An Outdoor Downtown
Goal:Strengthen connections between existing parks, plazas and recreation areas, and enhance the public realm to provide venues for outdoor activity throughout Downtown.
Why It’s Important:Providing venues for residents, workers, and visitors to gather, relax and play in public is a key component of fostering a balance between urban life and the outdoors.
Policies, Projects, and Programs:
• Create a green public realm in Downtown by adding street trees and landscaping in the public right-of-way, in private open space and on rooftops
• Host events that promote biking and walking in Downtown and develop educational and interactive programs such as walking and bicycle tours
• Create and implement a Downtown parks and open space master plan incorporating existing parks, open space and connecting routes in and around Downtown.
• Activate Skyline Park as a central gathering place for the Downtown community
• Continue to cluster world-class sports facilities in Downtown
A Rejuvenated Civic Center
Goal: Strengthen Civic Center as an outdoor amenity to attract visitors, residents, workers, and students to the park.
Why It’s Important: As one of the most iconic elements of Downtown Denver, Civic Center Park must be restored and reactivated to support the vision elements of green and distinctive.
Policies, Projects, and Programs:
• Restore and reactivate the Civic Center
• Restore the Carnegie Library to accommodate new users that help activate the park based on the recommendations of the Civic Center District Plan and Civic Center Park Master Plan
• Created clear street-level pedestrian connections to link 14th Street and Colfax; 15th Street and Colfax to the Acoma Plaza; and Civic Center Station to the Art Museum
• Provide enhanced safety and maintenance services to the park
• Enhance the park’s function as the central downtown location for community celebrations and festivals
• Invest in the Civic Center area, including the station, park and cultural facilities
• Implement street enhancements identified in the Civic Center District Plan for West Colfax Avenue and West 14th Avenue between Speer Boulevard and Bannock Street
• Encourage a mix of activities and vibrant, transparent ground-floor uses in buildings facing the park
Sustainable Use of Resources
Goal: Incorporate sustainability as a core value for Downtown and integrate its concepts into all future projects, programs, and policies.
Why It’s Important: Global trends find that sustainable building, water conservation, and energy utilization practices will be increasingly important to propel economic growth as articulated in Greenprint Denver. With a region rich with research and development facilities for renewable resources, Downtown Denver can emerge as a national leader in reduced energy use and sustainable energy production.
Policies, Projects, and Programs:
• Develop a Downtown-wide strategy to reduce resource consumption, especially energy, water and materials, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Build a high-profile renewable energy project, such as the Colorado Convention Center roof solar panels
• Expand existing transportation demand management programs for employees, businesses, and residents to decrease use of single occupant vehicles
• Develop a sustainable storm water management system for Downtown
• Establish parking lot landscaping requirements that reduce heat island and storm water impacts
• Expand and enhance public sector, residential and business waste reduction programs