According to an audit, the Denver Moves plan hasn't lived up to its goals, mainly because of a poor showing in the city's budget since implementation in 2011.
"The Denver Moves plan, approved in May 2011 when Mayor Michael Hancock was still on the City Council, aimed to add 270 miles of mostly on-street bike lanes as well as multi-use trails to the 172 miles that existed then." Since then, only portions of that goal have been realized.
The problem is obvious: minimal funds allocated to the plan. A recent audit "found that the city has carved off just $2.8 million for bike lanes and pedestrian-oriented projects from its capital improvement fund since 2013. That's a smidgen of the plan's overall estimated cost of $119 million."
"'Talk is cheap, and apparently so is the funding of the plan,' said a statement issued by Auditor Dennis Gallagher, who will end his third and final term Monday as Tim O'Brien takes office. 'The mayor and City Council have identified Denver Moves as one of the city's foremost priorities, yet insufficient funding is resulting in a failure to meet the goal of an easy-to-use network for bicycle and pedestrian transportation.'"
"On the larger question of funding, both Gallagher and O'Brien, an Audit Committee member, expressed hope that the audit would spur budget discussions by the mayor and City Council about potential solutions."
The article includes a copy of the audit documentation.
FULL STORY: Audit: Denver's bike plan suffers from cheap funding, slowing pace
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.