April showers and early May showers are bringing flowers — and hopefully a green start to a safe and fun summer for everyone!  This month we have a have a focus on near and long term plans that will shape the city and region’s mobility for decades to come. From plans about to see visible reality like the 16th Street Mall to prioritizing fundable efforts called for in all of our mobility plans, to the increasingly-real prospects for passenger rail along the front range, this month we’re looking at connecting goals to fundable realities. Please see the agenda below, and register to attend our INC Transportation Committee virtual meeting at http://bit.ly/INCTransportationMay2021

INC Transportation Committee – Thursday, May 13th, 6-8 p.m
Register at https://bit.ly/INCTransportationMay2021

• 16th Street Mall Update – Travis Bogan, DOTI Director of Special Projects & Jason Whitlock, CPD Principal City Planner
  The upgrade of the 16th Street Mall is about to begin, with the selected design/build team given “notice to proceed”. As a vital transit link between our two downtown hubs and the main pedestrian spine of downtown, this voter-approved bond-funded project will need to ensure access and mobility is maintained throughout the project. In this update, we’ll see visuals of the current design and learn about the schedule and phasing.
• Denver Moves: Everyone (The New Denver Strategic Transportation Plan) — Sam Piper, Principal City Planner, DOTI
  How will Denver prioritize implementation all the transportation plans contained in our Denver Moves mode-specific plans, our neighborhood plans, bond-funded programs, and other initiatives? Strategically organizing the implementation can help us advance equity, safety, and mode shift goals, leading to projects and policies that move Denver closer to achieving our broad goals. Last updated in 2008, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) Strategic Transportation Plan — to be called Denver Moves: Everyone — has begun. We’ll hear about the scope, schedule and public input planned from the effort’s lead, Sam Piper, a transportation planner with DOTI.
• Denver Moves: Transit Part 2 – Justin Begley, Principal City Planner
  As part of the Denveright series of 20-year plans, Denver Moves: Transit presented a vision for a high-level grid of frequent, rapid and high-capacity transit routes across the city that would prioritize competitive and reliable transit. Now with Denver Moves: Transit Part 2, as called for at the end of the initial plan, the city is identifying implementation priorities in light of equity goals and opportunities for sources of funding that could be applicable to bring the vision into reality. Justin Begley will present and David Krutsinger — Denver’s new (and first) Transit Director — will also join us for this preview of the work and how to have input.
• Front Range Passenger Rail: Studies and Possibilities — James M Souby, Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission Chair
  As we saw reported in the press, the Front Range Passenger Rail effort has recently issued its alternatives analysis report for possible routes between Fort Collins and Pueblo, connecting 80% of the state’s population. This corridor has been hailed by Amtrak’s top executives as “long past ready.” With a possible federal infrastructure bill, would passenger rail here rank highly for buildout funding? What are the possibilities for ongoing operational funding? Could the Denver-Boulder portion also help RTD fulfill its FasTracks scope?  What are the next steps being considered for a new passenger rail district and what would that enable?  James M. Souby, Chair of the Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission, will join us for an overview of the work so far and to give us some context for the project’s promising future.

Denver Streets Partnership Calendar

Did you know that the Denver Streets Partnership maintains a calendar of all kinds of transportation events, meetings, surveys, and more?  With so much going on that might be of interest — and with the ease of participation in attending remotely — it’s a wonderful resource.  Thanks, DSP!

2021 Meeting Schedule
Calendar ahead! Our Zoom meeting schedule for 2021 (meeting links to be sent with each meeting announcement) is:

• Thursday, July 8th, 2021 — 6pm-8pm
• Thursday, September 9th, 2021 — 6pm-8pm
• Thursday, November 11th, 2021 — 6pm-8pm

Call for Topic Suggestions
Do you have a topic you’d like the INC Transportation Committee to consider or to find a speaker to discuss with us? Please send your ideas to transportation@denverinc.org!