Denver officials are taking a deep, date-driven dive into what is working and what is not working on the 16th Street Mall – long considered the city’s main street. (Kathryn Scott Osler, Denver Post file)
Re: “Time for a reset of 16th St. Mall?,” Sept. 7 editorial.
Denver’s 16th Street Mall does need a review. First, a stronger police presence is needed. The teenage street rats have taken over most of the mall, mainly at night. Then there is the homeless problem.
The free shuttles are what made the mall great in the first place. The city and RTD should improve the mall shuttle so that people can travel between Civic Center and Union Station in less than 10 minutes.
Walking the mall is a challenge due to the restaurant patios on the sidewalks. The city needs to work with the restaurants regarding patio space.
These few improvements can make the mall great for another 33 years.
Jeff Jasper, Westminster
This letter was published in the Sept. 13 edition.In a city full of vibrant neighborhoods, each with its own unique stand-alone restaurants, pubs, galleries and retail, much of the 16th Street Mall is occupied by the same chains that are found in any suburban mall in the United States. The major difference is that this particular mall comes with an annoying gauntlet of homeless people and issue-petitioners and the pungent odors of human waste. Why should suburbanites or residents of great city neighborhoods bother?
We love getting out of the suburbs to enjoy the city, but the 16th Street Mall is pretty much just a very seedy Park Meadows.
Felice Sage, Littleton
This letter was published in the Sept. 13 edition.
