to the south
City streets through Denver. Most of Denver has a straightforward
street grid oriented to the four
cardinal directions. Blocks are usually identified in hundreds from the median streets, identified as "00", which are Broadway (the east–west median, running north–south) and Ellsworth Avenue (the north–south median, running east–west).
Colfax Avenue, a major east–west artery through Denver, is 15 blocks (1500) north of the median. Avenues north of Ellsworth are numbered (with the exception of Colfax Avenue and several others, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd and Montview Blvd.), while avenues south of Ellsworth are named. There is also an older downtown grid system that was designed to be parallel to the confluence of the
South Platte River and
Cherry Creek. Most of the streets downtown and in
LoDo run northeast–southwest and northwest–southeast. This system has an unplanned benefit for snow removal; if the streets were in a normal N–S/E–W grid, only the N–S streets would receive sunlight. With the grid oriented to the diagonal directions, the NW–SE streets receive sunlight to melt snow in the morning and the NE–SW streets receive it in the afternoon. This idea was from Henry Brown the founder of the
Brown Palace Hotel. There is now a plaque across the street from the
Brown Palace Hotel that honors this idea. The NW–SE streets are numbered, while the NE–SW streets are named. The named streets start at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway with the block-long Cheyenne Place. The numbered streets start underneath the Colfax and I-25 viaducts. There are 27 named and 44 numbered streets on this grid. There are also a few vestiges of the old grid system in the normal grid, such as Park Avenue, Morrison Road, and Speer Boulevard. Larimer Street, named after
William Larimer Jr., the founder of Denver, which is in the heart of
LoDo, is the oldest street in Denver. All roads in the downtown grid system are streets (e.g.,
16th Street, Stout Street), except for the five NE–SW roads nearest the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway: Cheyenne Place, Cleveland Place, Court Place, Tremont Place and Glenarm Place. Roads outside that system that travel east–west are designated "avenues" and those that travel north–south are designated "streets" (e.g., Colfax Avenue, Lincoln Street). Boulevards are higher capacity streets and travel any direction (more commonly north and south). Smaller roads are sometimes referred to as places, drives (though not all drives are smaller capacity roads; some are major thoroughfares), or courts. Most streets outside the area between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard are organized alphabetically from the city's center. East of Colorado Boulevard, the naming convention of streets takes on a predictable pattern of going through the alphabet by using each letter twice (i.e. AA, BB, CC, DD, through YY – there is no Z). The first street is almost always named after a plant or fruit, the second street is almost always named after a foreign place or location. For example, Jersey Street / Jasmine Street, Quebec Street / Quince Street, and Syracuse Street / Spruce Street. Inexplicably, the letter Y only has one street (Yosemite), and there is no Z. This double-alphabet naming convention continues in some form into Aurora, Colorado. Some Denver streets have
bicycle lanes, leaving a patchwork of disjointed routes throughout the city. There are over of paved, off-road, bike paths in Denver parks and along bodies of water, like Cherry Creek and the South Platte. This allows for a significant portion of Denver's population to be bicycle commuters and has led to Denver being known as a bicycle-friendly city. Some residents strongly oppose bike lanes, which has caused some plans to be watered down or nixed. The review process for one bike line on Broadway will last over a year before city council members will make a decision. In addition to the many bike paths, Denver launched B-Cycle – a citywide bicycle sharing program – in late April 2010. The B-Cycle network was the largest in the United States at the time of its launch, boasting 400 bicycles. The
Denver Boot, a car-disabling device, was first used in Denver.
Cycling The
League of American Bicyclists rated Colorado as the sixth most bicycle-friendly state in the nation for 2024. This is due in large part to Front Range cities like Boulder, Fort Collins and Denver placing an emphasis on legislation, programs and infrastructure developments that promote cycling as a mode of transportation.
Walk Score has rated Denver as the fourth most bicycle-friendly large city in the United States. B-Cycle – Denver's citywide bicycle sharing program – was the largest in the United States at the time of its launch in 2010, boasting 400 bicycles. The city announced plans to seek one or more new contractors to run a bike-share program starting mid-2020.
Electric rental scooters In 2018,
electric scooter services began to place scooters in Denver. Hundreds of unsanctioned LimeBike and Bird electric scooters appeared on Denver streets in May, causing an uproar. In June, the city ordered the companies to remove them and acted quickly to create an official program, including a requirement that scooters be left at RTD stops and out of the public right-of-way. Lime and Bird scooters then reappeared in late July, with limited compliance.
Uber's Jump e-bikes arrived in late August, followed by
Lyft's nationwide electric scooter launch in early September. Lyft says that it will, each night, take the scooters to the warehouse for safety checks, maintenance and charging. Additionally, Spin and Razor each were permitted to add 350 scooters.
Walkability 2017 rankings by
Walk Score placed Denver twenty-sixth among 108 U.S. cities with a population of 200,000 or greater. City leaders have acknowledged the concerns of walkability advocates that Denver has serious gaps in its sidewalk network. The 2019 "Denver Moves: Pedestrians" plan outlines a need for approximate $1.3 billion in sidewalk funding, plus $400 million for trails. In 2022, Denver voters passed Initiative 307, dubbed "Denver Deserves Sidewalks", to complete sidewalk construction and repair by shifting responsibility for sidewalk maintenance from property owners to the city and imposing a new fee on property owners based on the length of a property's sidewalk frontage, although the measure may be revised in the course of implementation.
Modal characteristics In 2015, 9.6 percent of Denver households lacked a car, and in 2016, this was virtually unchanged (9.4 percent). The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Denver averaged 1.62 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.
Freeways and highways Denver is primarily served by the interstate freeways
I-25 and
I-70. The problematic intersection of the two interstates is referred to locally as "
the mousetrap" because, when viewed from the air, the junction (and subsequent vehicles) resemble mice in a large trap. •
Interstate 25 runs north–south from
New Mexico through Denver to
Wyoming •
Interstate 225 traverses neighboring Aurora. I-225 was designed to link Aurora with I-25 in the southeastern corner of Denver, and I-70 to the north of Aurora, with construction starting May 1964 and ending May 21, 1976. •
Interstate 70 runs east–west from
Utah to
Maryland. It is also the primary corridor on which motorists access the mountains. •
Interstate 270 runs concurrently with
US 36 from an interchange with
Interstate 70 in northeast Denver to an interchange with
Interstate 25 north of Denver. The freeway continues as
US 36 from the interchange with
Interstate 25. •
Interstate 76 begins from I-70 just west of the city in
Arvada. It intersects I-25 north of the city and runs northeast to Nebraska where it ends at
I-80. •
US 6 follows the alignment of 6th Avenue west of I-25, and connects downtown Denver to the west-central suburbs of
Golden and
Lakewood. It continues west through Clear Creek Canyon in
Golden, to
Utah,
Nevada, and ultimately
Bishop, California. To the east, it continues as far as
Provincetown, on
Cape Cod in
Massachusetts. •
US 285 ends its route through
New Mexico and
Texas at
Interstate 25 in the University Hills neighborhood. •
US 85 also travels through Denver. This highway is often used as an alternate route to
Castle Rock southbound, or northbound to
Greeley or
Cheyenne instead of taking
Interstate 25. •
U.S. Route 87 runs north–south and through Denver. It is concurrent with I-25 the entire length in the state. •
US 36 connects Denver to
Boulder and
Rocky Mountain National Park near
Estes Park. It runs east into
Ohio, after crossing four other states. •
State Highway 83 connects Denver to Eastern Metropolitan areas such as
Aurora,
Parker, and further south to
Franktown. It runs from the
Hilltop, Denver neighborhood to
State Highway 21 in
Colorado Springs. •
State Highway 93 starts in the western Metropolitan area in
Golden, Colorado at the intersection of
US 6 and
State Highway 58. It travels almost to meet with
SH 119 in central
Boulder. This highway is often used as an alternate route to
Boulder instead of taking
US 36. •
State Highway 470 (
C-470,
SH 470) is the southwestern portion of the Denver metro area's beltway. Originally planned as Interstate 470 in the 1960s, the beltway project was attacked on environmental impact grounds and the interstate beltway was never built. The portion of "Interstate 470" built as a
state highway is the present-day SH 470, which is a
freeway for its entire length. Denver also has a nearly complete beltway known as "the 470's". These are
SH 470 (also known as C-470), a freeway in the southwest Metro area, and two toll highways,
E-470 (from southeast to northeast) and
Northwest Parkway (from terminus of E-470 to
US 36). SH 470 was intended to be I-470 and built with federal highway funds, but the funding was redirected to complete conversion of downtown Denver's
16th Street to a pedestrian mall. As a result, construction was delayed until 1980 after state and local legislation was passed. I-470 was also once called "The Silver Stake Highway", from Gov. Lamm's declared intention to drive a silver stake through it and kill it. A highway expansion and transit project for the southern
I-25 corridor, dubbed T-REX (
Transportation Expansion Project), was completed on November 17, 2006. The project installed wider and additional highway lanes, and improved highway access and drainage. The project also includes a light rail line that traverses from downtown to the south end of the metro area at Lincoln Avenue. The project spanned almost along the highway with an additional line traveling parallel to part of
I-225, stopping just short of Parker Road. Metro Denver highway conditions can be accessed on the
Colorado Department of Transportation COtrip website.
Mass transportation Mass transportation throughout the
Denver metropolitan area is managed and coordinated by the
Regional Transportation District (RTD). RTD operates more than 1,000
buses serving over 10,000 bus stops in 38 municipal jurisdictions in eight counties around the
Denver and Boulder metropolitan areas. Additionally, RTD operates ten
rail lines, the A, B, D, E, G, H, L, N, R, and W, with a total of of track, serving 77 stations, 35 of which are located within the City of Denver proper. The
D,
E,
H,
L,
R, and
W Lines are
light rail while the
A,
B,
G, and
N Lines are
commuter rail.
FasTracks is a commuter rail, light rail, and bus expansion project approved by voters in 2004, which will serve neighboring suburbs and communities. The
W Line, or West line, opened in April 2013 serving Golden/Federal Center. The commuter rail A Line from Denver Union Station to Denver International Airport opened in April 2016 with ridership exceeding RTD's early expectations. The light rail
R Line through Aurora opened in February 2017. The
G Line to the suburb of Arvada (originally planned to open in the Fall of 2016) opened on April 26, 2019. The
N Line to Commerce City and Thornton opened on September 21, 2020. An express bus service, known as the
Flatiron Flyer, serves to connect Boulder and Denver. The service, billed as
bus rapid transit, has been accused of
bus rapid transit creep for failing to meet the majority of BRT requirements, including level boarding and all-door entry. A commuter rail connection to Boulder and its suburb of Longmont, also part of the FasTracks ballot initiative and an extension of the
B Line, is planned to be finished by RTD, but no construction funds have yet been identified prior to 2040. RTD is currently considering an interim commuter service which would run rush-hour trains from Longmont to Denver. The
Colorado Department of Transportation runs
Bustang, a bus system that offers weekday and weekend service connecting Denver with many locations across the state, including
Grand Junction,
Colorado Springs,
Fort Collins, and
Gunnison.
Greyhound Lines, the
intercity bus operator, has a major hub in Denver, with routes to
New York City,
Portland,
Reno,
Las Vegas, and their headquarters,
Dallas. Subsidiary
Autobuses Americanos provides service to
El Paso. Allied bus operators
Express Arrow, and
Burlington Trailways provide service to
Billings,
Omaha,
Indianapolis, and
Alamosa.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Denver, operating its
California Zephyr daily in both directions between
Chicago and
Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco. Amtrak Thruway service operated by private bus companies links the Denver station with Rocky Mountain points. In 2017 the Colorado legislature reinvigorated studies of passenger rail service along the Front Range, potentially connecting Denver to Fort Collins and
Pueblo, or further to Amtrak connections in
Cheyenne, Wyoming and
Trinidad.
Front Range Passenger Rail is a current proposal (as of 2023) to link the cities from
Pueblo in the south, north to
Fort Collins and possibly to
Cheyenne, Wyoming. At
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Denver Thruway connections are made daily with the Amtrak
Southwest Chief. Additionally, the
Ski Train operated on the former
Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, which took passengers between Denver and the
Winter Park Ski Resort, but it is no longer in service. The Ski Train made its final run to Winter Park on March 29, 2009. The service was revived on a trial basis in 2016 with a great amount of local fanfare. Further development of a mountain corridor rail option, though publicly popular, has been met with resistance from politicians, namely the director of
Colorado Department of Transportation. The Ski Train did return to service under
Amtrak with the name "
Winter Park Express" in 2017 and greatly expanded service for the 2024-2025 ski season, doubling capacity and increasing service to run Thursday-Monday during the winter ski seasons. The
Colorado Department of Transportation plans to eventually expand service to
Steamboat Springs and
Craig as part of the Mountain Rail project. Denver's early years as a major train hub of the west are still very visible today. Trains stop in Denver at historic
Union Station, where travelers can access RTD's 16th Street Free MallRide or use light rail to tour the city.
Union Station will also serve as the main juncture for rail travel in the metro area, at the completion of
FasTracks. The city also plans to invest billions to bringing frequent public transit within one-fourth of a mile of most of its residents.
Denver public transportation statistics The average amount of time people spend commuting on public transit in Denver and Boulder, Colorado—for example, to and from work, on a weekday—is 77 minutes; 31% of public transit riders ride for more than two hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 minutes, while 25% of riders wait for over 20 minutes, on average, every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is , while 31% travel over in a single direction.
Airports Denver International Airport (IATA: DEN, ICAO: KDEN), commonly known as DIA, serves as the primary airport for the
Front Range Urban Corridor surrounding Denver. DIA is east-northeast of the
Colorado State Capitol and opened in 1995. DIA is the 3rd busiest airport in the
world with 58.8 million passengers in 2021; it had the 5th highest number of passengers in the U.S., 61 million, in the pre-pandemic year 2019. It is the largest airport by land area in the United States. DIA serves as a major hub for
United Airlines, is the headquarters and primary hub for
Frontier Airlines, and is a major focus city and the fastest-growing market for
Southwest Airlines. In 2017,
Denver International Airport was rated by
Skytrax as the 28th-best airport in the world, falling to second place in the United States behind
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Skytrax also named DIA as the second-best regional airport in North America for 2017, and the fourth-best regional airport in the world. Three
general aviation airports serve the Denver area.
Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC) is north-northwest,
Centennial Airport (KAPA) is south-southeast, and
Colorado Air and Space Port (KCFO), formerly Front Range Airport, is east of the state capitol. Centennial Airport also offers limited commercial airline service, on two cargo airlines. In the past, Denver has been home to several other airports that are no longer operational.
Stapleton International Airport was closed in 1995 when it was replaced by DIA.
Lowry Air Force Base was a military flight training facility that ceased flight operations in 1966, with the base finally closing in 1994. Both Stapleton and Lowry have since been redeveloped into primarily residential neighborhoods.
Buckley Space Force Base is the only military facility in the Denver area. ==Notable people==