Denver’s Extensive Sidewalk Repair Program, Even Tackling Some Walkways Built in the Late 19th Century, Set to Begin in 2025

An ambitious plan to repair and replace miles of cracked, damaged, and missing sidewalks in Denver is expected to launch by the spring of next year.

The much-discussed program came into being after voters in November 2022 passed a referendum calling upon the City to begin not just repairing sidewalks, but also curbs and even some driveways.

According to City figures there are nearly 3,500 miles of sidewalks in the Mile High City, many built more than a century ago, and roughly 40% of them are in poor condition or too narrow. Entire sections of sidewalks have somehow disappeared through the years or were never there in the first place.

The language to the 2022 ballot required the city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to replace, repair, and build sidewalks in what supporters said would be a “timely and affordable manner.”

Funding for the project is designed to come through the levying of a fee on property owners.

The amount of the fees, however, remains uncertain, prompting the Land Use, Transportation, and Infrastructure Committee to recently ask the Denver City Council to hold off on implementing the program until the spring of 2025.

Also set for 2025: a Sidewalk Master Plan that will be sent out for public comment laying out what sidewalks in what part of the city are most likely to first be built anew or repaired.

A city that was officially incorporated in 1861, Denver still has in place miles and miles of sidewalks that were built in the late 19th century, some of which were made up of flagstones.

​By Garry Boulard

Image Credit: Courtesy of Pixabay

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