Denver’s new designated bus lanes on 15th Street make bus travel easier

The city and county of Denver have implemented bus-dedicated lanes on 15th Street in downtown Denver to help ease congestion.

The bus-only lanes help passengers board and deboard without delays. The bus doesn’t get stuck behind cars and it allows the bus to keep moving without the hassle of getting in and out of a traffic lane, which also makes it safer for individual cars. Dedicated lanes will improve reliability for 15 bus routes traveling through downtown. During the busiest times of day, more than 60 buses per hour travel on 15th and 17th streets. It is predicted that bus service will experience a 42 percent time savings on 15th Street during the evening peak commute time.

Denver plans to add these special lanes to 17th Street by the end of the year. The lanes are designated bus-only from Court Place to Larimer Street; the other lanes allow for all vehicle traffic.

Denver is also adding protected bike lanes on the opposite side of the bus lanes on 15th Street.

All of these improvements by the city are intended to better organize the roadway so that people who walk, bike, take transit and drive have dedicated space to travel safely and more predictably. These changes fulfill Denver’s goals established through multiple planning efforts including the Comprehensive Plan 2040, Blueprint Denver, Denver Moves: Transit, Denver Moves: Downtown, as well as the Mayor’s Mobility Action Plan. The Denver Regional Transportation District continues to collaborate with Denver to meet these goals that will likely provide more transit options and help everyone safely and efficiently get through the city.