Ten Resolutions for Denver in 2023

But there are still some things left undone, and some that are more long-term goals. Establishing municipal broadband will obviously take longer than a year to implement, even when the process has been agreed upon and begun. And homelessness — well, we’re continually looking at ways to figure that out, and here’s hoping the next mayoral administration makes it a priority. Denver International Airport is very much a fast-growing work in progress, and there’s been nothing but reductions in light-rail service in recent years. Teachers are still underpaid, who knows where the parking revenue hike income went, and that wish for peace and goodwill to all? Well, that’s been a resolution for the entirety of human history.

So what should Denver’s resolutions be for for 2023? Here are ten practical suggestions that we think are achievable in the coming year:
Okay, Seriously: Bigger Signs for Street Sweeping, Please
This is the only holdover from last year’s list, and it’s so stupid-simple that it needs to be done and done before tickets start getting written in April. For an incredibly low cost (municipally speaking), we could have temporary barricade-style signs placed — even one on each block would help — to remind drivers that there’s one day a month that they have to park on the other side of the road. The city has long claimed that street-sweeping tickets are not meant to be revenue-generators. We’ve been taking them at their word, but now it’s time to support both residents and visitors in following the rules.
Simulcast the Taylor Swift Concert at Red Rocks
This is like printing money. It is absolutely a no-brainer, and T-Swift’s people would most likely jump at the chance to prove to the Mile High Swifties that Tay-Tay is super-super-super-sad-you-guys that Ticketmaster is acting like such a bad boyfriend. And what’s more Colorado than Red Rocks? Yes, there are already shows scheduled for July 14 and 15 at Red Rocks, but rescheduling Trampled by Turtles or String Cheese Incident might be possible. Or hell, do it a different night entirely — it doesn’t need to be shown at the same time. (As of now, the Red Rocks schedule shows it open on Monday, July 18, and both Monday and Tuesday the 25th and 26th. C’mon, Ms. Swift: Help give Denver a Love Story, and not more Bad Blood.

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The CVC is making a difference one tent at a time.

Work with Colorado Village Collaborative to Provide Safe Spaces for the Homeless
The issue of Denver’s unhoused population will take more than a year to accomplish, but we have to take small steps in the right direction in order to make any progress at all. Colorado Village Cooperative (CVC) is doing some of the best boots-on-the-ground work locally for Denver’s neediest citizens, with Safe Outdoor Spaces having been established in 2020 as an emergency response to homelessness during the pandemic. While it’s fantastic for the population of Denver to contribute to the cause — and we should, at their website (they even have an Amazon wish list) — the city should recognize the success of the group and work with them to make it more accessible.

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Pete’s Kitchen is one of Denver’s local legends

Support Eating Local
Another lesson we learned from the pandemic years: Our local haunts are sometimes operating on a relative shoestring and are by no means guaranteed to survive the emergency conditions in which we’ve found ourselves. And in whatever ways the city can support small businesses, it should. We already have a Restaurant Week, but what about a Sunday Night Nosh that encourages the patronage of local eateries? Yes, this is a decision Denverites can make for themselves, but a little municipal participation — even just some local branding — would be a great way to lead the economic charge to save our favorite local restaurateurs.
Expand Mass Transit
Oh. My. God. Stop effing around with the light-rail system. Why in the world we’re still having the same issues with RTD in general has largely to do with its basic inconsistency. If the A Line has issues often enough to be a perpetual punchline, why would anyone depend on it to catch a flight? The L has to cancel multiple routes per day because of staffing shortages, so how does someone trying to get to work on time trust it? Vince Carroll’s March 2022 editorial in the Denver Post — “No, RTD is not the key to solving our urban problems” — was just flat-out wrong. Mass transit is important and necessary to Denver’s future. Not to mention popular: During the “Zero Fare for Better Air” program in August, ridership boomed. That’s evidence of the need for RTD and for an associated look at the viability of its pricing structure. But again, Denver: Get serious about the plans for expansion and stick to them. So far, it’s been a comedy of transportation errors.

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Solar in Denver should be mandatory.

Invest More in Solar; Rein in Xcel
In a city as sun-drenched as Denver is, solar shouldn’t just be an attractive option; it should be a standard building requirement on all new housing, and the city should actively and financially support the retroactive solarizing of all houses that will benefit from it as an energy source. At the same time, Xcel is going to have to be strictly monitored to make sure that it doesn’t try to protect profits by continuing to raise prices on what electricity it still provides — and will need to continue providing. Electricity will not soon go the way of ice trucks during the advent of refrigerators, but the industry will definitely change in the coming years. Denver and Colorado alike need to work now to lay the foundation for that evolution and ensure that it’s a positive one.

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Leslie Herod is one of several women running for Denver mayor: The rest of the female field currently includes Kelly Brough, Lisa Calderón and Deborah Ortega

Make the Next Denver Mayor a Woman
This is something that all the voters in Denver should consider: Denver has never had a woman in the mayor’s office. That needs to change, and the one benefit of having an oversized field of mayoral hopefuls is that several of the most promising candidates are women. It’s not just about representation, though of course that’s a thing. It’s also about the issues facing Denver and America at large today, many of which directly affect women — such as the protection of reproductive rights. And also? It’s just about time.

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Denver may soon see the return of the Rent is 2 Damn High Party.

More Affordable Housing
There was a time in recent memory when an average family with an average annual income could afford an average home in Denver. In 2002, the median home price in metro Denver was $220K. Only twenty years later, that number has spiked to $635K. That’s great if you bought twenty-plus years ago (or when the market took a serious dip after the financial crisis of 2008), but not so much if you need to buy now. Denver shouldn’t want to join the exclusionary club of sky-high home prices of San Francisco, Chicago and New York City; we need affordable-housing options within the city limits that aren’t just a developer’s afterthought. The Mosaic Community Campus is a good start, but the Denver Housing Authority needs programs that bring out affordable townhomes and detached housing, too.
Codify Anti-Racism in Policing
We’re not talking about the DPD having rules against racism; those are in place. What it needs are established protocols for anti-racism, purposeful and deliberate and as specific as possible in order to “protect and serve” everyone, no matter their race, creed or color. We’re not that far removed from the riots following the murders of George Floyd, Elijah McClain, and too many others to believe that anything has yet been resolved. Time might heal all wounds, but it does nothing to ensure that the tragedies of the past won’t be repeated, again and again. By all means, let’s Back the Blue. But let’s make it so that everyone can trust them in equal measure. Start with issuing every officer a copy of Ibram X. Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist. And don’t stop there.
Stay Accountable for the $24.2 Million From the Federal Government
A lot of that money, part of the omnibus appropriations bill that President Biden signed on December 29, will help the whole country — including Denver, which will get to address a lot of the issues on this list. Denver, along with Colorado and every state in the union, should be absolutely accountable for that money. Every penny. It’s a good step toward America getting back to basics — like doing the right and responsible thing for its own sake. Here’s to 2023, and all the Mile High hopes for good things ahead.