Summer 2012 Pedestrian Counts by DowntownDenver

Downtown Denver Summer 2012 Pedestrian Count Report Funded by the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District

Downtown Denver Partnership, Inc.

Research Department Research Department • 511 16th Street, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80202 • 303-534-6161 • www.DowntownDenver.com

INTRODUCTION Since 1994, the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District (BID) has funded two pedestrian counts in Downtown Denver each year. The BID conducts a comprehensive count in the summer and a partial count in the winter. This report summarizes data collected during the summer of 2012. Pedestrian counts allow Downtown Denver stakeholders to:  Measure pedestrian traffic for prospective Downtown Denver retailers, developers and businesses.  Determine the impact of new development.  Predict or measure success of a Downtown Denver event.  Help determine priority areas for streetscape and amenity projects.  Locate areas where increased police presence and cleaning services may be needed. METHODOLOGY Timeframe The 2012 summer pedestrian counts took place from June 19 to August 16 . th

Process The BID hired individuals to count pedestrians as they passed a specific spot located in the middle of the block on one side of the street. Counters used automatic, handheld tally counters to count pedestrians on both weekdays and weekends during the middle of the day (11:30am-1:30pm) and the evening (5:00pm-7:00pm). BID staff entered and analyzed data collected by counters. From these two hour counts, BID staff used a tool developed by the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project to estimate daily, weekly, monthly and annual pedestrian counts. For more information on this extrapolation process, please see appendix B. Weather Weather can have an impact on both pedestrian activity and the ability to conduct pedestrian counts. Occasionally, the BID needs to reschedule counts due to severe weather and counters record weather conditions as they count pedestrians. Weather conditions during the summer 2012 pedestrian counts were favorable, with average temperatures and minimal precipitation. The average mean temperature for the 20 days the counts took place was 75°. The high temperature recorded during the count time period was 89°, a little higher than the historical average of 83°. The low temperature recorded during the count time period was 60°, also higher than the historical average of 54°. During the 20 days counting occurred, only 0.37 inches of precipitation fell in Denver, with only two of these days having more than a trace of precipitation. External Influences and Limitations In addition to weather, a variety of other outside factors can influence pedestrian counts, including special events, conferences and/or construction. Pedestrian counters record any obvious outside influences throughout their shifts that may impact pedestrian activity and the BID takes these notes into account during data analysis. However, it is not possible to control for all external influences and thus year-to-year variation in counts is expected. Additionally, counts are subject to potential human and equipment errors. The BID carefully manages the pedestrian count process in order to minimize potential errors and is confident in the count’s results.

Count site selection: Pedestrian counts occur at core sites, zone sites and timely sites. The BID counts pedestrian activity at 12 core sites at least once a year on both weekends and weekdays. Core sites are included in every summer count and are given priority consideration for off-season counts. The Pedestrian Count Program selected the following core sites based on historical counts and the vision set forth by the 2007 Downtown Area Plan:  16th  16th  16th  16th  16th  16th

between Tremont and Glenarm between Glenarm and Welton between Welton and California between California and Stout between Lawrence and Larimer between Blake and Wazee

 14th between California and Stout  14th between Arapahoe and Lawrence  Wazee between 16th and 17th  Larimer between 14th and 15th  Arapahoe between 16th and 17th  California between 15th and 16th

In addition to these core sites, pedestrian counts take place in a certain zone that covers a quarter of the blocks in the BID. With the goal of measuring pedestrian activity on every block in the BID, the Pedestrian Count Program developed a rotating zone program in 2011. The 120 blocks within the BID’s boundaries belong to one of four zones, with pedestrian counts occurring in one zone every four years. The map on this page shows the four zones within the BID. In the summer of 2012, pedestrian counts occurred throughout Zone B. Zone B includes the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the Convention Center Complex and many of Downtown Denver’s major hotels. In addition to core and zone sites, the BID counts pedestrians at various timely sites based on special requests, proposed investment or development, sporting or other events, or unique conditions.

Pedestrian Count Four Year Zone Plan

WEEKDAY MID-DAY ACTIVITY The following map shows the total number of pedestrians counted on weekdays between the hours of 11:30am and 1:30pm. As the color-coded ovals show, the BID recorded high pedestrian activity along the 16th Street Mall, especially between Stout and Tremont.

WEEKDAY EVENING ACTIVITY While the BID recorded high pedestrian activity between 5:00pm and 7:00pm along the 16th Street Mall, activity was lower than during the middle of the day. However, there was more pedestrian activity around the Theater District, Larimer Square, and various blocks adjacent to the 16th Street Mall during the evening.

WEEKEND MID-DAY ACTIVITY During the weekend between 11:30am and 1:30pm, pedestrian activity was highest on the 16th Street Mall and near the Colorado Convention Center.

WEWAT TA ST

T WEWAT TA S DENVER UNION STATION

WYNKOOP ST

Pedestrian Count Weekend, Mid-day

COORS FIELD

BLAKE ST MARKET STREET STATION

18TH ST

WAZEE ST

5000+ 2500-4999 1000-2499 500-999 0-499

15TH ST

LARIMER ST

604

CURTIS ST

20TH ST

LAWRENCE ST SKYLINE PARK ARAPAHOE ST

19TH ST

TH TH MALL STST MALL 1616

17TH ST

13TH ST

2165

DENVER PERFORMING ARTS COMPLEX

22ND ST

MARKET ST

21ST ST

14TH ST

1852

CHAMPA ST

STOUT ST

R BLV

COLORADO CONVENTION CENTER

CALIFORNIA ST

2702 W

SPEE

WELTON ST

GO PA

GLENARM PL

3726

EK TR

AIL

RTD LIGHT RAIL

5466

TREMONT PL

A RO

AY W D

GLENARM

TREMONT

CLEVELAND PL

E AV

LA W AR

COURT PL

TI LA

FO X

RY CR E CHER

CALI

RTD CIVIC CENTER

CIVIC CENTER

WEEKEND EVENING ACTIVITY The BID recorded higher pedestrian activity on weekend evenings than during the day at all but one of the count sites. Between the hours of 5:00pm and 7:00pm, the highest pedestrian activity was along the 16th Street Mall. WEWAT TA ST

T WEWAT TA S DENVER UNION STATION

WYNKOOP ST

Pedestrian Count Weekday, Evening

COORS FIELD

BLAKE ST MARKET STREET STATION

18TH ST

WAZEE ST

5000+ 2500-4999 1000-2499 500-999 0-499

LARIMER ST

19TH ST

TH TH MALL STST 1616 MALL

17TH ST

13TH ST DENVER PERFORMING ARTS COMPLEX

LAWRENCE ST SKYLINE PARK ARAPAHOE ST CURTIS ST

20TH ST

3463 4466

22ND ST

MARKET ST

21ST ST

1687

15TH ST

14TH ST

2790

CHAMPA ST

STOUT ST

SPEE R BLV D

COLORADO CONVENTION CENTER

CALIFORNIA ST

5586 WELT

WELTON ST O AG P A

GLENARM PL

4685

EK TR

AIL

RTD LIGHT RAIL

5422

TREMONT PL

A RO

AY DW

GLENARM PL

TREMONT PL

CLEVELAND PL

E AV

0 E2

TH 13

LA W AR

COURT PL

ST T

TI LA

FO X

RY CR E CHER

CALIFOR

CIVIC

RTD CIVIC CENTER

ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS 16th Street Mall As the main pedestrian thoroughfare in the BID, measuring pedestrian activity on the 16th Street Mall is a major goal of the Pedestrian Count Program. Count sites along the 16th Street Mall have the highest pedestrian traffic. In fact, the top ten highest counts were all on the 16th Street Mall. Using the NBPD extrapolation model, the BID is able to estimate daily, weekly, monthly and yearly activity on the 16th Street Mall. Our research estimates that the average yearly pedestrian activity for a block on the 16th Street Mall ranges from a low of 6,594,694 pedestrians to a high of 15,625,601 pedestrians. Location 16th between Blake & Wazee 16th between Lawrence & Larimer 16th between Lawrence & Arapahoe 16th between California & Stout 16th between Welton & California 16th between Glenarm & Welton 16th between Tremont & Glenarm 16TH STREET MALL AVERAGE*

Mid-day Count 2,732 3,463 4,466 5,788 5,825 6,276 6,121 4,953

Evening Count 1,877 2,708 3,559 4,073 4,313 4,620 3,773 3,560

Est. Daily Activity* 16,003 21,518 28,000 34,266 35,287 37,918 34,233 29,604

Est. Monthly Activity* 527,576 709,384 1,000,011 1,129,636 1,163,309 1,250,048 1,128,570 986,933

Est. Yearly Activity* 6,594,694 8,867,295 12,500,140 14,120,450 14,541,359 15,625,601 14,107,121 12,336,666

*numbers derived from the average between extrapolation based on mid-day count and extrapolation based on evening count

Special Events The BID counted pedestrian activity on the 16th Street Mall during a special event, Make Music Denver, in June 2012. Make Music Denver resulted in a 23% increase in pedestrian activity on 16th Street between California and Welton between 11:30am and 1:30pm and a 20% increase between 5:00pm and 7:00pm.

High Traffic Locations in Zone B During mid-day, almost all of the locations with the highest pedestrian traffic in Zone B were along the 16th Street Mall on both weekdays and Saturdays. During the evening, traffic was also high on the 16th Street Mall, but counts showed high evening traffic on Larimer between 14th and 15th on both the weekdays and Saturdays. Mid-Day - Highest Traffic Locations in Zone B Location

Day

Evening - Highest Traffic Locations in Zone B

Count

Location

Day

Count

16th btw. Glenarm and Welton

Weekday 6,276

16th btw. Glenarm and Welton

Saturday 5,422

16th btw. Tremont and Glenarm

Weekday 6,121

16th btw. Tremont and Glenarm

Saturday 4,685

16th btw. Welton and California

Weekday 5,825

16th btw. Glenarm and Welton

Weekday 4,620

16th btw. California and Stout

Weekday 5,788

16th btw. Welton and California

Weekday 4,313

16th btw. Glenarm and Welton

Saturday 5,466

16th btw. California and Stout

Weekday 4,073

16th btw. Lawrence and Arapahoe Weekday 4,466

16th btw. Tremont and Glenarm

Weekday 3,773

16th btw. Tremont and Glenarm

Saturday 3,726

16th btw. Lawrence and Arapahoe Weekday 3,559

16th btw. Lawrence and Larimer

Weekday 3,463

16th btw. Lawrence and Larimer

Weekday 2,708

14th btw. Welton and California

Saturday 2,702

Larimer btw. 14th and 15th

Weekday 1,991

16th btw. Lawrence and Larimer

Saturday 2,165

Larimer btw. 14th and 15th

Saturday 1,687

CONCLUSION Outlook for 2013 In 2013, the BID will count pedestrians throughout the LoDo and Union Station areas of Zone C. This count will provide important baseline data for the Union Station area before the renovated transit hub reopens in 2014. Acknowledgments The Downtown Denver Business Improvement District thanks the Summer 2012 pedestrian counters who spent hours counting pedestrians around Downtown Denver. The BID also thanks the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project and Alta Planning and Design for providing a model for pedestrian extrapolations. About this Report The Summer Pedestrian Count report is created by the Downtown Denver Research Department. Staff contributors and editors include: Emily Brett, Aylene McCallum and John Desmond. Please direct any questions about this report to Emily Brett at ebrett@downtowndenver.com or 303-571-8216. Pedestrian count sheets and counter instructions are available upon request.

APPENDIX A: FULL RESULTS Graph of All Full Counts (does not include counts on only one side of the street)

Table of Full Results from Summer 2012 BID Pedestrian Count (WEEKDAY COUNTS) Location

Mid-Day Count

Evening Count

Location

Mid-Day Count

Evening Count

12th bet Welton & Glenarm

67*

36*

16th between Welton & California 5,825

4,313

13th between Arapahoe & Lawrence

168*

133*

Arapahoe between 13th & 14th

269

121

13th between Glenarm & Tremont

102

Arapahoe between 14th & 15th

544

583

13th between Welton & Glenarm

306

163

Arapahoe between 15th & 16th

108*

312

14th between Arapahoe & Curtis

567

784

Arapahoe between 16th & 17th

873

653

14th between Arapahoe & Lawrence

517

644

California between 14th & 15th

368

531

14th between California & Stout

513

927

California between 15th & 16th

1,489

1,592

14th between Champa & Stout

774

656

Champa between 12th & 13th

83*

103

14th between Curtis & Champa

545

826

Champa between 14th & 15th

374

272

14th between Glenarm & Tremont

442

239

Champa between 15th & 16th

1,538

635

14th between Larimer & Lawrence

838

514

Court between 14th & 15th

221*

165*

14th between Tremont & Court

158

308

Court between 15th & 16th

817*

757

14th between Welton & California

262

370

Curtis between 14th & 15th

620

1,092

14th between Welton & Glenarm

546

474

Curtis between 15th & 16th

980

1,147

15th between Arapahoe & Curtis

511

524

Glenarm between 12th & 13th

237

118

15th between California & Welton

598

577

Glenarm between 13th & 14th

500

282

15th between Champa & Curtis

630

667

Glenarm between 14th & 15th

619

475

15th between Champa & Stout

558

553

Glenarm between 15th & 16th

833

1,270

15th between Glenarm & Tremont

381

308

Larimer between 14th & 15th

1,592

1,991

15th between Larimer & Lawrence

584

554

Larimer between 14th & 15th

604

1,687

15th between Lawrence & Arapahoe

513

543

Lawrence between 13th & 14th

241*

140*

15th between Stout & California

472

556

Lawrence between 14th & 15th

371

299

15th between Tremont & Court

381

268

Lawrence between 15th & 16th

719

559

15th between Welton & Glenarm

413

408

Market between 14th & 15th

822*

728*

16th between Arapahoe & Curtis

2,149*

1,432*

Stout between 14th & 15th

432

433

16th between Blake & Wazee

2,732

1,877

Stout between 15th & 16th

978

947

16th between California & Stout

5,788

4,073

Tremont between 13th & 14th

292

103

16th between Champa & Stout

2,255*

1,585*

Tremont between 14th & 15th

499

391

16th between Curtis & Champa

1,482*

1,992*

Tremont between 15th & 16th

311*

1,135

16th between Glenarm & Welton

6,276

4,620

Wazee between 16th & 17th

218*

829

16th between Lawrence & Arapahoe

4,466

3,559

Welton between 12th & 13th

224

180

16th between Lawrence & Larimer

3,463

2,708

Welton between 13th & 14th

223

201

16th between Tremont & Court

2,257*

1,762*

Welton between 14th & 15th

292

348

16th between Tremont & Glenarm

6,121

3,773

Welton between 15th & 16th

770

757

*Denotes partial count (only reflects count from one side of the street instead of both sides of the street)

Table of Full Results from Summer 2012 BID Pedestrian Count (SATURDAY COUNTS) Location

Mid-Day Count

Evening Count

14th between Curtis & Champa

311*

236*

14th between Welton & California

2,702

205*

16th between California & Stout

3,184*

3,009*

16th between Glenarm & Welton

5,466

5,422

16th between Lawrence & Larimer

2,165

1520*

16th between Market & Blake

1,852

2,790

16th between Tremont & Glenarm

3,726

4,685

16th between Welton & California

2,746*

5,568

Arapahoe between 16th & 17th

294

345

Larimer between 15th & 16th

691

853

*Denotes partial count (only reflects count from one side of the street instead of both sides of the street)

APPENDIX B: EXPLANATION OF NBPD EXTRAPOLATION PROCESS The National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project, along with Alta Planning and Design and the Institute of Transportation Engineers, developed a tool to estimate daily, weekly, monthly, and annual pedestrian activity from 2-hour pedestrian counts. This model takes into account the time of day, day of the week, climate, and type of pedestrian environment. Extrapolated numbers are based on the following adjustments. Contact DDP or visit bikepeddocumentation.org for more information. Table 1: Hourly Adjustments Model assumes 95% of pedestrian traffic occurs between 6am and 10pm; Downtown is considered a “PED District” APR-SEP OCT-MAR PED District PED District wkdy wkend wkdy wkend Hour % of ped traffic % of ped traffic

Table 2: Daily Adjustments Day % of weekly ped traffic SUN

18%

MON

14%

TUES

13%

WED

12%

600

THURS

12%

700

FRI

14%

800

SAT

18%

900

1000

1100

1200

10%

Table 3: Monthly Adjustments (based on climate) % of yearly ped month traffic JAN 7%

1300

10%

13%

FEB

1400

11%

MAR

1500

APR

1600

MAY

1700

JUN

1800

JUL

12%

1900

AUG

16%

2000

SEP

2100

OCT

NOV

DEC