DENVER—Mayor John Hickenlooper said Tuesday Denver won’t be paralyzed by this summer’s Democratic National Convention, when 50,000 people are expected to descend on downtown.
“This is a modest number of people,” Hickenlooper said in a phone interview. “We don’t expect this to cause giant traffic jams.”
The mayor said in a letter released Tuesday that Denver is used to accommodating larger crowds for sporting events and rallies.
He said the 50,000 is less than the number that attends the Colorado Rockies opening day or who go to a Denver Broncos game. Hickenlooper also said almost 150,000 people have been downtown at once during those rare times when sporting events are staged at the Pepsi Center, Invesco Field, and Coors Field.
Hickenlooper acknowledges there will be “modest” traffic problems but said they will not tie up downtown. He said workers shouldn’t have trouble getting to or from businesses because the main convention hours at the Pepsi Center are 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Only areas around the Pepsi Center will require tougher security measures than normal, but those boundaries haven’t been announced
“The point of putting this thing out, even before all the final details have been made is, an information vacuum always creates unrest,” he said.
“We want people to enjoy their nightlife like normal,” Hickenlooper added.
Downtown business and government offices will still be accessible during the Aug. 25-28 convention, Hickenlooper said.
