3/31/2026
On March 11, I had the opportunity to take part in a somber and moving event. The Denver Streets Partnership Day of Remembrance sought to honor those who had lost their lives in 2025 due to traffic violence on our streets. Gathered in front of the City and County Building, nearly one hundred people called on Mayor Mike Johnston and the city government to make Denver streets safe.
Normally it’s exciting to have such a high number of attendees at an urbanist event, but the reason for the large numbers was tragic. To demonstrate in a visceral way the amount of lives that had been lost, we participated in a “Die-in”. One representative for each victim would lay down their flower, and then lie down themselves. This year 93 people were killed on Denver streets. By the end of the ceremony, about that many were lying on the ground. This is the highest number ever recorded for deaths due to traffic violence on Denver streets.
Here are a few things that moved me at this event:
- The growing silence as each representative lay down.
- The choice to refer to unidentified Denverites who were hit as “our neighbor.”
- The bereaved family and friends who chose to take part in the ceremony.
- The reading for the child who was hit crossing the road on the way to school.
- The passionate appeal for safer streets by Andy Cushen
- The unity we all felt as we rose to our feet, ready to continue advocating for a safer city.
Building quality multi-modal infrastructure in our region not only improves people’s lives, it makes them safer as well.
If we work together, we can provide alternatives to traffic that are safe from traffic.
For our neighbor.
-Gable Patterson