In our November 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 South Shields Street and West Laurel Street?”
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:
- “Northbound bike lane on Shields ends at Laurel, thus unable to proceed further north!“
- “Cars don’t respect the while crosswalk sign. They often turn right in front of me despite the fact l have the pedestrian light signal. Cars will turn right onto Shields from Laurel as well as from Shields onto Laurel. And when l cross Shields heading east l have to wait for a second light to cross Laurel.
- “I haven’t felt unsafe, per se, but bike infrastructure on westbound Laurel just kind of disappears on the approach to Shields. Bicyclists can move to the sidewalk and become a pedestrian to cross Shields, or stay in the right-most left-turn lane to cross to the sidewalk on the west side of Shields, or continue to be a vehicle from the left-turn lane and move to the bike lane on Shields. Much like last month’s intersection (Vine & Jerome), bike infrastructure evaporates leaving bicyclists to get creative.“
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:
- “Need to extend bike lane on northbound Shields from Laurel to Mulberry, or provide alternative route.“
- “Add a crossing across Shields so that we don’t have to cross than cross Laurel to access campus to the Mason Trail.“
- “For westbound bike traffic on Laurel, dedicated pavement markings to carry bicyclists across Shields and (ideally) to a bike-only section of the sidewalk on the west side of Shields. OR improve the bike lanes on Shields in this area.”
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