LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The city of Lakewood is seeking feedback from the community to update its bike infrastructure for 2025.
The current plan was adopted back in 2018, and separated bike lanes didn't make a debut in the area until after the plan was written. In the six years since the plan was adopted, the active transportation landscape has changed significantly as bicycling infrastructure expands throughout the region.
According to transportation coordinator for the city, Jenny Gritton, the first separated bike lanes were installed earlier this year on Garrison street and a small section of Harlan street.
"There are several corridors in Lakewood that currently have bike lanes that we think because of bicycle volume, car volume, and speeds could use an upgrade from traditional painted lines to separated barriers between cars and bikes, so that’s really a main driving point for this plan," said Gritton.
Some of those proposed changes include, new bike lanes, separated bike lanes, shared-use trails, and new designations for neighborhood bikeways.
“A really important part and probably the most important part of any city plan is drafting the ideas and taking it back to the community," said Gritton. "It’s the residents that live on these streets, it’s the residents that walk and bike on these streets every single day that know the nature of these roads. So, it’s important to reach out to the community and say here’s our vision – what do you think?."
Other goals include analyzing the connectivity of Lakewood’s bicycle network to neighboring municipalities.
According to Gritton, there's data showing that separated bike lanes decrease overall crashes.
The city is trying to take advantage of the infrastructure they already have and add to it, instead of changing the streets themselves.
“The idea is that we’re making it safe for everyone out on the roadway – drivers drive with a little bit more caution, bicyclist stay in their lane, everyone is aware that this road is being shared and ideally have a place where everyone belongs on this road," said Gritton.
Gritton said the goal is to finalize a plan by this year and bring that finalized plan to city council sometime next year. There's no timeline on when this project could start.
The public can give feedback until November 17. If you would like to learn more about the project around the city of Lakewood, click here.