Baseline Road Transportation Safety Project

Phase 2 (2024 – 2026)

• Phase 2 began in early 2024 and will focus on furthering the improvements started in Phase 1 using newly distributed federal funds. The city received $3.2 million in federal grant funding to support the comprehensive implementation of multimodal, capital-intensive improvements, such as completing the bike lane and intersection protection provided with roadway repaving in Phase 1, additional pedestrian and protected intersection enhancements, and transit efficiency improvements.
• One potential improvement to improve transit efficiency is to install floating bus stops. Floating bus stops typically consist of a platform that is separate from bike lanes and allows for buses to stop in traffic lanes. This design allows bus riders to safely access and wait for the bus while also preventing buses from having to enter bike lanes, eliminating potential safety concerns for people bicycling.

Community Engagement

Stay tuned! Phase 2 will feature opportunities for you to share your feedback. An online questionnaire in spring 2024 will help inform conceptual design. During in-person and virtual on-demand open houses in the summer of 2024, staff will share a preliminary design for your feedback before moving forward to final design. Check back on this webpage for date and time information or sign up for updates on the city’s Transportation and Mobility Department newsletter.

Phase 1 (2022 – 2023)

Phase 1 is complete. Phase 1 began in August of 2022 and took advantage of pre-scheduled pavement resurfacing as part our Pavement Management Program (PMP). This phase focused on making strategic improvements from 28th Street to Foothills Parkway with city funds. These improvements were informed by what we heard from the community in fall 2022 and included:

• Narrowed and restriped travel lanes, a safety design that has been shown in studies to reduce vehicle speeds.
• Repaved and restriped Mohawk Drive from Baseline Road to Pawnee Drive to better accommodate all travelers to and from Baseline.
• Reorganized intersections by extending the curb and tightening turn radii to shorten pedestrian and bicycle crossing distances. This expanded the pedestrian area and continues to slow vehicles and improve driver sightlines.
• Provided physical protection to improve comfort and safety at strategic, prioritized parts of the bike lane.
• Added “hardening” or physical protection through concrete tall curbs in strategic areas to replace the existing striped buffers or flexible delineator posts. The city’s tall curbs also display art from a local artist, Talia Swartz Parsell, commissioned through the Community Vitality Office of Arts and Culture muralist roster.
• Installed flexible delineator posts and added striped buffers to separate the bike lane.
• Added new crosswalks at the Inca Parkway intersection.
• Added green bike lane markings at intersections.
• Consolidated bus stops to reduce conflicts between bikes and buses and to improve ADA accessibility and pedestrian access to remaining stops.

Community Engagement Efforts – What We Heard During Phase 1

We heard from people who live, work, shop, and travel along Baseline Road through a Be Heard Boulder questionnaire, walking and biking tours of the area, an on-demand open house, emails, office hours and more throughout 2022. We also analyzed crash data and more than 400 comments from a questionnaire and on-demand open house.

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We heard from commuters, residents, students, key stakeholders, and advocacy organizations that:

• Wide travel lanes encourage speeds higher than the posted limit.
• High vehicle travel and turning speeds make walking and biking feel unsafe.
• Drivers feel unsafe turning onto or off of the corridor because of other drivers speeding – they are afraid of being rear-ended or sideswiped.
• Distances between marked pedestrian crossings are too long and many people cross in the middle of blocks or at unmarked intersections.
• Pedestrian crossing times are short.
• People feel unsafe on sidewalks and bike lanes due to turning vehicles.
• Rutted pavement and uplifted sidewalk panels pose tripping hazards.
• Many transit stops are not accessible and lack shelters, benches, trash cans and secure bicycle parking.
• Buses frequently cross bicycle lanes to access transit stops.
• People bicycling in the existing bicycle lanes feel unsafe and uncomfortable.

Interested in learning more about what we heard during Phase 1? Discover how your input is shaping the future of safety, comfort, and connectivity along Baseline on the Baseline Road Transportation Safety Project On-Demand Open House. Your input from Phase 1 will continue to inform Phase 2 improvements.

Click through the slideshow below or visit the Phase 1 Baseline Road Transportation Safety Project On-Demand Open House from Phase 1 to see photos of previous conditions along Baseline Road.

Additional changes are coming to Baseline Road as part of other ongoing projects.

Related Links

• Safe Streets Report