Day: July 18, 2008

They blinded me with science!

As I was discussing the various closures of this and that in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, Mary noted this story: kstp.com – Science Museum will close during convention …

As I was discussing the various closures of this and that in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, Mary noted this story: kstp.com – Science Museum will close during convention 

ST. PAUL (AP) – The Science Museum of Minnesota plans to close to the public during the Republican National Convention next year so it can host convention events. […] The GOP convention will be conducted at Xcel Energy Center, across from the museum, from September 1st through September 4th.

 

Now, I’m sure it’s just because of security reasons … but the idea of the GOP closing down a science museum when they come to town is pretty amusing (in a dark, head-shaking kind of way). 

Convention closures

So the Denver government has been doing its darnedest to stay on message that “Downtown is Open for Business” during the Democratic National Convention. Which, mostly, is true, but the big…

So the Denver government has been doing its darnedest to stay on message that “Downtown is Open for Business” during the Democratic National Convention. Which, mostly, is true, but the big party in town is still going to cause disruption.

  • The light rail (near and dear to my heart) will be suspended on the line going over the Pepsi Center and Union Station (C and E lines). Which doesn’t directly affect me, except that most of those 5500 daily riders will almost certainly be taking the other lines in and hoofing it.
  • On the night of Obama’s big speech at Mile High Stadium, they’re actually going to shut I-25 down (post-rush-hour). Evidently the idea that the freeway gets within 250 feet of the outside of the building is causing worries. That happens also to be busiest stretch of freeway in Colorado.
  • Section of Speer and Auraria Parkway will be closed because of how close they get to the Pepsi Center, where the main DNC action is going on. Other Speer and Colfax area will be closed for marches of various sorts.

It could be far worse, of course. Those venues are all off to the west of downtown, and basically connect downtown to I-25. There are ways around it, and I expect that a fair number of folks will be telecommuting that week at the end of August. (I almost wish I had the excuse … 🙂 ). Most of the downtown will be “open for business.”