New Breathe Easy Ordinance for the 16th Street Mall

Denver City Council (Council) has approved the Breathe Easy Ordinance, which prohibits smoking on the 16th Street Mall (Mall). The ordinance, which had the full support of the Downtown Denver Partnership (Partnership) and Downtown Denver Business Improvement District (BID) Boards of Directors, bans any product including e-cigarettes, vapes, etc. to improve the quality of life and create a healthy environment for Downtown residents and visitors.

The Partnership and BID helped craft and advocate for the approval of this ordinance which will continue to ensure that Downtown Denver is healthy and welcoming for everyone. We applaud the leadership of Council President Albus Brooks who stewarded the ordinance through to its passage.

The passage of the Breathe Easy Ordinance is paramount to the work of the Partnership and BID to ensure the Mall remains a lively, healthy and vibrant destination for locals and visitors alike. Three years ago, the Partnership and BID Boards of Directors began pursuing a smoking ban on the Mall as a key component of addressing an array of environmental and health factors related to second hand smoke. Our long-standing advocacy for this type of ordinance has yielded a much-welcomed addition to our holistic approach to create a positive and welcoming visitor experience on the Mall, one of our city’s most vital connectors and important public spaces. The implementation of the ordinance will ultimately support our ongoing commitment to create a premier pedestrian environment for the more than one million people who visit the Mall each month.

The Breathe Easy Ordinance will take effect on December 1, 2017.