Looking for one of the best people-watching places in Downtown? The 16th Street Mall is the obvious choice, but the Highland Bridge that carries 16th Street into Lower Highland is a great place to see Denverites getting around without their cars. The addition of Amato’s Ale House at 16th and Central has also boosted pedestrian and bike traffic over the bridge.
I have a view of the Highland Bridge from where I live, so a few Sundays ago I decided to do a pedestrian count of traffic over the bridge. During one hour in the late afternoon I counted 262 pedestrians (plus 31 dogs) and 139 bicyclists. That comes out to about seven peds/bikes crossing the bridge every minute. While the amount of traffic using the bridge obviously varies throughout the day and evening and weekdays/weekends, it’s evident that several thousand pedestrians/bicyclists, at a minimum, use the Highland Bridge on a daily basis.
The trio of pedestrian bridges linking Downtown Denver and Highland is a remarkable example of how to connect neighborhoods and create people-friendly spaces. Making more of these types of connections with other Downtown-adjacent neighborhoods is a top priority for the city, the Downtown Denver Partnership, and all of us working to boost Denver’s urbanity.
The next ped bridge priority should be pretty obvious, over Colfax to connect downtown w/ civic center and cap hill. My next priority is a little more off the radar: close down a section of 21st between Stout and Champa and build a ped and bike ramp. Would really help the six-way traffic nightmare in the area and help jump start Arapahoe Square.
To improve the downtown-Civic Center connection I’d much rather see Colfax turned into a complete street that’s easier to cross. Bridges are the best solution for I-25 because it’s an interstate highway that will never be ped friendly, but Colfax could be.
I’d like to see that for all of Colfax up to at least Colorado. A decent ped median with cut outs at a few streets to allow left turns on would be a start. If you allow U-turns at these designated intersections, then the business couldn’t really complain that you’re restricted through traffic. But one of the reasons I like a ped bridge at Civic Center is that you already have the elevation coming from the north via the plaza above the bus station at the old Denver Post building.
I can’t agree more. Improving the connections from downtown, through Civic Center and across Broadway/Lincoln will go a long way to improving pedestrian access for residents living in Capital Hill. A lot of people still take cabs into downtown because the crossings are so dangerous. Just ask cab drivers and they’ll tell you Cap Hill is the most common pick-up/destination neighborhood. This is also true for 17th Street and connections into Uptown.
I also agree with the comments about the entire length of Colfax from Civic Center to Colorado. Major changes may come if, and when, a streetcar gets implemented but that is still in the planning and assessment stages and a number of years out. Improving Colfax offers a huge opportunity to improve connectivity between the north and south neighborhoods along it and linking them to downtown. The basic elements are there, it just needs a lot of attention and detailed concepts to improve the public realm.
for people watching purposes, the 16th street mall seems to emphasize only a few narrow slices of life — downtown managers, their minions, and urban youth; the Highland bridge is a bit more interesting, though for me the experience is diluted by the preponderance of dogs; to observe a more refreshing mix, i would suggest Broadway circa Ellsworth, or Colfax adjacent to Broadway, where priests, bureaucrats and hipsters mingle with drug dealers and people coming to pay tickets and apply for permits
as for more bridges downtown, fooey! there has been so little relative investment in Denver’s remaining waterfront that downtown can have a rest; i like the idea of a civic center ped bridge, but i also think its time to get going on the other stretches of the Platte
consider what investment elsewhere in the riverfront might do to prod needed development; let’s get moving on the River South Greenway plan; and consider that the Valley Highway EIS, the Alameda Station Area Plan and the dormant plans for the Gates Rubber Plant all propose South Platte River bridges that would restore some of the cross-river connections that I-25 destroyed; perhaps pushing these along would start to thaw the transit-oriented development plans in south Denver, and create more than one river-oriented pedestrian locus in town
All of these are great ideas, but when I think about surrounding areas that would benefit most from a new bridge to downtown, the Auraria Campus is the first that comes to mind. Try taking a walk sometime across the nine lanes of Speer Boulevard at Lawrence or Arapahoe. Then imagine something like the Highland Bridge, with mountain views to the west, skyline to the east. People would want to take that walk.
Have to agree with Chris from Downtown. Auraria street crossings pose a significant safety hazard in addition to a general ease of mobility challenge. With the Center for Performing Arts (DCPA) and other iconic architecture and vistas, a ped bridge would only enhance the overall experience for both peds and autos on the west end of downtown.
As for people watching, I like Broadway Station (I-25 and Broadway) and Colfax @ civic center park.