Denver’s 16th Street Mall: Time for an Update

The 16th Street Mall is a pedestrian-centric shopping promenade in downtown Denver, Colorado.

It is a mile long stretch of 16th Street lined with shopping, entertainment, and restaurants. Many locals shop here, but businesses lean towards a tourist demographic.

By the 1970s, 16th Street was congested with vehicular traffic. Denver city officials decided to reinvent the space by prioritizing the pedestrian experience.

The project was awarded to I.M. Pei and the urban design was completed between 1978-1982. (For all my non-architect readers, remember those pyramids outside of the Louvre? Pei did those!) Check out the Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website for awesome project photography from the time of completion.

The 16th Street Mall was a great success 40 years ago, but it has since declined. In general, the public realm was not well maintained; the sidewalks are a tripping hazard, storefronts are vacant, a large homeless population frequents underutilized spaces, and the amenities of the site are outdated and dysfunctional.

The city has plans to renovate the mall, construction started in 2022 and will complete in 2024, but let’s review a few of the current issues as of July 2022.

The streets and adjacent sidewalks lack definition.

A woonerf urban design of shared roadway and sidewalk was implemented in the 1980s, but in denser areas, the street and sidewalk paving are very similar in materiality. It’s a bit confusing to choose where to walk and cross from one sidewalk to the other with frequent buses and an occasional cyclist.

Plus, the paving is composed of many smaller squares which, after 40 years, have lost their traction and have slipped out of place, causing frequent tripping hazards.

Pedestrian use of the space is segmented.

The city’s proposal (pictured below) deftly calls out the issues of pedestrian and vehicular use of the space. The center island is difficult to reach with frequent bus and bike traffic zooming by.

Enlarging the edge pedestrian space offers more usable real estate to restaurants, stores, kiosks, and pedestrians.

Because the center islands are difficult to reach, they are underutilized.

There are few places to sit and enjoy the beautiful shade of the center island trees. Seating areas are fenced in to protect occupants. Homeless deterrents are plentiful; seating areas have been stripped of all the nice things that make them feel welcoming. Site furnishings and amenities have not been well maintained.

Here is a remaining seating area/ ceremonial circle/ water feature remnamt?

Public water fountains and trash cans appear to be original, but are in bad shape.

Reconfiguring public space to the sidewalk street and centering two vehicular lanes will help maximize useable space.

Mall kiosks: charming, but vacant.

A wonderful part of the 16th Street Mall urban design are little kiosks for small businesses throughout the mile long stretch. These are great spaces for pedestrian access, especially in the warmer months when the stores can spill out onto the sidewalk.

Unfortunately, I did not see a single open business the several times I visited the mall. Perhaps due to the pandemic, or maybe the general lackluster urban condition, many were completely empty. I hope these kiosks are reinvented with the renovation.

There are too many rules limiting use of the space.

Allow a variety of people to use this space! More eyes on the street equals more traffic for businesses as well as safer conditions. Make traffic lanes obvious to reduce collisions so that pedestrians and vehicles can exist in tandem. If scooters are a problem, reduce their speeds in this area and require parking in designated areas. Make obvious areas for safe street crossing- even if one or two of those places are mid-block.

My final recommendations:

• Reconfiguring pedestrian and vehicle lanes will make a huge difference for use of this space. Make sidewalk vs street obvious. Provide safe places at the ends and mid-block for pedestrians to cross.

• Reuse I.M. Pei design elements like the streetlamps- they are delightful!

• Maximize pedestrian space.

• Introduce more planters, furnishings, and places for people to gather formally (concerts, craft fairs, farmer’s markets) and informally (sipping coffee, enjoying the weather, eating a quick lunch, meeting a friend).

• Allow businesses to take over portions of the sidewalk with pop-ups and outdoor seating.

• Replant as many trees as possible!