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By Allen Cowgill
Isaiah Grayck biking home on West 29th Avenue to his home near 32nd and Lowell. Photo by Allen Cowgill
Safety upgrades, including a new protected bike lane, will be installed along West 29th Avenue when the street is repaved from Sheridan Boulevard to Zuni Street later this year.
The Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) announced the safety improvements at a pop-up community event April 20, saying that the road will be part of its coordinated bike lane striping and installation program this year. The program, taking place across the city, is designed to increase safety and encourage transportation options to reduce congestion.
A 13-year study by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of New Mexico found that traffic fatalities fell significantly for all road users after a protected bike lane was installed. Denver data from the study showed a 40% drop in fatal crashes among people who bike, walk and drive where protected bike lanes are installed.
The community event in front of SloHi Bike Co. and SloHi Coffee Co. gave residents a chance to highlight the most dangerous and uncomfortable parts of biking on West 29th Avenue. Residents responded that crossings at Speer and Federal boulevards were particularly unsafe.
Initial designs will be presented at community events later this year, and residents within a few blocks of West 29th Avenue will be sent informational mailers.
Allen Cowgill is the City Council District 1 appointee to the DOTI Advisory Board, where he serves as the board co-chair.
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