PRESS RELEASE — Monday, July 11, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT
Molly McKinley, Policy Director, the Denver Streets Partnership
molly@denverstreetspartnership.org | 919-588-9676
Campaign organizers gathered required signatures in two months
DENVER — The Denver Streets Partnership submitted petition signatures to the Denver Elections Division today for Denver Deserves Sidewalks to qualify for the 2022 ballot. Denver Deserves Sidewalks would publicly fund the buildout and ongoing maintenance of sidewalks across the city, through a modest annual fee assessed to property owners. The initiative would remove responsibility for sidewalk repairs from adjacent property owners, and place this responsibility on the City.
As an initiated ordinance, Denver Deserves Sidewalks needs to provide valid signatures from Denver voters to qualify for the November 2022 ballot. The organization supporting this initiative, the Denver Streets Partnership, is confident they have collected enough signatures to meet this goal. They collected 19,197 raw signatures, out of which they believe at least the required 9,184 will qualify.
“Sidewalks are the foundation of a complete transportation system, and are especially important for people with disabilities, older adults, parents with children, and anyone who is unable to drive or would prefer to drive less,” said Jill Locantore, Executive Director of the Denver Streets Partnership. “Publicly funding sidewalks will make our city more equitable, fair, and safe for everyone.”
“We’ve talked to voters across Denver for the past two months about the Denver Deserves Sidewalks initiative and it’s clear that people across the city want a comprehensive, safe, accessible sidewalk network,” said Molly McKinley, Policy Director at the Denver Streets Partnership. “We’re excited about the community support for this initiative and look forward to Denverites having the opportunity to vote on it this November. ”
Denver Deserves Sidewalks grew out of advocacy efforts by the Denver Streets Partnership over the last seven years. If the initiative qualifies for the ballot, Denver residents will have an opportunity in November to prioritize sidewalks in Denver.
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The Denver Streets Partnership is a coalition of community organizations advocating for people-friendly streets in Denver. Our mission is to reclaim Denver’s streets for people walking, rolling, biking, and using transit, and to build safe, healthy, and equitable communities.
Learn more at denverstreetspartnership.org or follow us on social media at Facebook @DenverStreetsPartnership, Twitter @BikeWalkBus, or Instagram @BikeWalkBus.