District 7 History

​“A Little Slice of Heaven in Lucky District 7” A phrase for District 7 coined by Councilman William “Bill” Himmelmann from 1995-1999, but soon shortened to “Lucky District 7” by Councilwomen Kathleen McKenzie. Lucky District 7 is made of beautifully diverse neighborhoods such as Overland, Ruby Hill, Baker, West Washington, Valverde, Athmar, College View, and Platte Park which were all founded in the late 1800s. Originally District 7 was a landscape consisting of truck farms, ranches, dairies, wheat fields, and celery farms that slowly  grew  into rural communities.

​The neighborhoods really started booming with houses and grew in population after WWII. District 7, consisting of land and ranches where farmers were working in their fields, often had trouble when people needed to take their produce to local markets, so they began building major highways and railroads for easier transportation with the help of the community. Today, Lucky District 7 has a population of 120k with mostly White and Hispanic families living within the neighborhoods. This district has major streets such as Federal Blvd, Broadway, Alameda, and Platte River all of which have various restaurants and stores to choose from. Some amazing things that make District 7 unique are the different eateries and shopping to choose from such as Pho, authentic Mexican restaurants, Asian markets, Carnecerias/Panaderias, food trucks, outside food/fruit vendors, bars, and even new urban eateries.

By Vyvvian B., Abraham Lincoln High School, Age 16, District 7

Our Environmental Issue: Traffic

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The main issue my team is focusing on is air pollution, noise pollution, and traffic. Air pollution is caused when solid and liquid particles and certain gases enter the air. This can then affect the community and people living there. One of the main causes for both air pollution and noise pollution are cars and other motor vehicles. The air pollution and noise pollution then escalates when there is traffic affecting life around it. 
 
This issue of traffic began long ago, most likely in the 1950s which was when the entire Denver-Boulder Turnpike opened to through traffic. 
As Denver grew as a city and as more and more roads were built it resulted in more traffic and more air pollution. When more people started living in Denver and when more roads were built, it meant that more people were traveling and going to other places. This then increased traffic, air pollution, and noise pollution. Specifically in district 7, the issue most likely started in the 1960s because Interstate 25, which runs directly through district 7, opened in 1963 therefore increasing the number of cars traveling through Denver and increasing traffic. 
 
One main contributing factor to the issue of air pollution and noise pollution is traffic. Traffic increases vehicle emissions which then enters the air contributing to air pollution. In Denver, drivers now average around 25.7 miles per day and about one gallon of gas equals 20 miles. Every gallon of gasoline burned creates about 8,887 grams of CO2 which means that each person driving around 25.7 miles releases over 8,887 grams of CO2 . This reveals how much carbon dioxide one person can release into the air from just driving your car. The reason there is more traffic in district 7 and Denver in general is because more and more people have to travel to places like work, grocery stores, schools, and more. In district 7, there are some restaurants and other places, but not as many as in other districts. This results in more people driving to other districts in order to get things they need and go places they want to go. 

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Possible Solutions

The issue that I have been tasked to focus on is how to solve the problems caused by traffic such as noise pollution and air pollution in district 7. In order to stop or control the amount of noise pollution in this district, the most direct solution is to stop the exaggerated number of cars that pass through the area. We especially need to stop how much traffic passes down Federal, Alameda and Mississippi. The fact that these streets are main gateways to a lot of stores and restaurants makes solving this issue difficult and is the main reason that there are a high number of cars. 

​As individuals the best and most productive thing we can do to stop noise pollution is to stop using our cars and start walking, biking and/or using buses. We can ask our council members for more bike lanes, safer walking areas and better public transportation accessibility such as more bus stops and routes that run through the district. If you are a resident of this district we can ask our district representative to put stores like King Soopers and other important locations, in easily accessible areas for walking and public transportation. People can make the most difference near the most busy streets like Alameda and Mississippi. We can also start taking part in meetings as neighbors to assist movements such as pushing the zero-vision law and voicing a need for highways to be better constructed to save the people.

By Michael H., Abraham Lincoln High School, Age 15, District 7

Resources

If you see something you want to change in your neighborhood and live in District 7, here are some resources that might help you. There are many ways to contact your city council.
 
People Resources
  • For district 7, our city council is Jolon Clark. You can get in contact with him if you fill out this form to request an opportunity to call one-in-one for 30 mins. 
Here is the link: https://www.luckydistrict7.org/officehours.html. His contact info information is here: Email: [email protected]. 
Phone: (720) 337-7777. 
Council Aides:([email protected])  and ([email protected])
 
Trash and Recycling 
  • Every single resident in this district has a trash can and recycling can available  for every house. 
If you want further info on how to get these, you can visit here: https://www.wcdenver.com/residential/. Furthermore, you can also schedule a time for people to pick up your trash when it overloads. For this, it does cost money, but mostly to purchase the dumpster for the trash if you don’t have it yet. The cost depends on what type of service this district has. Here is the link: https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/trash-and-recycling/pickup-schedules.html. 

  • Here are some recycling places you can go to if you have unusual recycling items. These places are mostly free, but it depends on what type of items you have.
Contact info: (720)588-0268 (In aurora)
 
Solving the Traffic Issue

  • To solve traffic problems, the main resource that is helpful for people to acknowledge the problem is an online site called Lucky District 7. This is a website that has tons of projects that solve traffic issues. Here is the link to the website: https://www.luckydistrict7.org/projects2.html. 
  • Although this resource is  an international resource, it’s very helpful for highways safety. They also offer offices and agencies around Colorado. This website is mainly used for traffic on highways. Here is the link to it’s official website: https://www.nhtsa.gov/. This is the link for NHTSA offices in Colorado: https://www.nhtsa.gov/about-nhtsa/regional-offices. 
  • One of the big resources for our traffic problems is the Denver Police Department. This depends on what district you live in. Since there is only a small police department in every district, the police department that is closest to district 7, which is Ruby Hill, is the Denver Police Department District 4. Here is a link to its website: https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/police-department/traffic-enforcement/report-an-accident.html. 
  • To fix this issue, traffic police can help. This is where the police department comes in. Here the contact info to the traffic police: 720-337-1000. In order to have a good source to help your problem, traffic lawyers are also a helpful resource. Here is the link to traffic lawyers law firms: TrafficViolationLawFirms.com
 
Other Resources 
  • Using other environmentally friendly groups is also helpful to the community. Stores like Nike and IKEA use items that are very environmentally friendly. Although IKEA might be far from district 7, you can find NIKE shops everywhere especially in malls.
  • Another organization that is environmentally friendly is ELK and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado. ELK is a community and campaign that educates kids on helping our community become bigger. Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado is where you can volunteer and help to build a greener community. Here are the two links to those organizations: ElK: http://www.elkkids.org/content/community-campaign. Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado: https://www.voc.org/.

By Ai H., South High School, Age 16, District 7
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