Stapleton’s Founder’s Green park serves as a central gathering spot for residents. Nearly 30 percent of the former airport’s 4,700 acres are dedicated to parks and open space. Nearby shopping, Energy Star® certified homes, access to public transportation, and other features have made the redevelopment of Stapleton a national model for smart growth. Credit: Forest City Stapleton, Inc.

Sustainable Achievements in 2010 include:

Goal: Ensure successful launch of the B-Cycle citywide bike share system in spring 2010 to provide healthy, safe, and non-polluting transportation options for residents

• Achievement: Launched spring 2010 with 43 stations and 400 bikes. 50 stations and 475 bikes in system by October 15
• Achievement: Over 70,000 rides; over 1,500 annual members, and over 25,000 day users to date

Goal: Expand Denver’s network of dedicated bike lanes, off-street bike paths, and other bicycle accessibility infrastructure by taking advantage of all road re-surfacing and re-construction projects, Parks capital projects, and private redevelopment projects

• Achievement: City now has 62 miles of trail; 43 miles of bike lane; 21 miles of sharrows; 400 miles of signed bike routes

Planning for People-Oriented Development

Smart growth creates economic opportunity and a better quality of life for all residents, as long as affordable communities are available, accessible to jobs and essential services, and designed for the people who live, work and play in our city.

Vibrant, livable urban centers that support walking, biking and mass transit, and that reduce reliance on cars are part of Denver’s master plan for the future, called Blueprint Denver.

At the core of the zoning and transportation plan are transit-oriented developments (TODs), which are neighborhoods that are built around bus and light rail stops so that housing, offices and shopping are all within walking distance.

The metro area FasTracks project, approved by voters in seven Colorado counties in 2004 and managed by Denver’s Regional Transportation District, is the unifying element in our regional community planning efforts.

The $4.7 billion, 12-year plan will link Denver’s suburbs together with comprehensive mass transit service through 119 miles of new light rail and commuter rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, 21,000 new parking spaces at rail and bus stations, and expanded bus service.

A network of stations planned along the Central, East, West, North Metro, U.S. 36, Southeast, and Southwest Corridors, and along the Gold Line, will create opportunities to live or work near public transportation. The expansion is the largest build-out in U.S. history, and will make Metro Denver one of the top five regions in the country in terms of miles of fixed rail.

Transportation is the foundation that makes smart growth possible, and Greenprint Denver is an action plan to support and identify sustainability opportunities as they relate to the city’s development plans.

By bringing more people within easy access of public transportation, bike paths and pedestrian routes we will, as a city, reduce our oil and energy dependence in the future, and enjoy improved air quality, greater commuting efficiency, and other public health benefits today.

IN-DEPTH:

• View Denver’s strategic Blueprint Denver plan.
• Learn more about RTD’s FasTracks plan.
• Read about progress on Denver’s Strategic Transportation Plan.
• Follow Denver’s Transit Oriented Development projects.