Shared & Open Streets
Denver’s Shared and Open Streets program is working and should be continued. Keep up with our work to make people-friendly streets city-wide.
After our 2020 survey of nearly 1,500 Denver residents indicated strong support for limiting traffic on streets and opening them for people, in April the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure opened 5.5 miles of Shared Streets in residential and commercial areas and an additional 10.2 miles of Open Streets in parks. In June, DOTI added 2.5 miles of additional Shared Streets.
Denverites in six areas of of the city have enjoyed the extra space to stretch their legs while maintaining appropriate physical distance. Thanks, Denver!
What We Heard from You
Our initial survey of nearly 1,500 Denverites confirmed that people are walking and biking more than before the crisis and strongly desire more space for outdoor activities while maintaining physical distancing. National data shows that driving has decreased significantly. Denver has a wealth of available street space – we should continue to use it in support of public health during the crisis and after.
Survey Report
Since Denver designated East 16th Avenue in the City Park West neighborhood a Shared Street, the number of people walking and biking on the street has increased dramatically compared to previous time periods. On warmer weather days, the total number of people walking and biking ranged from about 1,000 to nearly 1,800, compared to an average of about 360 people biking per day in 2015.
Bike & Pedestrian Data
What You Need to Know
Here’s a list of resources for accessing open and shared streets in Denver.
Map of Shared & Open Streets
Got questions about biking during COVID-19? Bicycle Colorado has the answers for you.
Biking during COVID-19
Want to know what’s happening outside of Denver? NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials) has a list of Rapid Response Tools for cities and PedBikeInfo is tracking local actions to support walking and biking.
NACTO policiesLocal actions to support walking and biking
What We Need From You
In response to continued demand from the community, Denver is extending its Shared Street initiative through the 2020-2021 winter season, providing more space for people to safely walk, bike, and roll while adhering to social distancing guidelines. In addition, they have recently installed new traffic calming configurations and materials in attempts to improve safety and function better in the winter.
If you have used these streets with the new traffic calming upgrades, the Denver Streets Partnership would like to hear from you! What do you like about the upgrades? Have they been effective at calming traffic and making the street safer? What suggestions do you have to improve on these upgrades? Provide your feedback here!
Streets with upgrades to provide feedback on:
- E. 11th Ave from Logan to Humboldt Streets (west of Cheesman Park)
- E. 16th Ave from Lincoln Street to City Park Esplanade
- Bayaud Avenue from Sherman to Downing Streets
Sign the Denver Bike Lobby’s petition to keep Shared & Open Streets around permanently.
Sign the petitionHere’s what we’ve been up to:
Shared & Open Streets Survey Results
April 24, 2020 Press Release
Related Resources
Can ‘Open Streets’ Outlast the Pandemic?
The early set-up shift for my local “Open Street” in western Queens starts at 8 a.m. on weekends. That’s when neighborhood volunteers drag the metal barricades, some adorned with signs, banners or decorations, into the streets from the curb.
Viewpoints clash over street closures in Denver’s City Park
On Saturday, Denver Streets Partnership held a “Parks are for People” rally to share their concern about roadway accessibility in City Park.
Press Release: Denverites strongly support city’s shared and open streets, efforts to expand bicycle network
Denver voters strongly support the city’s efforts to give more street space to people in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through initiatives including shared and open streets that the City unveiled in 2020. Voters also remain enthusiastic about making the transportation system safer and more accessible through a rapid expansion of its bicycle network, according to new survey results
As Denver emerges post-pandemic, will shared streets stay?
“There’s not a lot that the city has publicly committed to in terms of thinking differently post-pandemic,” Denver Streets Partnership executive director Jill Locantore told Colorado Politics.
What do you think about Denver’s upgraded shared streets?
Help us help Denver DOTI help you! Complete our new survey about Shared Streets traffic calming upgrades on E. Bayaud Avenue, E. 11th Avenue, and E. 16th Avenue.
Denver considering extending Shared Streets Initiative past March
“As somebody who walks on this street every single day, I feel so much safer now,” Jill Locantore told Fox31. “People can’t plow through the intersection at high speeds. They have to slow down.”
Save These February Dates: Advocacy from the Comfort of Your Own Home!
Grab a beverage and get Zoom ready! February provides ample opportunities for you to advocate from the comfort of your own home. Here’s your February guide to cheering for safer streets. Learn about new projects, get updates about projects underway, and share your streets-for-people wishes with City officials. Denver Moves: Federal Blvd. Transit Study Now […]
Some of Denver’s Shared Streets are Getting an Upgrade
It’s been less than a year since Denver opened its first shared streets, allowing people to walk, roll, and play in public space that had long been given over to cars. Last April, after a Denver Streets Partnership survey of nearly 1,500 residents indicated strong support for limiting traffic on streets and opening them for […]
How 2020 Has Affected the Way We Use Our Streets
“There was some talk about, ‘should we close the parks?’ And that just seemed like the absolute wrong response,” says Jill Locantore, executive director of the Denver Streets Partnership,
Car-free parks in Denver may be COVID-19 legacy
COLORADO POLITICS – When COVID-19 first hit, Denver residents flocked to city parks in droves to escape cabin fever from the new stay-at-home orders. For Jill Locantore, executive director of Denver Streets Partnership, this pandemic experiment represents the future of what Denver can be. “It’s opened people’s eyes to what parks can be like if […]
Denver streets summit scheduled for next week
Denver Streets Partnership and the city’s Department of Transportation & Infrastructure will host a “Streets for People Summit” from Sept. 16-19, with discussion oriented around creating safer streets, reducing car dependency and combating climate change.
Love Denver’s shared and open streets? Help us keep them!
DOTI recently announced that people-friendly streets are sticking around until the end of the fall. That’s great, but we think they should be permanent. Read on for three ways you can make it happen.