In honor of surpassing 1.4M Lime Hero trips and donations exceeding $525K, we are thrilled to continue our monthly series called “Hero of the Month!”

This month, we are spotlighting Denver Streets Partnership. We spoke with Jill Locantore, Executive Director of Denver Streets Partnership, for a fireside Q&A.

Can you give us a brief overview of what you do?

The Denver Streets Partnership is a coalition of community groups advocating for people-friendly streets in Denver. Our mission is to achieve the cultural and systemic changes necessary to reduce our city’s unsustainable dependence on cars and to design communities that put people first.

How does Denver Streets Partnership measure its impact on local communities?

We’re working toward some big goals such as eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries, and making it possible for Denverites to choose transit, walking, biking, scooting, etc., rather than driving for the majority of their daily trips. We measure progress toward these goals through public policy wins such as increasing the amount of funding for street safety improvements, and the construction of new sidewalks, bike lanes, bus lanes, and traffic calming treatments.

What is your favorite part about the Denver Streets Partnership?

I love getting to know all of Denver’s diverse neighborhoods and the people who live in them. When we redesign streets and public spaces to prioritize people over cars, it creates amazing opportunities to celebrate the unique history and culture of each neighborhood through placemaking initiatives such as street art installations and open streets events.

What was the biggest project you worked on in 2024? What was the impact?

We had a huge win for public transit and the environment this year when the state legislature passed a bill that will generate new funding to reduce air pollution from a fee on oil and gas production. Approximately $138 million will be raised annually, 80% of which will go to transit and the remaining 20% will be dedicated to Colorado wildlife and parks. Of the funding dedicated to transit, 70% of that is for transit operations—funding to improve service frequency and reliability. This is the type of funding we’ve been calling on leaders to provide for years and it’s exciting to see the state step up with this new fund. We need substantially more funding to increase transit service in the Denver region to the levels needed to meet our climate and air quality goals, but this is a pretty sizable step in the right direction.

What is the biggest obstacle Denver Streets Partnership faces in 2025?

Government budgets are really tight right now both at the City and State levels, and we’ll be working hard to ensure that funding for critical street safety improvements remains a top priority when allocating scarce resources. New sidewalks, bike lanes, and transit improvements are more cost efficient than highway widenings and other types of car-centric infrastructure, and make our communities more affordable by reducing the amount that households must spend on owning and operating vehicles.

How has the Lime Hero partnership been beneficial to your organization?

The work that we do wouldn’t be possible without the support of individual donors, and every penny helps! Our greatest asset is our staff - the people power that allows us to spend time in the community understanding what Denverites’ concerns and aspirations are, and making sure the community’s voice is heard by elected officials and decision makers. The funding we receive from Lime Hero helps us recruit and sustain a great team of staff members to do this work.

How can people get involved with or support the work of Denver Streets Partnership?

In addition to donating directly to the Denver Streets Partnership, signing up for our e-newsletter is a great way to learn about upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, public meetings, surveys, petitions, action alerts, and all the different ways folks can get involved with advocating for people-friendly streets.

What advice would you give someone seeking to engage in advocacy for safer streets in their neighborhood or city?

Use your voice to speak up and let people know that safety is important to you! Participate in your local neighborhood association, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, contact your city council representative, and share not only what you are mad about (e.g., cars speeding down your street) but also what you are happy about (e.g., newly installed traffic calming treatments that slow those drivers down). Too often elected officials and city staff only hear from people when they are angry, so giving positive feedback can go a really long way. Also, be persistent. Real, meaningful change is hard and takes time, but with patience it can happen. Celebrate the incremental wins along the way, and they will start adding up to something big!

Rapid Fire Questions

E-bike or E-Scooter?

I’ve been biking most of my life, so it feels as natural as walking, but I’m less experienced and a little more anxious on scooters.

Favorite place to take a Lime in Seattle?

Anywhere on the west side of Denver, which is particularly hilly. My personal bike is an “acoustic” bike, so it’s nice to get a little extra juice from an e-bike when I’m visiting the west side!

Favorite part about partnering with Lime?

It’s really encouraging to have a private sector partner who shares our goal of making Denver’s streets safer for everybody, particularly people who want to get around without driving a car.

Three words that describe the organization.

Imaginative, courageous, inclusive

If your organization had a superhero mascot, who would it be and why?

Spiderman, because he gets around by web, a very creative and eco-friendly mode of transportation, and he embodies our same values—he knows what it's like to lose someone unjustly and needlessly, much like the loss of life and safety we experience on our roads, and he uses that loss to fuel his dedication to doing what's right.