Greenways Master Plan

A greenway is a corridor with dedicated space for people walking and rolling (separated from vehicle traffic), landscaping or green infrastructure, and streetscape elements. Greenways are defined by these three key features:

• Mobility: Greenways offer a high-comfort travel experience for people walking or rolling and biking. They include either dedicated space separated from vehicle traffic or have significantly reduced traffic volumes and speeds.
• Green infrastructure: Greenways are designed with landscaped areas that can reduce street temperatures or provide shade on hot days, improve air quality, and capture and filter stormwater to reduce drainage issues. 
• Streetscape elements: Greenways provide community spaces and amenities for people to enjoy.

These corridors would tie into the city’s existing network of trails and bikeways by adding more high comfort mobility options.

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In the fall of 2020, DOTI completed work on the 39th Avenue Greenway project in Denver’s Cole and Clayton neighborhoods. The greenway offers a new path for mobility and recreation. The project reduces neighborhood flood risks by providing drainage into the South Platte River and improves stormwater quality through natural vegetation.

39th Avenue Greenway

DOTI recently completed the first phase of work on the Montbello channel along Uvalda Street in Denver’s Montbello neighborhood in 2025. This project converted a concrete channel into green space that can better handle stormwater and flooding, while creating a more inviting space for the neighborhood that incorporates a multi-use path, bike lanes, sidewalks, and traffic safety improvements.

Uvalda Street

DOTI completed a reconstruction of Brighton Boulevard in Denver’s River North neighborhood in 2018, which transformed the corridor by incorporating 2.6 miles of new sidewalks and separated bikeways. These transportation improvements were accompanied by enhanced landscaping, green infrastructure, and street trees, as well as new amenities including streetlights, benches, and bike racks.

Brighton Boulevard 

How do Greenways Relate to Other Types of Streets in Denver? 

High-Comfort Bikeways

High comfort bikeways provide a more comfortable ride for people of all skill levels on a bicycle through a variety of design treatments and safety measures. These include bikeways fully separated from vehicle traffic or streets with low vehicle speeds and volumes.

Greenways are examples of high comfort bikeways that also include high-quality landscaping and green infrastructure.

Parkways and Boulevards

Parkways and boulevards are tree-lined avenues and wide landscaped streets with park-like settings (for example, 7th Avenue Parkway, 17th Avenue Parkway, 6th Avenue Parkway, and Monaco Street Parkway).

Regional Trails

Regional multi-use Trails often follow urban waterways, offering safe and scenic routes through various neighborhoods. These trails provide recreational opportunities and supplement Denver's on-street bike network.

Shared Streets

A shared street is a street designed for low vehicle volume and slow travel speeds where people walking, people biking, people rolling, and motor vehicles share the same space. These streets provide multiple benefits, creating a safe environment to walk and bike, recreate and socialize, as well as the opportunity to build greener and climate resiliency into our public spaces with trees, vegetation, and stormwater infrastructure.

How will streets be identified to be included in the plan?

DOTI is evaluating candidate locations to become greenways based on a variety of factors. These considerations include feedback from the community survey and priority areas for stormwater management and green infrastructure needs. This analysis will also identify locations that complete critical gaps in the transportation network and better connect active transportation across the city and improve access across barriers and to key destinations. Finally, this also considers streets that have been identified as greenways in previous and concurrent planning efforts.

When will greenways from this plan be implemented?

At this time funding has not been identified for implementation. This effort, however, sets a vision so that as funding or partnership opportunities become available the candidate corridors and locations have been identified.

Is all green infrastructure included in the greenways plan?

The Greenways Plan is intended to complement the existing network of off-street trails by identifying a long-term vision for additional high-comfort mobility corridors accompanied by green infrastructure. It does not include all green infrastructure opportunities. Many green infrastructure projects are built on a spot or site-specific basis, and do not provide linear connections as part of the transportation network, though they are still valuable projects!

Is this the only opportunity to get green infrastructure on a street?

Certainly not. Denver considers green infrastructure a fundamental part of the City’s long-term stormwater management and climate resiliency strategies. Since 2018, DOTI’s Division of Green Infrastructure has implemented green infrastructure at different scales across the city. They’ve completed numerous site-specific green infrastructure projects, some of which are highlighted here. The Division of Green Infrastructure has also rolled out a new program to convert publicly owned pavement into green infrastructure and focuses on neighborhoods most affected by excess pavement and impervious cover, localized flooding, and extreme heat. More information can be found here.