CITIZEN’S WORKING GROUP
BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY
MEETING TYPE: Bicycle/Pedestrian Mobility Citizen’s Working Group
| ATTENDEES | |||
| Tony Gross | CDOT | James Mackay | CCD |
| Cassie Gouger | FHU | Jim Jones | WWPNA |
| Dean Bradley | FHU | Jim Zavist | RTD |
| Dana Allen | EPA | Daryl Kinton | |
| Kira Lapin | BHNA | Scott Burger | WWPNA |
| Robert Shedd | WWP | Steve Harley | Baker |
| David Krutsinger | RTD | ||
PREPARER: Cassie Gouger, FHU
SUBJECT: Bicycle/Pedestrian Mobility in the Valley Highway EIS Corridor
To present and discuss bicycle/pedestrian improvements currently considered in the three build alternatives.
MEETING SUMMARY
Tony Gross from CDOT started out the meeting with introductions and a short project history, overview, and schedule.
Dean Bradley from FHU gave an overview of the three current system alternatives. Discussions were focused on the corridor specific locations of greatest concern previously identified by the public and this citizen working group.
The topics discussed are detailed below:
Broadway (At-grade and Grade Separated)
Cassie Gouger from FHU went through the three system alternatives specifically focusing on the pedestrian movements from the neighborhood east of Lincoln to the RTD Park-n-Ride. The system alternatives currently show all pedestrian movements occurring at at-grade signalized intersections. The major comment received was to maintain the pedestrian route as close to the actual travel route (ie linearly along Ohio) and minimize out of directions movements to signals. People will not utilize out-of-direction routes and will take the path of least resistance.
Cassie Gouger showed a grade separated option of Alternative #3 with the northbound Lincoln and ramp traffic. The group agreed that this would not be utilized because of the amount of out of direction travel required to achieve vertical clearance. The alternative did not allow for pick-up truck maintenance which appears to be the City’s standard maintenance methodology.
Jim Jones stated that the West Washington Park Neighborhood Association (WWPNA) requests that “safe” movements be accommodated in the alternatives. This does not necessarily mean grade separations but could mean utilization of signals for pedestrian movements.
Grade separated alternatives don’t appear to be viable options at this location. Safer at-grade options should be pursued. Jim Zavist suggested some modifications to alternative #2 that would align Broadway and the off ramp to occur at the projection of Ohio. FHU will consider this refinement.
Alameda
The planned improvements along Alameda include the AASHTO standard for bike trails [5 feet (ft) recovery zone from back of curb to a 10 ft wide shared path] and the City and County of Denver (CCD) standard for sidewalks [either 5 ft buffer with 5 ft walk or an attached 8 ft walk]. All system alternatives show an AASHTO bike trail along one side of Alameda and a CCD sidewalk on the other. The sides vary from each system alternative for flexibility through the EIS process.
Dana Allen expressed a concern for pedestrian mobility through the intersections at Santa Fe and Kalamath.at Alameda. The grade separated alternatives appear to provide the better opportunities since through Santa Fe/Kalamath traffic would bypass the intersection.
Santa Fe/Kalamath Mobility
Sidewalks along Santa Fe and Kalamath north of Alameda are incorporated into the system alternatives. A comment was raised from Dana about pedestrian mobility south of Alameda. Dean Bradley discussed the non-pedestrian friendly character of Santa Fe at the interchange with I-25 and points south. Dean Bradley also shared that sidewalks are provided south of Alameda but using the local access roads (adjacent to the Home Depot) and not the mainline of Santa Fe and Kalamath. They are located on the east side of Santa Fe, adjacent to Home Depot and then along the north side of US Welding and the new storage facility and then travels south under the Broadway Viaduct to the Cherokee site. This provides segregated yet consistent pedestrian mobility from the Cherokee development south of I-25 to points north of Alameda.
Bayaud
The group agreed that the grade separation of I-25 should follow an alignment along Bayaud into the Baker neighborhood (as shown in Alternative #1) and not return to Alameda as represented in Alternatives #2 and 3. Cassie Gouger discussed the difficulty with the profile of this alternative. It requires crossing the Platte River, I-25, the northbound on ramp, Kalamath, the railroad, and Santa Fe. The group discussed additional alternatives to crossing all of these features and an additional alternative as identified by Steve Harley will be evaluated.
The Bayaud crossing alternatives will be designed to accommodate maintenance vehicles.
Cassie discussed that the complete Bayaud trail would not be constructed as a mititgation measure for Alameda improvements. If the Santa Fe and Kalamath grade separation with the Consolidated Main Line follows the Alameda improvements, a temporary connection of the bridge over the South Platte and I-25 would occur and tie into southbound Kalamath near the existing on-ramp to I-25. The group agreed that this was an acceptable temporary connection.
6th Avenue
The improvements to 6th Avenue include raising the bridge over the South Platte River approximately 10 feet. This will allow the trail to be improved to current standards.
Other Comments
Steve Harley mentioned that he would like to see at least three grade separated crossings of the South Platte River/I-25 Corridor for the Baker neighborhood to access the River. Tony Gross noted that the Bayaud trail crossing would be included in this EIS but additional crossings would have to be discussed with CCD for inclusion into an adopted plan.
The next Public Meetings will be held on January 22, and January 28, 2004 at Lighting Services (241 S. Cherokee).