Critical Conversations in Transportation Planning: Jill Locantore

Jill Locantore, Executive Director of the Denver Streets
Partnership (DSP), joined co-hosts Divya Gandhi and Em Hall at
the 2025 National Planning Conference in Denver to discuss how
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) can be a key tool for achieving Denver’s
Vision Zero goals.


This Critical Conversation in Transportation Planning dives deep
into the political, cultural, and social challenges inherent to
transforming corridors from car-centric to bike and
pedestrian-friendly. From traffic calming and street design to
Denver’s bold efforts to prioritize buses and pedestrian safety,
Jill unpacks how a truly safe city starts with valuing people
over cars. Under Jill’s leadership, DSP has helped to advocate
for and implement policies that promote a transit-centered
approach to improving traffic safety. The organization has been
instrumental in convening multiple community stakeholders with a
common goal of transforming Colfax Avenue, the “longest,
wickedest street in America,” into a major arterial that supports
the city’s ambitious Vision Zero goals of eliminating traffic
fatalities and serious injuries by 2030.


Relevant Links


Denver Streets Partnership Guiding Principles for Colfax BRT


A Vision for Transit in the Denver Region


A new vision for Speer Boulevard: Cut down the cars in favor of
pedestrians, parks and buses


Episode URL:
https://www.planning.org/podcast/critical-conversations-in-transportation-planning-jill-locantore/