CASE STUDY
Denver Fostering Foot Traffic—The 16th Street Mall Pilot Project
The 16th Street Mall is a major commercial street in the heart of Denver’s commercial district. Surrounded by restaurants and shops, the mall was closed to car traffic except for a free bus shuttle that connected Denver Union Station to the Civic Center. For many years, the mall was considered highly innovative and a tourist destination. But, despite being an efficient transit corridor, a lack of foot traffic made it difficult for retailers to stay in business, and safety concerns plagued the street. Ultimately, the 16th Street Mall offered few reasons to spend time there, with the exception of the weekday lunch hour, when the sidewalks were thronged with downtown professionals. Meanwhile, continuous maintenance and repair cost the city millions of dollars a year, with little activity on the street to justify the spending. Available federal funding provided an opportunity for necessary improvements, but negotiating the competing interests of transit operations, historic preservationists, and property owners proved challenging.