Denver City Council To Hear Proposal For Lowering Neighborhood Street Speeds

DENVER (CBS4) - Discussion about Denver's street safety is shifting its focus on reducing speed. With an alarming number of pedestrian crashes in Denver, a proposal to lower neighborhood speeds could soon be in front of city council.

"I've been hit, luckily not badly, but a couple times," Julie Reiskin, the Executive Director for Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, said.

Reiskin says every one of their members has a similar story, which is why they were quick to get behind the Twenty is Plenty campaign led by the Denver Streets Partnership. Jill Locantore the Executive Director of the group started the push in 2017.

"We have been distributing the yard signs and have received requests from thousands of people to put these signs up in their neighborhood because everybody wants to live on a safe street," Locantore said.

Now they have the support of city councilman Paul Kashmann who says this is something the community has been vocal about.

"The past six years, we get regular calls from residents concerned about traffic in their neighborhoods. Cars are driving too fast and what can, what can we do to stop that?" Kashmann asked.

It prompted his request for funding to study traffic speeds. As a result, it prompted a push to lower them across the city.

"It recommended support for reducing speeds on neighborhood streets from 25mph to 20mph," he said.

Locantore says it's part of a bigger shift by the community which now recognizes how dangerous Denver can be.

"I think our community is no longer willing to accept this as business as usual. They are recognizing these tragedies are preventable," she said.

Advocates hope the proposal, once introduced, will come with little opposition.

"Is that amount of getting there that much faster worth someone else's life?" Reiskin said.

Kashmann says he expects an opportunity to introduce the ordinance to committee in early December.