Happy September!
Thanks to everyone who attended our second annual Downtown Denver National Night Out (“DDNNO”) on August 6th at Skyline Park 1! We had another great event, doubling last year’s attendance, and the weather was much better this year!
It takes a lot of people to make the event happen. I must thank our DDNNO Planning Committee members, our two partners, LoDoNA and Downtown Denver Partnership, and our volunteers for making the event such a success. Of course, the event would not be possible if it weren’t for our very generous sponsors: BOMA, Bimbo Bakeries, Mark Callaghan Real Estate, Pepsi, Kittredge Ventures, Riot Hospitality Group, Target, Excel Energy, Visit Denver, Sheraton Hotel, Colorado Convention Center, Consolidated Services Group, District 10 Councilman Chris Hinds, LoDo District, and the Oxford Hotel. Our hosts were Drew Engelbart and Kylie Bearse of Fox News Denver. Their energy and banter were fantastic!
Mayor Johnston attended again this year and spoke to the crowd. He was very generous with his time, staying to speak with his constituents for a while. Other speakers included: DPD Chief Ron Thomas, DFD Chief Desmond Fulton, RTD Deputy Chief Glyn Horn, DDP Director of Safety and Security Ryan Ertman, District 10 Councilman Chris Hinds, City Council President and District 1 Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, and several of our sponsors.
In addition to all the activities, we had some very impressive door prizes: $1,000 staycation from the Sheraton Hotel, one year of free car washes and several three months of free car washes from Jimmy Suds Car Wash, $250 Ruth’s Chris Steak House gift card, $50 Blue Agave gift card, $150 HydraFacial from Prep Beauty Bar, $250 Riot Hospitality Group gift card for Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, Autographed Nuggets’ pictures, a table for four at Fortissimo Dueling Pianos, gift cards from Tip to Toe Nails, Dazzle gift cards, and much more!
Next year’s DDNNO will be held on Tuesday, August 5th, so mark your calendars now! If you want to join our Planning Committee or volunteer at the event, please email me at lisapope@updona.org.
Mayor Johnston’s first Vibrant Denver Conversation was held at Union Station in the Webb Gallery. There was a very large turnout, with several UpDoNA members from various residential buildings in attendance. Mayor Johnston discussed the importance of the DDA expansion for the future of downtown. Councilman Hinds pointed out that downtown is the statewide center of (1) business, (2) tourism (60% of the state’s lodging taxes come from downtown), (3) culture, (4) civics, and (5) transportation.
There was a 15-minute breakout session for groups of residents and city leaders to discuss how DDA funds should be spent. Some ideas included: recruiting quality retail for first-floor activations, building conversions, more green spaces, two-way streets, safety and security, additional bike lanes, e-scooter safety, etc. Mayor Johnston plans to hold a Vibrant Denver Conversation in each district, so you have an opportunity to participate in future conversations.
DDA Update – On August 26th, Denver City Council referred the DDA Expansion to the ballot. Now the work begins to educate and to ensure that the small segment of voters in LoDo vote yes! Make sure that you review the Plan of Development using this link: https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Economic-Development-Opportunity/Downtown-Development-Authority/Amended-Plan-of-Development I was recently selected to serve on the Advisory Committee for Denver’s Downtown Area Plan. As the process moves forward, I will be soliciting input from our membership.
On Monday, August 5th, David Kurth, Chair of the Scooter Committee, Gil Vondrasek, and I attended Councilman Hinds’ Legislative Briefing to discuss e-scooter safety, or the lack thereof. Councilman Hinds’ presentation was meant to give an overview of scooter policies across the country that Denver could consider implementing.
Since introducing e-scooters in 2018, there have been approximately 20 million e-scooter trips in Denver. Of course, the introduction of e-scooters has not come without problems, e.g., confusion as to where scooters are to be ridden (bike lanes, not sidewalks), e-scooter/pedestrian safety, irresponsible riders, e-scooter injuries (Denver Health has on average 3.9 visits a day to the ER), lack of enforcement (DOTI has never issued any citations to scooter vendors, DPD has issued less than 10 citations to riders), scooter “litter” (scooters left on sidewalks, not returned to corrals), etc. The city council members in attendance seemed to support moving forward with legislation.
The contracts between the city, Lyft, and Lime are up for renewal in 2026. UpDoNA’s Scooter Committee has requested that it be involved in the upcoming negotiations.
On Monday, August 19th, Denver City Council voted 9-4 to refer to ballot Mayor Johnston’s .5% sales tax increase for affordable housing. Now it is in the hands of the voters.
One of the amendments passed on Monday provided a sunset of the tax after 40 years. Councilmembers Alvidrez, Gilmore, Flynn, and Sawyer voted against the measure because they felt that the measure was rushed, would increase the tax burden on working people, and they wanted more input from stakeholders. If voters pass the measure, the sales tax increase is expected to provide $100 million a year for affordable housing.
I’ll talk to you again in October!
Lisa L. Pope
President
Thumbnail attribution – Lisa Pope
