January – We spent the first pandemic winter helping small businesses transform parking lots to restaurant patios on East Colfax, Morrison Road, and the Little Saigon Denver district. We even made a video about it.
February – The Lunar New Year celebration on South Federal Boulevard is a cornerstone cultural event and one way we stand in solidarity with Denver’s AAPI community. In 2021, we supported this annual celebration by working with participating retailers in the Little Saigon corridor to co-create a merchandise package; provide marketing including banners, posters, and flyers to increase awareness and alleviate covid-related concerns; and provide porta potties, hand sanitation stations, and barricades so people could move around freely and safely around surface parking lots during the socially-distanced event.
March – Denver Streets Partnership and Mile High Connects hosted Get on the Bus: Denver Transit Justice Forum. We convened thought leaders, transit users, and decision makers to talk about what could be possible for RTD with the potential of new funding from the federal level. Read more or watch the video.
April – Our second cohort of Advocacy Academy participants graduated and now 28 people have more connections, advocacy skills, and friendships. We are currently planning our next Advocacy Academy for the Spring of 2022. Follow this page for more details, how to apply, and important dates.
May – In a big win for transit, the RTD Operations bill (H.B. 21-1186) passed both chambers and Governor Polis signed it. The bill contents are recommendations from the RTD Accountability Committee. We are particularly enthusiastic about eliminating the farebox recovery ratio and changes that will make it easier for RTD to encourage more equitable transit oriented development and to charge for parking.
June – The Task Force to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety released its report. Denver Streets Partnership participated on the task force and helped shape recommendations specifically related to traffic enforcement and traffic safety. A key tenet of the report, which includes a total of 112 recommendations, is to minimize unnecessary interaction of law enforcement and the criminal legal system with the community.
July – DSP Policy Director Molly McKinley worked with the Transit Center to publish Governor Polis’s Misplaced Transit Priorities to elevate the need for more funding for RTD and for equity to be a guiding principle in public transit investment.
August – Molly also published an opinion piece in the Colorado Sun, We already have a tool that can clean the air, reduce traffic, and expand job opportunity: the bus. She made the case that transit operating funding is key and should be prioritized at all levels of government as budget conversations were kicking off in the City and County of Denver in the midst of the federal infrastructure conversation.
September – Denver residents want City officials to experience first-hand what they’ve long known: our sidewalk network doesn’t walk the walk. That’s why community members organized Sidewalk Palooza walking tours with their City Council representatives and called attention to Denver’s inadequate sidewalks.
October – The 16th Avenue Porch Music Fest celebrated the benefits of safe, accessible, shared spaces for people as neighbors from Gaylord Street to Humboldt Street opened their porches to host musical acts and community members and called on Denver to permanently maintain 16th Avenue as a people-first shared street (photos). Also in October, Denver Streets Partnership successfully advocated for Mayor Hancock and City Council to establish a new Transportation and Mobility Fund, made possible by an increase in parking meter fees in 2022. The $9.5 million transfer to this fund in 2022 will allow for significant increases in annual funding dedicated to new sidewalk construction, Denver Moves Bicycles implementation, Denver Moves Transit implementation, and Vision Zero implementation projects compared to recent historic averages.
November – Denver voters marked their ballots to support affordable housing and responsible funding for transportation and other public services. DSP published a 2021 ballot guide, and we’re pleased that the election results matched our recommendations. We also celebrated bus riders and drivers at Bus Bonanza on Colfax and Downing (photos).
December – There is more to do in 2021. See below for ways you can help!