Thousands of Denver cyclists got to traverse the city like cars do this year during events that shut down major streets to automobiles and turned them into bike-friendly pathways.
Inspired by ciclovía events in Latin America, the ¡Viva! Streets series aimed to get residents out to engage with the Mile High City in a new way, increase foot traffic to local businesses and infuse some activity into downtown on Sunday mornings.
By those metrics, Ellen Forthofer and Andrew Iltis of the Downtown Denver Partnership, which hosted the monthly series, consider ¡Viva! Streets to have been a success, even before the last event on Aug. 6.
In May, about 10,000 people took to the roadways for ¡Viva! Streets and, in July, that tally was up to about 14,000, said Forthofer. The Downtown Denver Partnership decided ...