Transportation Funding

Want safe sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus service that’s frequent and reliable? We do too! That’s why we advocate for the dollars to build out complete citywide bike, pedestrian and bus networks.

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City leaders should do more than say they care about safe and equitable transportation – they should reflect it in the city budget. Every year we campaign to increase the funding for multi-modal transportation and hold the city accountable for implementing any committed improvements. Thanks to our efforts, we’ve seen significant revisions to the city budget elevating transportation as a priority. But it’s still not enough. We need a dedicated revenue stream for multimodal projects.

Here’s what we’ve been up to:

 

2020 Budget and Capital Improvement Plan

In 2019 we advocated for increased annual budget dollars to accelerate the buildout of complete pedestrian, bicycle, and transit networks. We also worked with Denver Parks & Recreation to identify ways the new parks funding could support mobility goals.

Read our letter to the Mayor

State of Transportation Report

In 2018 we issued a State of Transportation Report that called for the City to commit at least $40 million per year to build out complete sidewalk and bike lane networks within 20 years.  Thanks to our advocacy, the City’s 2019 budget included triple the amount for bike lanes, compared to previous years.

Elevate Denver Bond

In 2017  we advocated for and secured $115 million in bike and pedestrian related projects in the Elevate Denver Bond. We also helped secure an additional $163.5 million for “complete streets” projects that make streets work better for everyone whether they are walking or biking for shorter trips, taking transit for longer trips, or just trying to drive more safely down one of the dangerous streets in Denver’s “High Injury Network.”

Related Resources

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Blog

Agenda for the new Mayor and City Council’s first 100 days in office

July 21, 2023

The Denver Streets Partnership has released an agenda for Mayor-Elect Johnson and the Denver City Council’s first 100 days in office.  The full agenda includes five high-priority actions that can be taken quickly to help address traffic safety, access, and the transportation sector’s impact on climate change and air pollution: Appoint a capable and visionary Director […]

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Agenda

Agenda for the new Mayor and City Council’s first 100 days in office

July 21, 2023

    The Denver Streets Partnership has released an agenda for Mayor-Elect Johnson and the Denver City Council’s first 100 days in office.  The full agenda includes five high-priority actions that can be taken quickly to help address traffic safety, access, and the transportation sector’s impact on climate change and air pollution: Appoint a capable and […]

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Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: RTD’s inability to provide shuttles during scheduled service disruptions proves that increased transit workforce recruitment and retention should be an immediate priority for local, regional, and state leaders

May 23, 2023

PRESS RELEASE — Tuesday, May 23, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT Molly McKinley, Policy Director, the Denver Streets Partnership molly@denverstreetspartnership.org | 919-588-9676   DENVER — Advocates at the Denver Streets Partnership are disappointed that RTD cannot provide bus shuttles this week during scheduled service disruptions due to maintenance on the D, H, and L Lines. “People in […]

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Media Hit

What Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough think about transportation in Denver

May 12, 2023

When Denverite talked with more than 100 people across the city last summer about what mattered to them, transportation ranked sixth. In the mayoral race, housing, homelessness, affordability and public safety have eclipsed most other issues.

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Media Hit

Commentary: For Denver’s Next Mayor, a Legacy Project on a Silver Platter

April 2, 2023

Denver has myriad plans that envision a future where our city has complete, connected transit; sidewalk and bike networks; and development patterns that make it easy and practical for people to choose options other than driving to daily destinations.

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Media Hit

Air quality, transportation and water: How Denver’s next mayor and City Council can protect the environment

March 19, 2023

Denver boasts one of the country’s fastest growing economies and expects to add tens of thousands of new residents by the end of the decade. The city’s rapid and continued expansion comes at a cost, though. 

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Media Hit

Colorado’s ‘Greenhouse Gas Planning Standard’ Changes the Transportation Equation

February 3, 2023

Across the nation, many state-level elected officials talk about reducing transportation emissions but the agencies they nominally oversee plan and fund automobile infrastructure that increase emissions anyway. Recently, the State of Colorado is instead starting to move toward matching rhetoric with investment.

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Media Hit

Civic Fabric Fund awards a total of $276,700 to nine nonprofits working on local and state policy

January 9, 2023

In 2021,The Denver Foundation adopted a policy framework and principles that outline its efforts to advance systemic change at the local and state level in the following issue areas: economic opportunity, K-12 education, environment and climate, housing, and transportation.

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Official Letters

DSP concerned about lack of bus rapid transit connections in Denver Moves Everyone Draft Short-Term Improvements

November 22, 2022

Dear Director Phipps, On behalf of the Denver Streets Partnership (DSP), we are writing to express our concerns about a major missed opportunity in the Denver Moves Everyone Draft Short-Term Improvements recently released for public comment . . .

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Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: At the end of RTD’s Zero Fare for Better Air initiative, groups launch a new effort, the Alliance to Transform Transportation

August 31, 2022

PRESS RELEASE — Wednesday, August 31, 2022 MEDIA CONTACT Danny Katz, Executive Director, Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) danny@copirg.org | 608-215-0929 Molly McKinley, Policy Director, the Denver Streets Partnership molly@denverstreetspartnership.org | 919-588-9676   DENVER — Today, after a month of free RTD transit, at a community event in Sun Valley, a group of organizations—made […]

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Official Letters

Denver leaders call on CDOT to stop plans for expanding I-25 in central Denver

July 18, 2022

Dear Executive Director Lew, As elected officials from the state and local level who represent thousands of constituents who live along I-25 Central, we are heartened to read the recent Colorado Sun article indicating CDOT has no immediate plans to widen the I-25 Valley Highway (also known as I-25 Central) and add new highway vehicle capacity . . .

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