As the co-chairs of the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Advisory Board, we hear all the time from residents of Denver requesting something as simple as a crosswalk next to their child’s school to make crossing the street safer. The reality is that we have to tell them the vast majority of the time that it won’t happen because Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration doesn’t prioritize transportation safety.
We’ve seen it in West Wash Park, where a highly supported street safety project along Alameda Avenue, five years in the making, was rolled back after the final construction notice was sent out. Some of the wealthiest families in the state, including Jill Anschutz, hired a lobbyist and complained to the mayor. During this latest budget crunch, when DOTI staff members were being laid off and safety projects went unfunded, the city found nearly $100,000 to replace a thoroughly vetted design to accommodate influential residents.
We’ve seen it in downtown Denver when the city spent $200,000 to remove safety posts from protected bike lanes that, just a few years ago, were admired by transportation professionals from around the country during a national conference. When asked why, the city said the three-foot-tall posts, which are also only a couple of inches wide, were blocking the views of businesses.
We’ve seen it with the city’s special revenue fund for mobility improvements, created originally by the Hancock administration to improve street safety with dedicated funding. Under the Johnston administration, it has turned into a slush fund for general expenses.
We’ve seen it with our Safe Routes to Schools program, where the mayor attempted to reduce program funding by 80% and laid off all full-time staff members from the program, despite children being injured while walking or biking to school in our neighborhoods.
We’ve seen it with bridge infrastructure, where now a handful of bridges in Denver are in such poor condition that Denver Fire trucks can no longer travel over them.
And when we actually proposed a way to increase department revenue by meeting the requests of residents and businesses who simply wanted local parking laws enforced, the administration ignored our suggestions. This was despite ample evidence showing that our approach to fully staff right-of-way enforcement could have generated as much revenue as eight times the cost of the investment.
It has become clear to us that while the mayor may enjoy a strong vision for a Vibrant Denver, he lacks the fundamental understanding that to achieve a Vibrant Denver. We need a Connected Denver. Transportation policy does not just move vehicles, or build bike lanes, sidewalks and bus stops, it determines whether children can ride their bikes to playdates safely, families can attend downtown events affordably, workers can reach their jobs reliably, businesses can count on deliveries consistently, and whether our future residents will be able to meet Denver’s climate goals. The previous administration made great progress in achieving these visions, but today, under Mayor Johnston’s leadership, that progress has stalled and, in specific instances, has even been reversed.
Cities as aspirational as Paris, as well as those we compete against like Seattle, are showing us what visionary transportation investments can achieve. From simple changes like investing in automated enforcement to building out more than 40 miles of bike lanes in a matter of months, there are many examples of what can be achieved when leaders choose possibility over scarcity – even when budgets are tight.
And what makes this moment especially frustrating is that we know Mayor Johnston is capable of vision. We have seen him speak boldly about Denver’s future, climate leadership, and equity. But when it comes to transportation, that vision has yet to materialize. Denver does not need to dismantle the progress already made. It needs a mayor willing to defend it, strengthen it, and build upon it.
Aylene McCallum and Allen Cowgill are the Co-Chairs of the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Advisory Board.
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