Safety and mobility focus of Colo. 119 improvements, officials say

Matthew Bennett, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Jun. 28—More than 100 people attended a community meeting Tuesday evening about forthcoming safety and mobility improvements to Colo. 119 between Boulder and Longmont.

Officials with Boulder County, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) hosted the virtual meeting and also took questions about the proposed work.

One of the main improvements highlighted by officials Tuesday was the 9-mile, hard-surface bike path that would run between Boulder and Longmont and would be separated from the roadway itself.

The bike path would be plowed in the winter, have grade-separated crossings at major intersections and direct connections to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations, project officials said.

Officials made clear that the commuter bikeway would be Americans with Disabilities Act accessible and connect to existing bike networks.

Permitted E-bikes also would be allowed on the commuter bikeway.

Boulder County Commissioner Claire Levy said at the start of Tuesday's meeting that Boulder County's commuter bikeway design project along with CDOT and RTD's safety and mobility project would "work together" and would represent a "major shift" in how the Colo. 119 corridor would "look, feel and operate" for years to come.

As part of its safety and mobility project, CDOT and RTD plan to construct new queue bypass lanes for buses traveling along the corridor as well as establish new BRT stations and Park-n-Rides.

Project officials also have proposed reconfiguring the Colo. 52 intersection to accommodate the bikeway and a new BRT station between the northbound and southbound roadways.

Construction is expected to begin in 2024 and more public meetings are scheduled for next year, project officials said.

Colo. 119, also known as the Diagonal Highway, has seen quite a bit of accidents in years past — some fatal.

From 2015 to 2019 there were 929 vehicle crashes, 17 bicycle crashes and two pedestrian crashes on the roadway, according to data presented Tuesday. Among those crashes, there were also four fatalities.