2Go as lending a bit of urban cachet to downtown Lakewood.

So how about you? Do you see yourself occasionally renting a car to zip about town?

Qdoba Moving Corporate Headquarters to Belmar Plaza

Just saw this while at the plaza for yesterday's pancake breakfast. No details yet, but it looks like Qdoba will be taking the space vacated last year by Gap and Banana Republic.

This should be good news for Belmar restaurants, as hungry office workers look to escape from their cubicles at lunch. It should also solve one of the problems Gap and Banana Republic had with this particular location, which was its lack of visibility to auto traffic-- I can personally recall being asked on several occasions for directions to Belmar's Gap, and having people express surprise that Belmar had a Banana Republic. Presumably that lack of visibility won't be a problem for a corporate headquarters that doesn't need retail traffic.

Jeffco Community Protests School Board Actions

If you were out and about yesterday afternoon during rush hour, you probably saw the hundreds of protesters at the intersection of Wadsworth and Alameda in downtown Lakewood.

In fact, they were part of a larger group of over a thousand parents, teachers, and community members who lined Wadsworth Boulevard from 104th Ave in the north all the way to Chatfield Avenue in the south.

The sight of so many people out on the street appeared to impress commuters, large numbers of whom honked their car horns in support--  indeed, the honking of car horns was so loud that it could be heard three blocks away in the Belmar plaza. It continued for hours without pause.

The protesters were there to express their unease with recent actions by the Jeffco Board of Education, which is currently split 3-2 between a majority of three hard right conservatives and two more traditionally non-partisan board members. Among the concerns voiced by protesters were the way the board majority dismissed Jeffco's longtime, award-winning superintendent Cindy Stevenson, their decision to divert $3.7 million away from neighborhood schools and into charter schools, and a feeling that the selection of Dougco's Dan McMinimee to be Jeffco's new superintendent portends an era of radical change.

For decades, Jeffco's quality public schools have been a big part of why people have made the choice to live in Lakewood. Controversy, partisan agendas, and public anger have never been part of the equation-- until now.

Yikes!

Pancakes on the Plaza

Belmar celebrated its tenth anniversary this morning with a pancake breakfast. The weather was nice, neighbors chatted, and kids played in the plaza.

Ballot Recommendations for West Metro Fire District

If you're a registered voter living in downtown Lakewood, you've probably just received your ballot for the West Metro Fire District election.

On the ballot is issue 4A, along with candidates for the West Metro Board of Directors.

After years of budget cuts and inadequate funding, it's important that we-- as a community-- reinvest in the emergency services that keep our families and property safe.

For that reason, I encourage everyone to vote yes on issue 4A, which would increase property taxes individually by just a few dollars per year in order to bring our emergency services back up to national standards.

Although elections for the West Metro Board of Directors are officially non-partisan, there are candidates running this year with extreme right wing views. Fortunately, there's also a slate of moderate, thoughtful candidates running as well.

With that in mind, my recommendations for the West Metro Board of Directors are:

District 1: Cassandra Stenstrom
District 2: Marta Murray
District 3: Tony Gonzalez
District 4: Michael Munden

The above four candidates represent moderate, responsible, non-partisan governance of our local fire department, and deserve our support.

Office Building Proposed for Surface Parking Lot at S. Teller and W. Virginia Ave. in Belmar

According to Denver Cityscape, we'll be seeing a 125,000 square foot, five story office building on the surface parking lot just south of the Belmar Century 16 move theater.

The number of vacant lots in Belmar without a development proposal is shrinking rapidly!

More on Cityscape, Metro West Housing Solution's Senior Living Center in Belmar

Metro West Housing Solution has released some really nice renderings of their planned Belmar Senior Living Center.

I really, really love the modern design language used by the architect. Wow! I can't wait to see construction start.