How does a city completely redesign the function, look and feel of its streets?
The first step is to look into the future.
City planners have begun looking into an almost complete redesign of its major arterial streets to make way for the day when pedestrians rule the streets and automobiles take a back seat.
The Denver Living Streets initiative aims at creating “vibrant places where people of all ages and physical abilities feel safe and comfortable using any mode of travel.” Of course, to do that, planners need to take another look at the current design of its major arterials, where wide roadways dominate over narrow sidewalks.
And with the completion of FasTracks on the horizon — scheduled to be completed in 2017 if Regional Transportation District officials are able to close a $2.2 billion budget shortfall — city planners have their sights set on tree-lined sidewalks, expanded bicycle and transit lanes, and neighborhoods where Main Street boutiques take over for shopping centers and fast food restaurants with massive parking lots.
“It’s called Living Streets here in Denver because we’re concerned about more than just the right of way, we’re also concerned about place making — what kind of development are we having on these corridors,” said Gideon Berger, a senior city planner for Denver who is overseeing the Living Streets initiative.
“It’s not just about land use, it’s also about form and it’s about the relationship between the city and the street,” he continued.
As city planners reach the “end of the beginning” in their quest to rewrite Denver’s 53-year-old zoning code, much attention is being paid to the future, assuming the hypothesis that pedestrian traffic will increase over vehicular traffic.
Because the current zoning code was written in a post-World War II America, there is an emphasis on the automobile, such as accommodating widespread parking. But planners have their sights set now on FasTracks, which is expected to add 122 miles of new light rail and 18 miles of new bus rapid service to the Regional Transportation District.
Denver will benefit from the majority of the stations involved in the project; therefore, planners are molding the new zoning code to meet the needs of commuters.
“This will allow us to make a city that over time allows us to rely less on having to drive everywhere … but instead find ways to create environments and sustain environments and maintain existing neighborhoods where you can actually do a lot of your daily trips by walking,” said Peter Park, manager of Community Planning and Development, at a recent public meeting to discuss the new zoning code.
A draft of the new code has already been released to the public and a final vote by the City Council is not expected until the fall.
Meanwhile, Berger says the Living Streets initiative is taking a look at how to pave the way for the changes. He points to major arterials like Colfax Avenue, which has already undergone a mini-renaissance thanks to its relatively new Main Street zoning classification.
The new zoning allowed for pedestrian-friendly businesses such as Tattered Cover Book Store to open up where the old Lowenstein Theatre used to be. Adjacent to Tattered Cover are shops and restaurants, such as Encore Restaurant, which places an emphasis on the pedestrian.
Also along Colfax, there has been a surge in small boutiques and restaurants — all highlighting the possibilities that lie within redesigns and rezoning.
Councilwoman Marcia Johnson has already asked her constituents to take a survey concerning Leetsdale Drive to gauge their interest in redesigning the arterial to match the Living Streets vision.
“The benefit is a more walkable city and it helps support the idea that there is a quality of life incentive to live and work in close proximity, and this certainly supports that,” she said.
“This city doesn’t have any room to widen anymore streets and highways, so if you make other modes of transportation attractive, it eases the strain,” continued Johnson.
The city has contracted Denver-based Progressive Urban Management Associates to survey businesses along the major arterials to gather feedback on how the Living Streets initiative might affect their business.
Out of the discussion, city planners hope to develop a Living Streets policy for the City Council to vote on by the end of the year, said Berger. Before the Council votes, public workshops will be held this summer to discuss the initiative, he said.
“There’s potentially a trade-off on how we use our streets today. Are there streets that parts of our community are willing to explore the ideas of, can we have dedicated bus lanes, or shared-use lanes?” asked Berger. “So, are people willing to explore the idea of taking away some auto capacity in certain places to enhance capacity for pedestrians?”
Living Streets
Information: DenverLivingStreets.org
