In our April 2025 issue of The Pedal Post (eNewsletter), Bike Fort Collins posed the question: “Have you experienced conflict or felt unsafe while traveling through the intersection of Mason Trail & Spring Creek Trail at the Railroad Tunnel?”
Thank you to those who responded. Below is a recap of the results.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In addition, for those who reported conflict, we asked them to describe their experience. Here is a sampling of the responses we received:
- “The riders coming out of the tunnel can surprise riders on Mason who rarely stop or slow down on their north/south commute.”
- “Lack of visibility. Cannot see other pedestrians/cyclists until you’re AT the intersection.”
- “‘I’ve had riders turn into tunnel going east and not stop or slow down and struggle to make the turn. Also had riders come out of the tunnel without stopping. Riders frequently riding north down Mason didn’t stop or even slow down. I’ve had riders try passing pedestrians around the corner on the east side and veer into the other lane. It’s a nightmare intersection especially during mornings and afternoons when people are commuting too work and school.”
- “It’s a blind intersection and people blast through it. People heading west emerging from the tunnel may take a wide turn. It’s a little better with the mirrors, but it’s hard to see them.”
- “It’s hard to see if you are in the tunnel and need to exit onto the trail, and it’s hard if you’re on the trail to know if someone will pop out of the tunnel.”
- “Surprisingly, I’ve never witnessed or been involved in a crash at this intersection. But it is a huge invitation for one. I rarely see other cyclists stop at this intersection, and few who even demonstrate a “yield”. Especially westbound traffic coming out of tunnel are headed blind into two directions of cross-traffic who are both coming from a down-hill!“
HOW CAN IT BE IMPROVED?
Finally, we asked respondents how they thought the intersection/facility could be improved. Here is a sampling of the responses we received:
- “There should be more sidewalk space so the riders/walkers coming out of the tunnel have more space to look north and south, ideally the mason trail would then not need a stop sign since its inconvenient at the bottom of a hill.”
- “No idea.”
- “Maybe a wider turn on Mason trail. Widening the underpass ( very expensive).”
- “Try to move the exit to the tunnel so it isn’t directly on the Mason trail. If you could force all directions out farther west to a roundabout or something similar it would address all the blind spots, riders flying through the stop signs , and force riders to allow as they enter and exit the tunnel.”
- “It’s hard with the tunnel and the placement of the RR, but if money were not an issue, I would extend the intersection further west so you could see people coming west. It’s just really important for people to stop..”
- “There is a huge unused road right in front of the tunnel, the trail could be widened to give more time for merging.”
- “Yeah, hmmmm…. I don’t know that the mirror there is much help. I wonder if there’s a way to push the whole intersection to the west a bit and make it a roundabout, forcing riders from all 3 directions to have to look & yield. Moving it west will at least give westbound cyclists an opportunity to see who/what is coming from left & right.”
Again, thank you to all who responded—and for sharing their experiences. Stay tuned for additional surveys inquiring about other intersections and bicycle facilities.
If you have an intersection that you would like featured, please contact Timothy Wooten at tim.wooten@bikefortcollins.org