The Community Streets Program is managed through Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI).
The program provides support to community members to install temporary artwork in the public right-of-way at intersections that have been reviewed and approved by DOTI. The intersection artwork murals can promote community building, enhance aesthetics, and create an enriched pedestrian environment near a school, park, or along a business corridor.
Projects are generally funded by a grant or some other funding opportunity and need to go through the permitting process of the Community Streets Program. Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) offers in-kind support via staff time to help realize a community’s desire for placemaking projects.
Applicants should plan for projects to last 4-8 months. The host will need to gather information and organize their community/project team. Eventually, the project team will finalize a proposal idea and submit it to DOTI. DOTI reviews the project and provides an approval in a timely fashion. Once the project proposal is approved, a project team can expect the full application process to last for about 90 days. During that 90-day timeframe, the applicant is responsible for performing outreach and informing stakeholders about the project proposal, acquiring the necessary permits from the various teams/agencies at Denver, and then installing the project.
The image below provides an overview of the process:
The projects below highlight the unique proposals that Denver’s residents completed in their communities. These highlighted projects installed artwork to enhance pedestrian connections to transit facilities in Denver, encouraged active living by installing artwork near parks and schools, or created a unique pedestrian walking area along a business corridor.
As part of RiNo’s annual CRUSH walls event, when artists from all over the world paint artistic murals on building walls, local artists painted an intersection mural at the intersection of 39th Street and Wynkoop Street.
The Greater Park Hill Community (GPHC) partnered with the community and local schools to install two intersection murals to bring awareness to climate change. The two murals are located at the intersections of E 19th Avenue at N Elm Street and E 30th Ave at N Dahlia Street.
During Summer 2020, DOTI participated in the national event known as (PARK)ing Day. The event seeks to bring awareness to how much space is dedicated to on-street parking, and how those spaces may be repurposed for other uses. Local advocacy organizations and SPIN hosted parklets throughout Downtown Denver.
“Frankie” the Falcon was painted at the intersection of W 41st Avenue and N Franklin St. The project was led by Denver’s CALC team with local advocacy partners such as WalkDenver. Frankie’s artwork was originally installed in 2017 and refreshed in 2019.
As part of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, DOTI created an approval process to allow restaurants and bars the ability to provide outdoor seating in the right-of-way. Larimer St was closed between 14th and 15th Streets Downtown as a part of the expansion program and artists painted the street to welcome people visiting Historic Larimer Square.
Community Streets Intersection Mural Application(PDF, 286KB)
Reach out to the Community Streets Program: communitystreets@denvergov.org