On Sunday, February 2nd, the car-free space on Larimer Street in Five Points was re-opened to vehicles after 5 years of being for pedestrians and bikes only. With no notice, what was a safe route across town or to patronize businesses has become very dangerous. People have grown accustomed to this low-traffic street in their lives, and now it’s gone overnight.

Recent community surveys found that this car-free space had a 92% approval rating. I understand the decision was made to not renew the permit and not apply for the one-year pilot program. However, car-free spaces in Denver are rare and the few we built have been disappearing. There hasn’t been one built that wasn’t unanimously loved. If the city is to support its own stated goals of making people, not cars, the priority they should take a greater interest in these spaces. This includes taking on the closure permits themselves. Leaving the financial burden and maintenance up to businesses and business improvement districts for something that is in the public right of way has only led to the loss of car-free spaces.

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is responsible for the public right of way, including the street space, and we are asking them to immediately reinstate the closure of the 2900 block of Larimer while its future is debated and to install more car-free spaces for all neighborhoods. The day after the removal of the closure, there was a crash into a building on Larimer that illustrates what removing a modal filter like the Larimer block does to the conditions on the street.

For 5 years this block closure has served to make the street a safer place for riders and pedestrians. I ask that we return this block to its closed form so a more permanent solution can be developed.