DENVER — The City of Denver has started construction on the voter-approved sidewalk improvement project that was scheduled to begin this summer.
In 2022, Denver voters approved the Denver Deserves Sidewalks initiative, which shifted responsibility for building and repairing sidewalks from private property owners to the city and established a fund for the buildout and maintenance of those sidewalks via a property fee.
"Voters approved the Denver Deserve Sidewalk Initiative in the fall of 2022. There was a little bit of delay in implementing it because city council wanted to change the way the fee was assessed to property owners, so that was about a two-year process to consider different alternative ways of assessing the fee," explained Jill Locantore, executive director for Denver Streets Partnership, in an April interview.
Last year, the Denver City Council approved a $150 annual flat fee, where property owners with 230 linear feet or less would pay this fee. According to the city, this fee applies to 95% of all property owners in Denver and about 99% of single-family homes in Denver. Properties with more than 230 linear feet will pay an additional impact fee of $3.50 for every foot over that length.
Starting in January, the city began charging property owners the sidewalk fee, which was included on people's stormwater bills. Locantore told Denver7 the sidewalk fees are supposed to generate around $40 million a year.
"About 40% of our streets have missing or substandard sidewalks, and a huge percentage of the existing sidewalks are in really poor, unsafe condition, so the Denver voters clearly conveyed that they feel like sidewalks is a basic thing that we should have in every neighborhood, and that we're all willing to chip in to make that happen," Locantore said.
In April, the city council approved a $15 million contract to help with the development of a master plan, which will identify where sidewalks are needed or where repairs should be made.
Denver
Denver moves another step closer to getting safer and more accessible sidewalks
The project was slated to break ground this month. On Wednesday, Denver7 went to city leaders to find out the status of the project.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure initially said groundbreaking was not underway yet, but that it would start soon. The city has collected $14.3 million in sidewalk fees from property owners, and is projected to collect more than $32 million by the end of the year.
“We are going to see repairs of sidewalks start in the immediate future in three different neighborhoods in Denver, and then actual new construction of sidewalk will happen a little bit later,” Locantore told Denver7 on Wednesday.
According to the city, 40% of Denver's sidewalk network is estimated to be either missing or too narrow, making it difficult for some Denver residents, including those with mobility issues, to get around.
“I was grateful to the city to widen the ADA standard," said Jaime Lewis, transit advisor for the Colorado Cross Disability Coalition. "Instead of doing four feet, they're going to do five feet. I think it gives us a little more room.”
Lewis has been advocating for safer sidewalks for years now. Though the project hasn't broken ground yet, he said there's still a sense of relief.
“It feels like a legacy issue," he told Denver7. "It feels like I can look back and say I was part of that."
Denver7's Maggy Wolanske contributed to this report.
Editor's note on Aug. 1 at 7:45 p.m.: A previous version of this story stated City of Denver officials had missed deadline to start on the project, but a Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokeswoman told Denver7 Friday the city had actually started construction on a portion of the Sloan's Lake neighborhood this week, and sent a picture of work that had been completed on Stuart Street.
