06/28/2017: The City and County of Denver and RTD are officially kicking off the next phase of planning for improvements to the 16th Street Mall, in partnership with the Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP), the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District (BID), the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

Over the last several years, significant analysis and outreach has been conducted in order to determine feasible options for long-term solutions to ensure the continued success of the Mall for the next 35 years. Due to the significant cost to maintain the pavers, RTD began researching the option of replacing the bus lanes with an alternative surface, launching the 106 process in 2015. At the same time, the City and County of Denver and the Downtown Denver Partnership launched The Mall Experience: The Future of Denver’s 16th Street Mall, working with Gehl Studio to identify ways to help the Mall reach its full potential as a welcoming place in the heart of downtown. The Mall Experience also addressed concerns with pedestrians and vehicles. These prior studies will inform the expanded review. (See project archive on this page.)