Several events downtown over the weekend will cause several road closures and RTD transit changes.
A portion of 14th Street in downtown will close starting Thursday through Sunday evening for several large events, the Denver Police Department reported.
The street will close from Stout Street to Welton Street in front of the Colorado Convention Center at 6 a.m. Thursday and will reopen about 8 p.m. Sunday.
The days of the closure coincide with the Global Conference for Israel, expected to attract around 2,500 people to downtown Denver.
A pro-Palestinian group called for activists to “shut down” the conference, a four-day gathering in Denver of prominent Jewish leaders and supporters of Israel at which Gov. Jared Polis is expected to speak.
The annual conference has become the latest focal point of local reaction to Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, which it launched in response to Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israeli soil. The conference, organized by the Jewish National Fund-USA, is set to begin Thursday and last until Sunday.
It is the 22nd annual gathering, according to Sam Goldberg, president of the Jewish National Fund-USA Mountain States board.
This weekend, the 9News Parade of Lights will also be downtown, closing more than just 14th Street on Saturday.
The parade starts at 6 p.m. Saturday. A section of downtown bordered by 12th Avenue in the Golden Triangle, Speer Boulevard, Champa, 14th, Lawrence, 18th and streets and Broadway will be closed from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the parade route.
A staging area in the Golden Triangle will be closed from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Parade of Lights will also cause a slew of RTD detours on bus routes 0, 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 15, 15L, 16, 19, 20, 28, 38, 43, 44, 48 and 52. Additionally, the Free Mall Ride will be suspended.
The RTD D and H lines will end service at the Theatre District-Convention Center Station, and the L Line will be suspended as well.
The bus route detours, the mall ride suspension and the D and H line changes will be in effect from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; the L Line will suspend services at 3 p.m. Saturday and resume Sunday.
Civic Center Park’s Chriskindlmarket and the City and County of Denver Building light show also will continue through the closures.
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