For months, it appeared that Santa Fe Drive’s landmark annual event wouldn’t happen.
City officials were turning down requests to close the street to automobiles for this year’s edition of First Friday Art Walks, which draws thousands of pedestrians to the street for one night each summer.
With the event rapidly approaching, organizers still didn’t have a road closure permit as of February, panicking business owners along Santa Fe.
But in the end, local organizers won over city officials, and the event went forward as usual over the weekend. The street was closed to traffic on Friday and large crowds flocked again to Santa Fe.
“We fought back,” said Andrea Barela, a leader with the Santa Fe Drive Business Improvement District. “Because of the public outcry, I think they were sort of forced to reexamine.”
The event typically brings 10,000 people to the art district. Visit Denver is still analyzing how many came this year, but Barela suspects record attendance.
“It was a good night, good weather,” Barela said.
The event cost more this year.
Event organizers had to hire extra police officers, figure out a more detailed transportation and parking plan and secure specific parking for vendors.
They are still figuring out how much those new requirements cost, Barela said.
The company that blockades the streets with barriers showed up 50 minutes late, Barela said, putting organizers into a panic. Ultimately, they got set up in time.
“One of the larger costs that they carry are barricades and security personnel, namely off-duty police officers,” Councilmember Jamie Torres told Denverite. “So they had to get more of those folks, which cost more money. But I think it, we ended up with a much better framework for future First Fridays that can close down the street.”
Organizers want to shut down the road more often.
Torres, whose office gave $10,000 to the event’s organizers and who helped broker the deal with the city, gave Mayor Mike Johnston a tour of the event. He agreed with her that the shutdown made sense and the city should continue to do so in the future, she said.
If the organizers can find additional resources in the coming years, Torres hopes to expand the road closure events.
“If we want to keep a Santa Fe corridor with thriving businesses,” she said, “we've got to be able to do this a few times during the summer.”
Santa Fe Drive is set for $29 million of infrastructure upgrades if voters approve the Vibrant Denver bond this November.
