Denver says Concrete Sidewalks Trump Trees & Landscaping in Denver

Terrible news from this month's Greater Park Hill News... according to our city officials, the majority of sidewalks in Park Hill, Mayfair, Hilltop (indeed, Denver-wide) are not sufficiently wide, according to the city's new current standards. Developers and city contractors are getting excited to get rich bulldozing our neighborhoods for the next 10 years.

The city has already drawn up a map to start the assault on our Park Hill neighborhood and trees, and pretty much the entire neighborhood is on the list to be under construction, see the map lower below. Think your property is safe just because you already have a sidewalk? Think again. This reckless initiative may target you as well, because many of our neighborhood sidewalks have been deemed too narrow, and there are many blocks where they don't exist at all. Many of our neighborhood blocks were designed without sidewalks and are tree-lined properties, which was a buying point for many of us. In fact, for decades the city has planted or has had residents plant many trees in the right-of-way areas that they are now saying need to have sidewalks. Residents have have spent millions of dollars on tree care, landscaping, irrigation systems and hardscapes in our neighborhoods for over the past 100 years. Many homeowners purchased their homes decades before this reckless initiative was put on the ballot, and despite nearly half of us voting against this initiative, we are now being targeted for demolition of our landscapes and trees.

Want to defend our community’s trees and landscapes?

1. Take this survey by Friday, July 31 at bit.ly/SIPphase2survey (*Note: This is an unfair & misleading survey as whatever way you respond to their questions will imply that you want the sidewalks installed everywhere, but you can put your comments into the comment field. Make sure to come to the in-person events listed at the bottom of this post as that can potentially be more effective and transparent. These survey comments are not usually shared with the public.)
   

2. Come in person to the city's sidewalk project team at one of the events at the bottom of this post.

Read more below...

This conceptual map of Park Hill highlights where the city has determined sidewalks are too narrow (“deficient,” in blue), or missing entirely (in red). The plan is to upgrade these sidewalks to city standards. Those standards require a pavement five feet wide and a hell strip buffer at least eight feet wide. (Look up the status of your own sidewalk on the city’s online map at tinyurl.com/DenverSOTSMap.) Map Source: City and County of Denver (yes, the very people that apparently represent us but do not listen or communicate with total transparency with the residents when making these decisions and ballot initiatives.) Here's a larger version of the map:

Read the full article: greaterparkhill.org/sidewalk-surprise While it passed, this Initiated Ordinance 307, also known as “Denver Deserves Sidewalks,” did not receive overwhelming support from voters. In the November 2022 election, only 150,816 people voted in favor, while 119,237 voted against it. The measure passed with just 55.85% approval—far from a decisive mandate.

The ordinance shifted responsibility and costs for sidewalk construction and repair from individual property owners to the city, funded through a new property fee. Despite claims that voters broadly supported expanded sidewalks, the language of the initiative failed to fully communicate the real-world impacts of the plan. Many people voted for the Initiative because they thought it would mean they wouldn't have to replace or repair their sidewalk at their own cost, the city would instead pay for it. What they didn't realize was that voting for it would mean that the city could deem their entire sidewalk not to be up to the newly established "standards." Therefore, the city will now require the destruction of existing "too-narrow" sidewalks if they have one at all, plus the removal of their trees, irrigation system and landscaping to put in larger 5 foot wide sidewalks along with an 8 feet wide hell strip, taking over a much wider area of their front yard.

As it stands, the implementation threatens to remove decades of established landscaping, wrought-iron fencing, retaining walls, steps, and potentially eliminate hundreds—if not thousands—of healthy, mature trees. This would significantly reduce Denver’s shade canopy and contribute to increased urban heat in our neighborhoods, all in favor of expanding concrete infrastructure.

I am not opposed to sidewalks. However, the scale of environmental and neighborhood disruption tied to this ill-conceived plan is deeply concerning and, in my view, was not transparently presented to voters.

Here is the exact Wording of the Measure that was narrowly passed by voters:

Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance to create a sidewalk master plan and to implement a sustainable program for the construction, reconstruction, and ongoing repairs of sidewalks citywide; to fund the program by charging a fee to property owners; to create a sidewalk enterprise within the definition of Section 20, Article X, of the Colorado Constitution, with the authority to issue revenue bonds payable solely from the fees collected under this program and without further voter approval; and to remove the adjacent property owner's current responsibility for sidewalk repair and reconstruction and place such responsibility on the City?

Many people who voted for this initiative had no idea that city's right-of-way and "sidewalk plan" would cut deeply into their yards for the new sidewalks – and that any landscaping, fencing, retaining walls, stairs, and mature trees would be bulldozed to make room for the new concrete.

The city has not explained how exactly they will navigate this, but apparently they are pushing forward.

Tractors may show up and start bulldozing your landscapes and mature trees at any time, Denver says they are putting it on the "fast track." In fact, they are asking if they should be targeting those with missing or narrow "Hollywood" sidewalks BEFORE even repairing existing sidewalks, according to their survey.

Because of the complete lack of transparency of the initiative that was voted in, voters were misled. We need to collectively get together and void the initiative, and require that the city start over with a more thorough plan that outlines exactly what the sidewalk initiative will do to our city with full transparency. If they want to continue this initiative, they should be required to provide a comprehensive plan with full transparency of costs, tree canopy loss, landscapes lost, and clearly state who will be responsible for repairing landscapes after the sidewalks are installed — before it can be voted on again. Trees and landscapes should not be trumped by heat-island causing concrete. If the city and developers have their way, many areas including Park Hill, Hilltop, and other Denver neighborhoods with "insufficient" sidewalks (or those with none at all) will be turned into a desert.  Click and read the "Sidewalk Surprise" news story by Mark Silverstein to learn a whole lot more: greaterparkhill.org/sidewalk-surprise

On the chopping block: Hollywood sidewalks, retaining walls, fencing, many beautiful landscapes without sidewalks, and so many mature trees, shrubs, and gardens:

Help save our precious tree canopy and landscapes and tell the city in person or by survey:

Submit your survey response by Friday, July 31 at bit.ly/SIPphase2survey. (*Note: This survey is biased and potentially misleading, as any response may suggest support for installing sidewalks everywhere; however, you can still share your perspective in the comment section. Coming to in-person events can also be more effective, as they usually do not share the full detailed results or comments from these online surveys.)

Dates to talk to them in person: From the city of Denver: Ensure your voice is heard about the future of Denver’s sidewalks at an event near you! We want to know your input on different approaches for phasing sidewalk improvements across the city. Come talk with the city's project team at one of these upcoming events:

June 17, 5 to 7 p.m.: Green Valley Ranch Farmer’s Market at Green Valley Ranch Recreation Center (4890 Argonne Way)

June 24, 5 to 7 p.m.: Canal Summer Fest at Bible Park (6802 E Yale Ave.)

June 26, 2 to 4 p.m.: Huerta Urbana Farmer’s Market at Focus Points Family Resource Center (2501 E 48th Ave.)

July 16, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: University Park Food Truck Night at Accelerated Schools (2160 S Cook St.)

July 17, 4 to 6 p.m.: Tennyson St. Fair Kickoff at Tennyson St. and 41st Ave.

July 18, 7 to 8:15 p.m.: Free Concert in Harvey Park at 2120 S. Tennyson Way

We are going to request that they have one in our neighborhood in Park Hill as well, so that people from our community can easily go to a meeting.