Denver residents seek renewed focus on ending traffic deaths: 'Lives are at stake'

Jill Locantore presents proposed priorities for the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure at a public forum at Carla Madison Rec Center on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Hannah Metzger, Colorado Politics)

Published by Colorado Politics on July 14, 2023.

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Since Mayor Michael Hancock committed to eliminating traffic deaths seven years ago, Denver's roads have only gotten deadlier. As Mayor-elect Mike Johnston prepares to take the city's reins, Denverites are asking for change. 

More than 100 Denver residents squeezed into a packed rec room on Thursday evening for the chance to tell Johnston how he should improve the city's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. This was the latest of Johnston's 28 public forums aimed at collecting community feedback to develop the priorities for his first 100 days in office. 

During the public forum, the weight of the more than 400 people who have died on Denver roads since Hancock's "Vision Zero" plan was announced in 2016 weighed heavily on the room. 

"We tend to talk about those fatalities as private or very personal tragedies ... but it's a communal tragedy," said Jill Locantore, co-chair of Johnston's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and executive director of the Denver Streets Partnership. "It is the result of communal decisions that we have made about our transportation system." 

"We can make different decisions going forward," she added.  

Ainslie O’Neil, 32, is one of the 400 people who lost their lives on Denver roads. O’Neil's mother, Cindy Stepp, spoke at Thursday's forum. 

O’Neil was riding her bike to Stepp's house for their weekly family dinner last December when a driver struck O’Neil, killing her exactly one week before Christmas. O’Neil was only five blocks from her Sunnyside home and was crossing Federal Boulevard on West 35th Avenue when she was killed. 

"I wonder if any of us who knew her will ever be the same. I suspect not," Stepp said. "My hope, though, is that we will all find the strength to move forward and carry the light and love that she left in all of us, and that we will work to make a difference in this world that would make her smile. ... Please remember that lives are at stake." 

Forum attendees called for Vision Zero to be fully implemented. The latest iteration of the plan centers on reducing speed limits on all major streets by 2028, building more pedestrian and bike infrastructure by 2029, and creating action plans for the city's most dangerous areas — including Federal Boulevard — to be implemented by 2025. 

Community members and Locantore also suggested better inter-agency coordination, expediting safety improvements and stepping up speed management to achieve Vision Zero. 

"It's hard, but there are cities that have done this," Locantore said. "We need to move from visioning to actually implementing this." 

Other recommendations for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure included enhancing public transit services, delivering on required sidewalk maintenance and repair, investing in green infrastructure like tree-lined roads, improving disability accessibility for public transit, and fulfilling public works infrastructure, such as fixing pot holes. 

Many attendees also asked for more communication and education from the department, for example, a public dashboard for information about all of the department's ongoing and planned projects and how residents can ask questions. The general concern is that Denverites need to regain faith in the department and know that it is working toward the city's goals. 

"Instill a culture of try," Kathleen Gegner said. "It's okay to fail." 

In addition to the group discussions, Thursday's participants submitted written answers to three questions regarding the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and how they'd like to see it change. The answers and discussions will be made into a report to be sent to Johnston on Saturday. 

Denver residents can also provide their own feedback through Friday via an online survey at bit.ly/dotisurvey. 

Two more public forums will be held before Johnston takes office Monday, with topics covering arts, venues, housing and homelessness. A schedule of each forum is available at vibrantdenver.com/public-forums.