Pedestrian Infrastructure & Sidewalk Equity

The Problem

Denver has 3,140 miles of sidewalks. Over a third of them - approximately 1,162 miles (34%) - are deficient, meaning they are less than five feet wide and fail to meet ADA standards for wheelchair users, people with mobility aids, and parents with strollers. Another 318 miles - 9% of the network - are completely missing. Combined, 43% of Denver’s sidewalk network is either missing or deficient - roughly 1,480 miles. At least 1,233 blocks (5% of the system) need repair. In the stretches where sidewalks are missing, people walk in the street, in the dirt, or on highway shoulders.

This is not an inconvenience. It is a public safety crisis with a body count.

Pedestrian fatalities are concentrated in low-income neighborhoods. Low-income areas in Denver have more than double the pedestrian fatality rate of wealthier communities (Denver Streets Partnership, 2022). These same neighborhoods are the least likely to have sidewalks, accessible pedestrian ramps, street lighting, marked crosswalks, and traffic calming measures. The pattern is consistent nationally: a 2024 AAA study found that pedestrians in disadvantaged neighborhoods are significantly more likely to die in car crashes, driven by older infrastructure, wider roads, higher speeds, and inadequate pedestrian facilities.

Denver’s streets are getting deadlier, not safer. In 2025, 93 people died on Denver streets - the deadliest year since 2013. Thirty-five of those deaths were pedestrians, a 34% increase over 2024 (Denver Vision Zero Dashboard). Pedestrians make up roughly 5% of Denver commuters but account for nearly one-third of all people killed in crashes. People walking in Denver are approximately 30 times more likely to die in a crash compared to people in cars.

Disability and sidewalk access are directly connected. Less than 5% of Denver’s housing stock is accessible to wheelchair users (Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University). When the sidewalks outside that housing are also inaccessible - too narrow, broken, or missing entirely - the result is physical isolation. Denver’s own auditor found in 2020 that the city’s sidewalk program was “decades behind schedule and was not designed for ADA compliance.” Over 70,000 Denver residents live with a disability. For many of them, a missing sidewalk is not a minor gap in the map - it is a wall.

At previous funding levels, completing Denver’s sidewalk network would take over 400 years (Denver Streets Partnership). That number is not hyperbole. It is the math of chronic underinvestment meeting a massive backlog.

Where the Gaps Are: January 2026 State of the System Data

The city’s January 2026 State of the System Report provides the most detailed picture yet of where sidewalk deficiencies concentrate. The data strengthens the equity case and reveals how deeply sidewalk failures overlap with transit access, street safety, and community destinations.

Equity priority neighborhoods (DOTI Equity Index scores 1-3) have sidewalk deficiencies that roughly mirror or exceed citywide rates: 9% missing (153 miles), 37% deficient width (624 miles), and 4% needing repair (527 blocks). Missing sidewalks in equity areas are concentrated in north and southwest Denver - neighborhoods that are disproportionately low-income and communities of color.

Transit stops are surrounded by sidewalk failures. Fifty-four percent of high-ridership and priority transit stops have missing sidewalks within a two-minute walk. Seventy-one percent have deficient-width sidewalks nearby. Thirty-nine percent have sidewalks needing repair. These are the stops where Denverites without cars arrive - and then face missing or broken paths to their destinations. Union Station, by contrast, has less than 1% missing or deficient sidewalks within a two-minute walk. The infrastructure follows the investment; the investment follows the wealth.

The High Injury Network accounts for roughly 50% of Denver’s fatal traffic crashes but only 5% of its streets. Within these safety-critical corridors, 5% of sidewalks are missing (16 miles) and 17% are deficient width (55 miles). Specific arterials stand out for dangerously narrow sidewalks with no buffer between pedestrians and vehicle traffic: Sheridan Boulevard (43% narrow/no buffer), West 38th Avenue (55%), East Colfax Avenue east of Colorado Boulevard (64%), and Leetsdale Drive (66%). These are streets where pedestrians are already dying - and where the sidewalk infrastructure offers little protection.

Community destinations - schools, parks, food stores, and health centers - are poorly connected by sidewalks. Thirty-five percent of community destinations have missing sidewalks within a two-minute walk. Fifty-one percent have deficient-width sidewalks nearby. Twenty-six percent need sidewalk repair. The disparities between individual destinations are stark: Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Hospital has just 7% missing or deficient sidewalks within a two-minute walk, while Abraham Lincoln High School has 64%. A child walking to Abraham Lincoln High School is nine times more likely to encounter a missing or substandard sidewalk than someone walking to a major hospital.

What Denver Currently Does

Denver passed Measure 307 (Ordinance 307) in November 2022, which transferred responsibility for sidewalk construction and repair from adjacent property owners to the city - a major equity win, since the previous system forced the poorest neighborhoods to pay for the infrastructure they were least likely to have. The measure created the Denver Deserves Sidewalks program. City Council then passed Ordinance 1076-24 in September 2024, establishing the service charge mechanism and creating the Sidewalk Enterprise Fund to receive and manage the revenue. Fee collection began in January 2025:

• $150/year base fee for all properties (beginning January 2025). No exemptions. The program overrides previous 2007 sidewalk exemptions - all historically exempt streets will now get sidewalks.
• Impact fees for properties with more than 230 linear feet of frontage (scaled to size).
• 20% discount for properties in NEST (Neighborhood Equity & Stabilization) target areas: East Colfax, Elyria-Swansea, Globeville, Montbello, Northeast Park Hill, Sun Valley, Valverde, West Colfax, and Westwood.
• Income-based rebates available but require application. No automatic enrollment.
• $97.5 million expected in fee revenue over the first three years.
• Private developers retain their obligation to build or improve adjacent sidewalks in new construction and redevelopment.

In February 2025, Mayor Johnston announced $75 million in sidewalk construction contracts - $25 million with Milender White Construction and $50 million with SEMA Construction - for new construction and ADA upgrades. The city released a Sidewalk Implementation Plan (SIP) and a State of the System Report (January 2026) documenting the scope of deficiencies.

The SIP timeline runs through the end of 2026:

• Fall 2025-Winter 2026: Inventory, State of the System Report, and public input on prioritization.
• Spring 2026: Sample conceptual designs, cost estimation, prioritization criteria, and work plan scenarios with public feedback.
• Summer-Winter 2026: Final work plan scenarios and final Sidewalk Implementation Plan.

Key construction challenges identified in the report include: right-of-way conflicts and encroachments (fences, landscaping, patios), utilities in the right-of-way, competition between sidewalks and trees/tree lawns for space, “Hollywood sidewalks” (narrow attached sidewalks with rolled curbs, often less than three feet wide), flagstone preservation versus replacement decisions, attached versus detached sidewalk tradeoffs, curb ramp ADA compliance, curb and gutter/stormwater requirements, shared streets, designated parkways and boulevards, and increasing impervious surfaces. These are not hypothetical obstacles - they are the engineering and political realities that will determine how fast and how well construction proceeds.

This is real progress. It is also not enough.

Who Opposes This (and Why)

Property owners resist the fee, particularly commercial property owners who face higher assessments. Some argue the flat fee structure is unfair to smaller properties. Counter: the previous system - where individual property owners bore full repair costs - was far more regressive, concentrating the worst sidewalk conditions in the poorest neighborhoods. The fee spreads the cost across the entire city because the entire city benefits from a complete sidewalk network.

Real estate developers oppose sidewalk requirements in new construction, arguing they increase costs. Counter: building sidewalks during initial construction costs a fraction of retrofitting them later. The incremental cost of ADA-compliant sidewalks in new development is negligible compared to total project costs.

Some political voices argue Denver should focus on roads and cars, not sidewalks. Counter: 93 people died on Denver streets in 2025. Pedestrians account for one-third of those deaths despite being 5% of commuters. Sidewalks are not a luxury - they are the most basic transportation infrastructure, and their absence kills people.

Our Solution

1. Equity-First Prioritization

The Sidewalk Implementation Plan must prioritize construction and repairs based on need, not political convenience.

• Highest priority: High Injury Network corridors and equity neighborhoods. The HIN accounts for 50% of Denver’s fatal crashes on just 5% of streets. Within the HIN, specific arterials have dangerously narrow sidewalks with no amenity buffer: Sheridan Boulevard (43%), West 38th Avenue (55%), East Colfax Avenue east of Colorado Boulevard (64%), and Leetsdale Drive (66%). These streets should be first in line. The 153 miles of missing sidewalks and 624 miles of deficient-width sidewalks in DOTI equity priority neighborhoods - concentrated in north and southwest Denver - should be funded simultaneously.
• Second priority: routes to transit stops, schools, healthcare facilities, and grocery stores. The State of the System Report found that 54% of high-ridership transit stops have missing sidewalks within a two-minute walk, and 35% of community destinations (schools, parks, food stores, health centers) have missing sidewalks nearby. Specific destinations reveal the disparity: Abraham Lincoln High School has 64% missing or deficient sidewalks within a two-minute walk, while Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Hospital has 7%. Transit-adjacent and school-adjacent gaps in underserved neighborhoods should be prioritized over cosmetic upgrades in well-served areas.
• Third priority: ADA compliance gaps. Every stretch of sidewalk narrower than five feet must be widened to meet ADA standards. Every missing curb ramp must be installed. Every intersection without detectable warning surfaces must be retrofitted. These are not nice-to-haves - they are federal civil rights requirements that Denver has been violating for decades.
• Publish the prioritization methodology and timeline on a public dashboard, updated quarterly. Residents should be able to look up their street and see when construction is scheduled. The SIP’s Spring 2026 public feedback window is the critical opportunity to lock in equity-first criteria before work plan scenarios are finalized.

2. Progressive Fee Structure

The current $150 flat fee is better than the old system where property owners paid individually. But a flat fee is still regressive - it costs the same whether you own a $200,000 home in Globeville or a $2 million home in Wash Park.

• Tiered fee based on assessed property value. Lower fees for lower-value properties, higher fees for higher-value properties. The 20% NEST discount is a start but insufficient.
• Automatic enrollment for income-based rebates. The current system requires residents to apply for rebates. Low-income residents are the least likely to navigate bureaucratic application processes. Tie rebate eligibility to existing city and state income verification (LEAP, Medicaid, SNAP) and apply discounts automatically.
• Commercial property assessment scaled to lot size and frontage, so large commercial parcels and surface parking lots - which generate the most pedestrian demand and contribute the most to car-dependent infrastructure - pay proportionally more.

3. Accelerated Timeline

At $97.5 million over three years, the current program will make a dent but not close the gap. Denver needs a complete, ADA-compliant sidewalk network within 15 years, not 50.

• Pursue federal funding aggressively. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) includes billions for pedestrian infrastructure, Safe Streets for All grants, and ADA compliance. Denver should have a dedicated grant writer focused on pedestrian infrastructure federal funding.
• Coordinate with DOTI capital projects. Every road repaving, water main replacement, and utility project should include sidewalk construction or repair as a bundled scope item. Tearing up a street and putting it back without fixing the adjacent sidewalk is a missed opportunity.
• Set binding five-year milestones: eliminate all missing sidewalks on school routes and transit corridors by 2030; achieve ADA compliance on all arterial sidewalks by 2032; complete the full network by 2040.

4. Construction Standards That Serve Everyone

Denver’s sidewalk standards should reflect how people actually use sidewalks - not just able-bodied adults walking alone.

• Minimum six-foot width on all new and reconstructed sidewalks, exceeding the ADA minimum of five feet. Six feet allows two wheelchair users to pass each other, or a parent with a stroller to walk alongside a child. Five feet is the legal minimum; six feet is the functional minimum. The report identifies widespread “Hollywood sidewalks” - narrow attached sidewalks with rolled curbs, often less than three feet wide - that must be replaced, not merely patched.
• Curb ramps at every intersection, with detectable warning surfaces and proper slope. Denver has thousands of intersections without ADA-compliant ramps. The SIP identifies curb ramp ADA compliance as a key construction challenge - this should be treated as a non-negotiable requirement, not a cost-saving variable.
• Adequate buffer zones between sidewalks and vehicle traffic on arterials. A painted line is not a buffer. Tree lawns, bollards, or raised curbs protect pedestrians from vehicle intrusion. The State of the System data is explicit about where buffers are missing: Sheridan Boulevard, West 38th Avenue, East Colfax east of Colorado Boulevard, and Leetsdale Drive all have high proportions of narrow sidewalks with no amenity buffer on streets where people are dying.
• Winter maintenance requirements. A sidewalk buried under ice is not a sidewalk. Require the city (not individual property owners) to clear priority pedestrian routes within 24 hours of snowfall. The current system - where property owners are responsible for snow removal - results in predictable non-compliance in the neighborhoods that need clear sidewalks most.

5. Integration with Disability Rights Infrastructure

Sidewalks are disability infrastructure. The policy should be explicitly linked to Denver’s broader disability rights commitments.

• Denver’s Office of Disability Rights (proposed in our Disability Rights & Inclusion policy) should have review authority over the Sidewalk Implementation Plan, including prioritization, construction standards, and ADA compliance verification.
• Disability community representation on the SIP advisory committee. People who use wheelchairs, walkers, white canes, and other mobility aids should be reviewing construction plans, not just receiving them.
• Post-construction accessibility audits by trained ADA compliance inspectors. Building a sidewalk is not enough - it must be built correctly. Slopes, cross-slopes, surface materials, ramp grades, and detectable warnings must all meet standards.
• Cross-reference: Disability Rights & Inclusion, Aging, Disability & Accessibility, Transportation & Public Transit

International Evidence: Walking Is Infrastructure

How We Pay For It

• Current sidewalk fee revenue: $97.5M over 3 years (already funded). Our proposal restructures the fee to be progressive, not flat, but maintains the same revenue target.
• Federal IIJA and Safe Streets for All grants: $10-20M potential over five years, with dedicated grant-writing staff. Denver has historically underutilized available federal pedestrian infrastructure funding.
• Bundled construction with DOTI capital projects: $0 incremental cost in many cases. When the city tears up a street for utility work, adding sidewalk scope costs marginally more than doing it as a standalone project later.
• Accelerated bond financing: Issue pedestrian infrastructure bonds backed by sidewalk fee revenue to front-load construction in the highest-need areas. Pay now, save lives now, repay over 15-20 years.
• Total: $130-160M over 5 years (vs. current ~$97.5M over 3 years), with the additional funding coming from federal grants, bond financing, and bundled DOTI projects. The per-household cost remains comparable or lower than the current flat fee for most residents due to the progressive restructuring.

Frequently Asked Questions

“The city just started the sidewalk program. Give it time.” The program is real progress, and Measure 307 was a genuine win. But $75 million in contracts against a 400-year backlog is still a pace that leaves the most dangerous neighborhoods waiting decades. The January 2026 State of the System Report shows 54% of transit stops still have missing sidewalks within a two-minute walk, and the High Injury Network - where half of Denver’s fatal crashes happen - still has 16 miles of missing sidewalks and 55 miles of deficient-width sidewalks. The final Sidewalk Implementation Plan is not due until late 2026, with public prioritization input happening in Spring 2026. People are dying now. ADA violations are happening now. The question is not whether the program exists - it is whether the pace and prioritization match the urgency.

“$150 a year is already too much. Now you want to raise it?” We want to restructure it so that lower-value properties pay less and higher-value properties pay more, while raising the same total revenue. If you own a $300,000 home, your fee would likely go down. If you own a $2 million home, your fee would go up. The current flat fee charges the same to a family in Montbello as it does to a homeowner in Cherry Hills. That is not equitable.

“Sidewalks are a local issue, not a policy platform issue.” Ninety-three people died on Denver streets in 2025. Thirty-five were pedestrians. Low-income neighborhoods have double the pedestrian fatality rate. Over 70,000 residents with disabilities cannot navigate their own neighborhoods because sidewalks are missing or too narrow for a wheelchair. This is a public safety issue, a disability rights issue, and an economic justice issue. It belongs on every policy platform.

“Why should the city maintain sidewalks? That used to be the property owner’s job.” And the result was predictable: wealthy neighborhoods had sidewalks; poor neighborhoods did not. When you make sidewalk maintenance the responsibility of individual property owners, the people least able to afford repairs live with the worst conditions. Denver voters recognized this and passed Measure 307 to shift responsibility to the city. The question is whether the city will meet that responsibility with adequate funding and equitable prioritization.

“What about snow removal?” Under current rules, property owners are responsible for clearing sidewalks within 24 hours of snowfall. Compliance is inconsistent, enforcement is complaint-driven, and the result is that priority pedestrian routes - especially near transit stops and schools - are often impassable for weeks in winter. We propose the city take direct responsibility for clearing priority routes, funded within the existing sidewalk program budget.

References

• City and County of Denver, DOTI. (2026, January 22). Denver Sidewalk Implementation Plan: State of the System Report. (3,140 miles total; ~1,162 miles / 34% deficient width; 318 miles / 9% missing; ~1,480 miles / 43% total missing or deficient; 1,233 blocks / 5% needing repair. Equity areas: 153 mi missing, 624 mi deficient. 54% of transit stops with missing sidewalk within 2-min walk. HIN: 50% of fatal crashes on 5% of streets.)
• Denver Streets Partnership. (2022). Denver Deserves Sidewalks campaign materials. (400+ years to complete network at prior funding levels; low-income neighborhoods 2x pedestrian fatality rate.)
• Denver Auditor’s Office. (2020). Audit of the Neighborhood Sidewalk Repair Program. (“Decades behind schedule and was not designed for ADA compliance.”)
• City and County of Denver. (2025). Vision Zero Dashboard. (93 traffic deaths in 2025; 35 pedestrians, 34% increase over 2024; pedestrians 30x more likely to die than motorists.)
• CBS Colorado. (2025). “Sidewalk relief coming soon to Denver neighborhoods, set to begin with $75 million contracts.” ($25M Milender White, $50M SEMA; $97.5M expected in fee revenue over 3 years.)
• AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. (2024). “Pedestrians in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods More Likely to Die in Car Crashes.”
• Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. (2019). “Housing America’s Older Adults.” (Less than 5% of housing stock accessible to wheelchair users.)
• ScienceDirect. (2024). “Complete streets meet fragmented policies: Sidewalks in 30 U.S. cities.” (San Francisco, Denver, and Austin only top-30 cities with “equitable” sidewalk policies.)
• Denver Gazette / City of Denver. (2022). Measure 307 (Ordinance 307) and Denver Deserves Sidewalks ordinance. ($150/year fee; NEST discount; income-based rebates.)
• City and County of Denver, City Council. (2024, September). Ordinance 1076-24. (Established the sidewalk service charge and Sidewalk Enterprise Fund; fee collection began January 2025; impact fees for >230 linear feet of frontage; overrode 2007 sidewalk exemptions.)
• City and County of Denver. (2050). Denver Moves Everyone 2050 (strategic transportation plan); Complete Streets Guidelines (2020); Denver Moves: Pedestrians and Trails (2019); Transportation Standards and Details (2017). (Guiding plans referenced in the SIP.)
• City of Pontevedra, Spain. Urban pedestrianization results. (Zero pedestrian deaths since 2011.)
• City of Oslo, Norway. Vision Zero implementation. (Zero pedestrian and cyclist deaths in 2019.)