downtown foot traffic (Denver: shop, bars, housing)

[zacaria]

When looking at the pictures of Denver, I virtually see no people at all downtown. Is downtown Denver as dead as it appears outside of working hours. Is their any foot traffic at all? Any crowds that gather downtown to hang out, shop, have coffee,nightclubs, etc. What's fun to do downtown on weekends?

[cowboyxjon]

Not really -- I guess it depends on where you're at when you're referring to downtown.

Lower Downtown is usually packed on weekend nights. There are a lot of bars and clubs along Market, Blake, etc. Also, I've been on the 16th Street Mall during off-peak times and there are usually people around, though the foot traffic isn't as heavy as it is during lunch hour in the middle of the week.

[denverian]

I've been on the 16th St. mall on a Saturday when you could barely walk down the sidewalks. I wouldn't call downtown Denver "dead". Denver is still adding housing in and around downtown, so I think it continues to get more and more foot traffic.

[zenkonami]

Not dead. It's not Manhattan on a busy day, but it's not Phoenix during Baseball's off-season, either. 16th Street Mall stays fairly trafficked, LoDo does alright, The areas immediately around Confluence Park get populated (though not crowded) in the summer...Winter brings the numbers down somewhat, but once the good weather kicks in people like to be outside here, and that includes on the major thoroughfares.

Like I said, it's not Tokyo or London at rush hour, but it's rarely as dead as the photos make it appear.

[JBPisgah]

Originally Posted by zenkonami

Not dead. It's not Manhattan on a busy day, but it's not Phoenix during Baseball's off-season, either. 16th Street Mall stays fairly trafficked, LoDo does alright, The areas immediately around Confluence Park get populated (though not crowded) in the summer...Winter brings the numbers down somewhat, but once the good weather kicks in people like to be outside here, and that includes on the major thoroughfares.

Like I said, it's not Tokyo or London at rush hour, but it's rarely as dead as the photos make it appear.

And it's not Boston, SF, Seattle, Washington, Chicago or any of the cities with quite a bit of pedestrian traffic, either. Not dead, but way less than a number of cities.

[zenkonami]

Originally Posted by JBPisgah

And it's not Boston, SF, Seattle, Washington, Chicago or any of the cities with quite a bit of pedestrian traffic, either. Not dead, but way less than a number of cities.

Just to add...of course we don't really have the density of those cities or their urban population, either.

[woob]

Originally Posted by JBPisgah

And it's not Boston, SF, Seattle, Washington, Chicago or any of the cities with quite a bit of pedestrian traffic, either. Not dead, but way less than a number of cities.

i was downtown with a friend from houston a while back and he was shocked how many people were hanging out downtown after 5pm. i guess it's all relative.

[docwatson]

The 16th Street Mall has lots of foot traffic - over the last 10 years I've sensed its gone from just a place to be because you are working downtown, to somewhere people actually go.
One thing to understand is that the places to actually hang out downtown are on either side of the skyscraper financial district. Lower downtown, Capitol Hill, and the evolving uptown and golden triangle districts. Right in the financial district, you pretty much have skyscraper-canyons with little interest to a pedestrian, and its cold in winter int he shadow - pedestrian traffic tends to be drawn to 16th street mall.

[cityfilms]

most of the foot traffic is at the lower elevation towards to river. In those photos, they have to fit the skyline in with the mountain backdrop. If you take a picture from the south Platte river facing east they could get the skyscrapers and people in, but without the mountains.