BFC was appreciative of the opportunity to present infrastructure/intersection improvement opportunities to the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee again this month. Unlike our fall 2020 presentation, or our February presentation this year, which primarily featured intersections, the opportunities we showcased in our June presentation included stretches of road or bike lane.

Two of the three featured stretchess of road are those that we’ve also included in our monthly Intersection-Facility Focus surveys in The Pedal Post eNewsletter:

• Riverside Avenue (Between Prospect Road and Mountain Avenue)
• Kechter Road (Between Timberline Road and Ziegler Road)
• Mulberry Street/Bike Lane (Between Center Avenue and Bryan Avenue)

And, as we have done in previous presenations, we incorporated the results from those surveys into the presentation. Here are the opportunities we highlighted to the group for each stretch of infrastructure:

Riverside Avenue – BFC made the proposal that Riverside Avenue (between Prospect Road and Mountain Avenue) be put on a road diet, reducing this stretch from a four-lane road to a two-lane road in favor of wide, dedicated bikeways in each direction. BFC cited the more direct route this would create for those on bikes and bicycle commuters traveling from SE Fort Collins into the downtown district; and indicated how it would be almost 1-mile shorter than the current, most bicycle-friendly route from the same area of town (or roughly 7-10 minutes shorter in travel time by bike). These are the types of improvements we will need to start seeing to incent more mode shift (from single-occupant-vehicles to bicycles) if the city is going to meet its active mode share goals.

Kecther Road (See Survey Results) –  While this 1-mile stretch of road has decent bike lanes in some places, they are not contiguous in either direction, making for high-stress sections where no bicycle facility exists. This stretch was brought to BFC’s attention by one of our members and we showcased how the bike lane could lead a less-confident rider into a scary and risky scenario when the bike lane simply disappears on them. To some degree, by virtue of how development has occured on this stretch, it has made for “bike lanes to nowhere.” At a minimum this stretch should be signed with better warnings as you enter it from either direction, until the bike lanes can be installed in each direction for the entire 1-mile distance.

Mulberry Street/Bike Lane (See Survey Results) – This section of separated bike lane between Center Avenue and Bryan Avenue that sits in front of the diagonally parked cars directly next to Sheldon Lake was put on BFC’s radar during the May 6 RAT Ride. The observations made on the ride were affirmed in the survey results we included in our May Pedal Post Newsletter. The consensus from the ride and survey cited conflict that can occur between cyclists, pedestrians sharing the same sidewalk/lane, and or other users, such as those fishing at Sheldon Lake . Additonally, vehciles parking in the diagonal spaces often pull in too far where their front bumpers overhang the bike lane; and the bike lane doesn’t seem to be well maintained with debris tending to collect in large quantities, making it difficult to navigate.

As with our previous presentations, the information in the presentation was well received . The commitee members shared their experiences and comments following each section of road/bike lane and several potential solutions were discussed for each. BFC captured comments and will follow up with the city on next steps and/or any progress toward a solution (both shorter and longer term).

We’ll be sure to keep you posted on any improvements or measures that are taken at any of these intersections as a result of presentations like these and/or our continued efforts to generate awareness for the opportunities at intersections and other facilities, as well as any future presentations we make. As an example, read about the improvements that were made at the intersection of Drake & Overland Trail following our fall 2020 presentation.

In the meantime, please continue to let us know when (and where) you have unsafe experiences on your bike (or even walking) as a function of the way the road/street is designed, striped, configured, etc. Either submit a comment below or email us at info@bikefortcollins.org.