Denver’s 16th street mall has become a commonly traveled street with nearly 40,000 passengers that ride the free RTD shuttle and between 20,000 and 40,000 pedestrians per day during the work week. However, of these tens of thousands of people, only about 1% are hanging around 16th street to window shop and peruse. The other 99% are treating it as a passageway to get from place to place. That is why the Downtown Denver Partnership and other stakeholders are awaiting the results of a federal environmental assessment and analysis of the plan to redesign the 16th street mall. This is an effort being taken in order to entice pedestrians to spend more time in the heart of downtown Denver.
The proposed redesign of the 16th street mall will improve infrastructure, mobility, safety and increase public use. John Desmond, executive vice president of Downtown Environment with DDP, says that the huge flow of pedestrians that treat 16th as a corridor leads to safety issues as people spill over into transit lanes. In order to combat this issue, sidewalks will be widened and the transit lanes will be pushed to the center of the mall. Additionally, natural, physical barriers such as light posts, benches, vendor stands and 100 trees will be added in order to act as buffers and increase the perception of safety. Furthermore, the failing pavement system will be replaced and a new granite paver system will be installed with better surface friction.
Once the DDP gets approval from the government for the redesign project, there will be a 30-day public review and comment period. Then once the city, RTD, and the Federal Transit Authority come to a consensus on a project concept, they will select a design-build team to construct the project. The redesign is projected to cost between $90 million and $130 million, according to city officials, and it will be funded through a combination of Denver Urban Renewal Authority Tax Increment Financing, Federal grants, and local funds.