Worst time to be stuck in traffic

Thursday traffic will stop CU Denver students from enjoying the weekend right away.
Photo: Taelar Pollmann · The Sentry

The worst time to be on the road in Denver is really all the time; traffic feels as if it is non-stop in the city. But is there a worst time to be driving in Denver? For argument’s sake, take weather out of the equation because that is a Kyle Freeland type curveball in this scenario. Bad weather throws everything off and creates even more traffic as a biproduct. The worst time to be driving in Denver is Thursday 5 p.m. rush hour.

The drawback of a commuter campus is that no one can avoid traffic; it will destroy a small part of anyone every semester as they try to attend class. But not all traffic was created equally, and Thursday 5 p.m. rush hour is an animal of its own.

First off, it’s the end of the school week for campus, so it leads directly into everyone’s weekend and along with that comes traffic. Trying to get anywhere in Denver by car on Thursday at 5 p.m. is a form of rocket science: Every major road is affected; Speer Boulevard becomes a mosh pit for the 25 Freeway; Colfax becomes a warzone for space and for making the light; Pepsi Center allows its attendees to walk the entire length of Speer, which throws another wrench in traffic. The gist is that it’s not only the worst time to be driving in Denver, but it is the absolute worst way to begin the weekend, a date with traffic.

There are other factors at play here; where someone lives in Denver can be an x-factor in this equation. Not everyone lives the same distance to campus, but the traffic can still be equally as bad. The Light Rail system causes traffic by operating in the flawless form that they do, and the roads continue to get more crowded, which means more traffic. Driving on Thursday at 5 p.m. rush hour can be the beginning of a slow death, so make sure to be off the road by then.