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In what will be Stapleton’s strongest effort yet to reduce speeding in the community, Forrest City, in conjunction with the city of Denver, will be placing stop signs at all Stapleton intersections. Stapleton residents in the tens have been complaining about the rampant speeding in Stapleton for the last two years, but have seen little done about the problem. In accordance with Forrest City bylaws, President Phil Dargossi immediately overreacted to the issue to silence the relatively small number of complainers by instituting what is now being called his “stop all” policy. There were no official studies done on the speed of traffic in Stapleton, but there were several subjective studies that Forrest City sited where residents simply stated that many drivers were going “too fast.” “At times I would see cars driving by that I felt were driving at unsafe speeds,” said resident Brian Meeter. “We can’t, and won’t have that.” Some residents have noticed drawbacks to the plan. “I like people driving more slowly,” says Dave Leonhart. “But I don’t like having a trip that use to take 12 minutes now take a half an hour.” There are some other issues that concern residents regarding the new plan as well. “Used to be people from Aurora just whizzed right through,” says Dan Bolsem. “Now, you will see these Aurora people stopping every 30 to 80 yards. Have you ever seen an Aurora person up close? Not a good experience.” Although Dargossi sympathizes with residents’ frustrations, he would like for the community to be patient and see how it all plays out. “Honestly, that is kind of our answer to everything. Just be patient, and let’s see how this thing pans out.” Residents will have to have more patience as, moving forward, they will be stopping their cars at every intersection.]]>

Two weeks ago, Stapleton was hammered by a massive snowstorm, or at least what people in Denver consider a massive snowstorm. There were several inches of snow on the ground plus “snowy-like” conditions. [Read more…] about Snowstorm Blasts Stapleton, but School Presses On

Stapleton has long been considered a very fit community. There are several different group exercise programs for adults, ranging from the very intense such as Stapleton Crossfit, to simple walking groups. With the Bladium and the new rec center, there is definitely something for everyone. There are also lots of programs for kids, including Stapleton All Sports, Stapleton Lax, the YMCA, and rec center programs. But local mom Jenny Southall saw an area where she felt Stapleton was behind: baby fitness. [Read more…] about Resident Opens P90X Class for Babies

An independent research firm concluded its study regarding Stapleton residents living in houses and those living in apartments. What they found will surprise many homeowners: there are few differences between residents living in apartments and those in houses. [Read more…] about Stapleton Study: People Living in Apartments Very Similar to Those Living in Houses

Stapleton’s continuing effort to “out-green” the world has been a strong one, but not all concepts have gone over with flying colors. In an effort to promote the small trend of people buying green or fuel-efficient vehicles, Stapleton has endorsed parking spots at different locations which are tabbed as “Fuel Efficient Vehicle-only” spots. These spots are most prevalent at the Stapleton Recreation Center and SMIS Elementary School. To date, not one fuel efficient car has parked in any of these spots. [Read more…] about Stapleton’s Fuel Efficient/Low Emission Parking Spots Remain Empty

Stapleton residents know that there is a prairie dog problem in Stapleton. The mostly harmless creatures are overpopulated, and pretend to be delaying the yet-to-begin park on 26th St. The little creatures are certain not to attack you or your dog, and whether or not they actually spread disease we do not know, but they certainly look like they do. The Stapleton consensus is that they have to go, but relocating them is challenging for a number of reasons. Where would they go? Plus, humans view moving as more stressful than death, so we can only imagine how stressful it would be to these tiny herbivores. Killing them may be the only option, but poisoning them seems a little cruel. Are there other options? [Read more…] about The Poisoning of the Prairie Dogs: There is Another Solution

Every year on Halloween, the population of Stapleton doubles from about 10,000 residents to well over 25,000 during the trick or treating times, and usually at least an hour or two after trick or treating is officially over. Residents from all over the metro area, but mostly Aurora, come to Stapleton to trick or treat for many reasons. One of the main reasons candy lovers enjoy treating in Stapleton is that the houses are only about 10 yards apart. This makes it easy to get lots of candy in a short period of time. Stapleton residents are also typically festive and more likely to give out candy than some other neighboring areas. The quality of candy given out is even extremely high, with lots of miniature candy bars as well. And finally, other than on Halloween, Stapleton is a very safe neighborhood, and most certainly more safe than some of the surrounding communities (we’re looking at you Park Hill). So how do local residents feel about this? We polled several residents, and over 80% of residents (84%) do not like having non-Stapleton kids trick-or-treating at their homes. “We spend a lot of money on candy,” says resident Krista Hendricks. “The worst thing is, we increase the amount every year, and we are still out by 6:30PM.” Other residents don’t like missing out on giving other friends’ kids candy.  “Most years we are out of candy by the time families I actually know show up,” says Lisa Vardaman. “It is extremely frustrating.” Resident Mitchell McAllister simply does not like the laziness of it. “When I was a kid, you had to trick or treat where you lived. None of this ‘hey, let’s go to the easiest neighborhood and get our candy there.’ You had to work your butt off to fill that pillow case. Just another example of how kids are becoming lazy, and we are enabling them.” Other residents question the intentions of the holiday-goers. “How do I know these outsiders aren’t simply scoping out my home, only to rob me later,” questioned Erik Hall. “We had a couple of treaters last year that had to be 17 years old. Ridiculous.” Residents are being asked to be polite to the outsiders, and give them candy even if they do not have a resident card. However, normal rules apply in that if someone seems too old to be trick or treating, do not give them candy, and if their costume shows no effort, do not give them candy, and finally:  No trick… no treat.]]>