Baseline Protected Bike Lane input opportunity!
Boulder will be installing Protected Bike Lanes on Baseline from 30th street to Foothills Parkway in addition to transit enhancements! Now is our time to provide input on this important project!
Safety improvements will begin in 2023 at prioritized locations between 28 th Street and Foothills Parkway, including pavement resurfacing, physical protection to bike lanes, and restriping and narrowing of travel lanes.
Federal funding has been procured to complete the phase 2 work to make more comprehensive, capital-intensive multimodal improvements between 30th Street and Foothills Parkway with construction beginning in 2025.
The City of Boulder has developed a Storymap of where we are, what’s next and and opportunity to provide input on this project. Give your feed back by Friday December 9th. Voice your desires, be it intersection improvements, better side walk access to transit, hardened physical protection, etc
This will be the first protected bikelane to be built as part of the Core Area Network (CAN)!
eBikes on OSMP for Commuting purposes!
City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) staff is evaluating ebikes on Open Space.
Community Cycles strongly supports permitting eBikes on trails used for commuting and transportation. Ebike use is booming and can be an enabler for getting people out of automobiles, especially for longer distance commutes and hilly terrain. For these reasons, we strongly supported changes that allowed ebikes on Boulder County Regional trails and now support ebikes on City of Boulder Open Space to help complete our bicycle transportation network.
ACTION: Please consider speaking at the public comment portion of the Open Space Board of Trustees (OSBT) meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. to voice your support for ebikes on Open Space for commuting purposes. If you can’t attend, please email OSBT & Marni Ratzel of the City of Boulder prior to the meeting.
The OSBT will make a recommendation to City Council in January.
1- eBikes should be allowed on all commuter corridors, at a minimum Cottonwood trail, Boulder Canyon and South Boulder Creek trail.
2- Pedal assist ebikes meet the spirit of passive recreation and the OSMP charter should be amended for eBike use only on certain trails.
3- For any ebike uses beyond commuter corridors, a pilot program should be run with evaluation criteria to demonstrate success to the Boulder Community prior to expansion.
Here is city staff’s presentation from the November 9th OSBT meeting.
An eBike rule refresher and concerns of high speed e-vehicles
Electric bikes are booming, helping commuters travel easier and further to their destinations.
Where are ebikes allowed?
Boulder County Open Space – Designated regional trails only
City of Boulder Open Space – Currently only on hard surface trails.
Multi-use paths – Only Class 1 & 2 e-bikes
Classes of ebikes
Class 1: eBikes that are pedal-assist only, with no throttle, and have a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph.
Class 2: eBikes that also have a maximum speed of 20 mph, but are throttle-assisted.
Class 3: eBikes that are pedal-assist only, with no throttle, and a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph.
E-vehicles: This category includes many vehicles with pedals including many of the popular Super 73 which can usually travel at speeds greater than 28mph. Community Cycles discourages parents from purchasing these vehicles for their kids due to the high speeds and often times being riden without helmets. We hope to be able to push this out to the schools to inform parents of the potential dangers such as this recent crash.
You can read the state law for more details. Here’s a table of where different micromobility types are allowed:
Last Chance for Vision Zero Innovation Program Input
The Vision Zero Innovation program was a great program to add innovative quick-build projects to city streets to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety and comfort for people walking and biking. The program is wrapping up with an evaluation of the types of infrastructure and which locations will keep, modify or remove the projects. Once complete, use of these types of projects will be on a case by case basis as the city focuses on the Core Arterial Network for establishing protected bicycle lanes, intersection enhancements, pedestrian facilities, and transit facility upgrades.
You can submit feedback online by Dec. 9. Your comment will be included in a summary of public input during staff’s presentation to the Transportation Advisory Board at the Dec. 12 meeting. The public is invited to attend or speak at the meeting.