Denver Mobility News

                         



Your Voice. Our Future.
Denver is undertaking an effort that builds upon its successes and proud traditions to design the future of this great city. Denveright is a community-driven planning process that challenges everyone to shape how the city evolves in four key areas: land use, mobility, parks and recreational resources.

We as a community have a choice in how we approach the ongoing evolution of our city.  By helping us to answer the big questions, you and your neighbors will directly shape the community we become.  Share your voice and help create a roadmap for how our city evolves over the next 20 years. With your help, we will work together to define our vision for the future and a path to make it a reality!  Learn more and provide input on the  Denveright webpage.  

    Shift Gears and Pedal!
Thanks to everyone who rode their bicycles on Bike To Work Day, Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016! Denver celebrated with more than 34,000 riders who commuted to work by hosting the region's largest Bike To Work Day Breakfast Station at Civic Center Park. People on bikes stopped at the various booths to enjoy free breakfast treats and to learn more about a variety of organizations that also promote bicycling and sustainable living.  Lt. Governor Donna Lynne; Crissy Fanganello, Director of Transportation, City and County of Denver; and Deputy Mayor Don Mares a ddressed the crowd at the Civic Center Park in the Greek Amphitheater. 

Bike to Work Day is an opportunity to celebrate those who commute by bike and encourage others to try it. The one-day event is a vision of what transportation can be: fun, healthy and an opporunity to enjoy a different way of commuting. There are so many reasons to give bike commuting a try.  For more on Denver's bike program,visit  denvergov.org/bikeprogram


East Colfax Bicycling/Pedestrian Improvements
Denver is engaged in a variety of projects to make its streets safer and more comfortable for cyclists and pedestrians.   According to our 2016 Bicycle Crash Analysis, 85% of crashes involving bicycles occur at intersections, making it a particular area of interest for the City.   Denver is happy to announce bicycle/pedestrian improvements on East Colfax that will make it easier to navigate at intersections across the busy roadway. The city rebuilt five traffic signals (at Fillmore, Garfield, Adams, Cherry, and Elm), adding pedestrian countdown signals and new crosswalks, and installed a brand new signal at Steele. To enhance convenience, increase safety, and improve access for cyclists, Denver also installed bike signals at the Steele intersection and plans to install bike detection boxes at the Garfield and Cherry intersections that have detect the presence of a cyclist waiting at the signal. Once detected, the mechanism works directly with the signal to request the green light. 

These enhanced bike/pedestrian improvements increase comfort and safety for people of all ages and skill levels, encouraging more people to ride for fun, for errands, and their commutes.

Pedestrian Improvements on Wynkoop
Denver worked closely with stakeholders this year to quickly design and install new pedestrian improvements on Wynkoop Street from 16th to 18th in anticipation of a tremendous amount of new pedestrian activity in front of Union Station with the opening of RTD's commuter rail A Line in April of 2016 and the G Line that will open in October 2016

Wynkoop is a unique roadway with high levels of pedestrian, bike and vehicle activities. Improvements include:
  • New striping at the intersection of 17th and Wynkoop to discourage illegal U-turns and illegal parking. Bollards are also being added in this area to further delineate the pedestrian zone.
  • New brick-patterned pavement treatments at 17th & Wynkoop to increase crosswalk visibility
  • A new bicycle corral to address demand for bicycle parking
  • Restriping of the bicycle lane on Wynkoop and the addition of green paint to increase visibility
  • A new on-street Denver B-cycle station
  • Addition of new car share spaces
  • Conversion to 5-minute passenger loading along a portion of the curb lane in front of Union Station
  • A wayfinding system for drivers dropping off passengers for commuter rail

These improvements are intended to prioritize pedestrians at the intersection and make the bike lanes more visible to people in cars. This project used a "rapid-implementation" approach, which allowed the City to deliver the project quickly while still allowing for evaluation of the changes and ongoing adjustments. Currently, we are evaluating these modifications, collecting feedback and performing observations of street-user behavior. If necessary, we will make additional modifications towards the end of the summer and explore possible mid-term solutions that can be addressed through street design. 
 

For more information, please visit our project webpage.


Envisioning An Improved Federal Blvd.
Federal Boulevard is a critical north-south link along the west side of Denver and a new Master Planning Study will help reimagine the study area of roughly eight miles: between Columbine Road to the north and Floyd Avenue to the south.  The goal of the study will identify and prioritize opportunities that make Federal a better place to walk, drive, bike, access public transit, shop, work, live, and recreate.

One study focus is pedestrian safety. Federal Boulevard contains several intersections, such as Evans and Federal Boulevard that have some of the highest crash rates in the city.  The study will result in an implementation plan for the future and include a list of projects and potential funding sources.

The Study will examine transportation of all kinds and will evaluate business and environmental concerns including: multimodal safety, pedestrian access, land use, urban design/ place-making, economic development, and cultural development.

Learn more about the study and the community feedback received so far at

4th Edition - August 2016

Denver, A City of the Future

Congratulations to Denver for being one of seven (7) finalists among 78 cities nationwide that applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation's (U.S. DOT) Smart City Challenge!  This grant opportunity offered a $40 million dollar grant with an additional  $10 million from the Vulcan Foundation to help create a fully integrated, first-of-its-kind city that uses data, technology and creativity to shape how people travel in the future. In June, the U.S. DOT announced that the City of Columbus, Ohio was awarded the grant.  

While Denver was disappointed it did not receive the funding, the city created a clear roadmap during the competition that will help deliver mobility freedom to everyone. Denver has already begun prioritizing projects from its Smart City proposal to continue to move forward on ideas developed during the process and will regroup with its partners at CDOT, RTD and the dozens of other organizations that contributed to the Smart City plan.

Denver's proposal reflected its vision for a city where transportation and technology break down barriers to connect people. Denver proposed strategies and tools to improve mobility and address increasing traffic congestion, reduce crashes and enhance safety, improve air and water quality to protect the environment, and improve access to and affordability of a variety of transportation and mobility options for all citizens, D espite the outcome of the Smart City Challenge, we will move steadily toward expanded access to transportation that will make a real difference in people's lives and build a better city for all.

Many thanks to the team of subject matter experts and to Mayor Michael B. Hancock who traveled to Washington, D.C. on June 8th and 9th to present the proposal to the U.S. DOT.  In the final pitch, Mayor Michael Hancock delivered a compelling case for why Denver is positioned to become the next Smart City - a message we still fully believe!

Learn more about the Smart City Challenge and Denver's proposal at   www.DenverGov.Org/SmartCityChallenge.


    






Denver's Commitment to  "Vision Zero"
Denver is moving forward towards its goal of eliminating all traffic-related deaths and serious injuries on Denver's roadways. The  Vision Zero commitment seeks to reduce fatal crashes consistently year-over-year through numerous strategies including increased coordination of city department work and community engagement.  Over the next year, the City will continue developing a comprehensive Vision Zero Action Plan that will build a roadmap to safer and better streets for people moving throughout our city. We want your ideas on how to make Denver's roadways safer for everyone.  To provide input or review data resources on bicycle and motor vehicle crashes within the City and County, please visit  denvergov.org/visionzero.
 


Bicycling Improvements 
In an ongoing effort to provide cyclists with convenient and connected access throughout the City, Denver is implementing a variety of projects in 2016. These improvements will aid in reaching Denver's goal of creating a bicycling network where every household is within a quarter mile (2-minute bike ride) of a comfortable and low-stress bicycle facility. S hortened crossing distances, managed turning movements and reduced traffic weaving all contribute to giving cyclists a comfortable and safe riding experience.

Evidence of the 2016 program's efforts are already visible on a number of streets across Denver.  Nine miles of bike lanes have already been installed this year. Projects include:
  • New bike lanes along a 2.2-mile stretch of West 29th Avenue from 15th & Central to Sheridan Blvd
  • New bike lanes on Blake Street from Broadway to 35th Street
  • A study of a new two-way protected bikeway on South Broadway from Bayaud to Virginia
  • Bike lane and sharrows on Krameria from 12th to 17th Avenues
  • Bike lanes on Lowell in Southeast Denver
And there are other projects expected to get underway before the year is up: 
  • Adding buffered areas between bikes and cars along existing bike lanes on Champa Street (20th to Downing) and on Stout Street (26th to Downing), as well as a parking protected bike lane on Stout Street (19th to 26th Street)
  • Converting the existing bike lane on 14th Street downtown into a protected bike lane.
Bicycle parking is also an important element to Denver's transportation  system. Providing parking for bicycles near employment, retail,  and other destinations ensures equitable and convenient access for people on bikes . If you are a business interested in installing bike parking, the city offers two rounds of funding - in the fall and in the spring.  Fall applications are being accepted now through September 30. Visit our website for more information.
Transportation Choices Right At Your Fingertips
There's a new and easy way to access information about your mobility options in Denver! The  GoDenver app, which launched in February, is helping  people navigate around town by searching for the cheapest, fastest and greenest ways to move about the city.  The City is currently piloting the tool through Xerox. 

The app aggregates and calculates the time, cost, carbon footprint, and health benefits of  walking, biking, driving, parking, and taking public transit, as well as the emerging ride-hailing transportation options - such as Lyft, Zipcar, Car2Go, Denver BikeShare and BCycle.

GoDenver combines public and private transportation options, showing users ways to reach their destinations while taking into account real time traffic conditions. The process is sim ple - the app takes an individual's destination and desired arrival time, considers the users unique and preset preferences, and cal culates the different routes available categorized by "sooner," "cheaper," and "greener." 

The information provided by Go Denver helps people understand the options available to them, while helping the City learn more about how people are using the transportation system and where new investments may be needed.  

The app is available for iOS and Android systems in the Apple and Google Play stores as well as at  GoDenverApp.com &  pocketgov.com/godenver

Take control of your transportation choices and download Go Denver today!
Mayor Hancock Helps Celebrate Reopening of Blake Street Bridge Over 38th Street
Denver Public Works celebrated another milestone on a project that is transforming a quarter-mile stretch of Blake Street near Downing to
improve mobility and create new and safer pedestrian and bike connections! In April, Mayor Michael B. Hancock, along with City and community leaders, cut a ribbon to mark the completion of multimodal improvements near the Blake Street Bridge over 38th Street including:
  • Flattening the bridge's "hump" so drivers have a better view of pedestrians and people on bikes
  • Nearly 4,000 feet of new sidewalks installed in the area, including wider sidewalks on each side of the bridge for enhanced pedestrian mobility and safety
  • Dedicated bike lanes in both directions
  • A new, multi-use trail connection between 38th/Walnut Street and RTD's 38th and Blake Station
The bridge improvements and new sidewalks aim to enhance mobility and provide important new connections between the River North, Curtis Park, and Cole neighborhoods. A new pedestrian bridge in the area is also expected to open this fall. More information on these projects can be found at denvergov.org/38thandBlake.
16th Avenue & Broadway Multimodal Improvements
Denver Public Works has put the finishing touches on several multimodal improvements at the Broadway and 16th Avenue intersection to enhance safety for people on bikes, pedestrians and drivers. The improvements include:
  • Upgraded traffic signals and a new bike signal
  • New intersection striping and ADA ramps
  • A new dedicated bike lane and 80-foot elevated off-street bike path on the north side of 16th Avenue between Lincoln and Broadway. The elevated bike lane will provide a safe area for people on bikes to wait when vehicles turn at the intersection
  • New bike racks, trees and lighting on the northeast corner of 16th Avenue and Broadway
  • A painted "stop bar" to help people on bikes yield for pedestrians who are crossing the intersection
  • Replacing the street surface with concrete, which has a longer life span
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201 West Colfax, Dept. 608
Denver, CO 80202