The city of Denver is considering the creation of a new department — specifically the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure — to oversee a multi-modal transportation system for the largest city in Colorado and one of the faster-growing cities in the nation.
The idea was proposed by Mayor Michael Hancock, Public Works executive director Eulois Cleckley, Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman and the area’s mobility community. The creation of the department would require referral to the November ballot by the Denver City Council and approval by Denver voters.
“This charter change and new department is needed to ensure that we, as a City, are focused on the future and can proactively embrace new and innovative solutions to solve the transportation challenges we are facing today,” Mary Beth Susman, District 5 Denver city councilwoman, said. “With a new department, we will have the systems and resources in place to create the next generation of Denver’s transportation and mobility systems.”
The ballot proposal would alter the existing city charter. In so doing, it would outline the responsibility of this new department to plan, design, construct, maintain and operate Denver’s transportation networks, be they for vehicles, bikes or pedestrians. The department would also be empowered to undertake more proactive measures of mass transportation service delivery and invest in local transit services. Their programming capabilities would be emphasized and a division of public works would be created within the department to handle utility functions like trash, recycling and sewer systems.
“With the creation of this new department comes an enhanced project delivery approach that takes transportation and infrastructure projects from concept to completion in a more integrated, sequential and coordinated manner,” Eulois Cleckley, executive director at Denver Public Works. “We will be focused on creating multi-modal networks, positioned to build them more efficiently, and have the charter authority to try more innovative approaches.”