Here’s what car-free Broadway and Welton looks like

Sunday was the first of four days this spring and summer closing three miles of streets to cars.

By Rebecca Tauber, Denverite

Broadway is not known as Denver’s most pedestrian- or cyclist-friendly street. But on Sunday, the typical sound of traffic was gone.

For a few hours, pedestrians meandered down the street and cyclists took over one of Denver’s biggest roads without the constant fear of cars. Just one block over, a large SUV drove over a post marking a protected bike lane. But on Broadway, people ran into friends and found shops they would not have encountered otherwise if moving in a car.

It was all part of ¡Viva!, the first of four Sundays throughout the spring and summer closing three miles of streets to cars and opening them up to pedestrians and cyclists. The route ran north on Broadway from Alameda Avenue to Welton, and continued on Welton to Downing Street.

“We have music and we have people laughing and talking and you can hear birds singing on Broadway,” said Jill Locantore, executive director of Denver Streets Partnership, which partnered with the city and Denver Downtown Partnership to make the event happen. “Can you imagine a parent feeling safe, allowing their kid to be on a street like Broadway? But they can today, and it just demonstrates what’s possible.”