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16th Street Mall

The 16th Street Mall is a pedestrian and transit mall in Denver, Colorado. The mall, 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) long, runs along 16th Street in downtown Denver, from Wewatta Street (at Union Station) to the intersection of 16th Avenue and Broadway (at Civic Center Station).

History

The 16th Street Mall opened in 1982, originally from Market Street to Broadway, and was designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. While I.M. Pei is often credited for the distinctive rattlesnake pattern found in the mall's granite pavers, Pei credits the design to his partner Henry N. Cobb.

The Mall was extended from Market Street to Wynkoop Street in 2001 and to Union Station in 2002 to coincide with the completion of the Central Platte Valley (CPV) light rail spur. Before 1982, 16th Street was still a shopping and business destination that was home to four major department stores and many office buildings.

Currently, the 16th Street Mall serves as a nexus for the major businesses downtown as well as the various tourist attractions nearby.

Street Performing

Traditionally, street performing has been very popular on the mall, with many local folk, country, and vocal musicians gaining recognition in pop culture. Other types of performers, such as dancers, actors, impressionists, and comedians have also used the popular location as a prime venue for discovery.

The MallRide

A free shuttle bus service, operated by the Regional Transportation District (RTD), is known as MallRide.

From 1982 to 1999, the MallRide fleet used front-wheel-drive and right-hand-drive buses that were custom-designed and purpose-built. The right-hand-drive gives the operators better view of passengers entering and exiting the buses from the right-hand side and to watch out for the pedestrians. These buses can travel up to 25mph on the street and must deal with the 'wandering' pedestrians on the sidewalks who get too close to the buses.

When the original fleet was beginning to age, Neoplan constructed a single left-hand-drive prototype bus with video cameras as a potential replacement. All of the MallRide operators refused to accept the left-hand-drive bus, citing more convenience and safety with right-hand-drive configuration.

Consequently, RTD was back to the drawing board and started the bid process anew. All but one of the bidding manufacturers rejected the concept to build the hybrid buses to RTD's exact specification. As the result, RTD became the first public transportation authority to place an order with an engineering and manufacturing company, Columbine Bus, to build the second generation of MallRide fleet. The second generation EcoMark fleet uses a 70hp Ford 1.6-litre compressed natural gas engine running on demand to provide the electrical power to two 200-horsepower motors as well as recharging the batteries The company TransTeq was formed originally as a subcontractor to build the bus frames and this company eventually bought out the bus contract and took over the build and supply of the fleet in operation today. The operators continue to drive on the right-hand side as they did with the first generation.

MallRide stops at every intersection between Union Station and the 16th Avenue/Broadway intersection, with three stations—Union Station (at 17th Street and Wynkoop Street), Market Street (at 16th Street and Market Street), and Civic Center (at 16th Street and Broadway)—providing key connections to other RTD buses.

In addition, MallRide provides connections to light rail. Connections to the C Line and the E Line are at Union Station. Connections to the D Line, the F Line, and the H Line are at 16th/California & 16th/Stout stations.

MallRide service is provided very frequently daily, especially during rush hours.