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County urges residents to call to support Diagonal improvements

$16 million grant at stake
Monte Whaley
Monte Whaley
unnamed (35)
courtesy photo

 

Boulder County is asking for the public’s help in getting $16 million in Denver Regional Council of Governments, or DRCOG, funding for improvements to the Diagonal Highway and Niwot Road.

The DRCOG grants would help fund intersection safety queue bypass lanes, Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, stop platforms, Park-n-Ride improvements, an underpass at Niwot Road and the commuter bikeway segment for Niwot Road to Airport Road, according to a Boulder County news release.

DRCOG staff wants input on the biggest needs that could be covered by the grant and is asking for public comment. County officials say residents can express their support for the grant by contacting Kellsie Forfar-Jones, public engagement planner, at [email protected], 303-480-5658, or to the DRCOG chair, Kevin Flynn, 1001 17th St., Suite 700 700, Denver, CO 80202. Comments must be received by 5 p.m. on Oct. 26.

Many of the other sections of the CO 119 Bikeway and Safety and Mobility Projects have been funded, the news release states. The county says this “vitally important piece” of the projects needs funding to complete a major piece of the Bikeway and Safety and Mobility Projects.

The CO 119 BRT, Safety and Mobility and Improvements project will be critical to optimizing regional connectivity and mobility between Boulder and Longmont and the Bikeway is an integral element of the multimodal vision plan connecting Boulder and Longmont communities, the news release states.

CO 119 is a vital regional transportation corridor serving the economic health of Boulder County. The Safety and Mobility improvements will make reliable and faster transit possible between the two communities that make up 2/3 of the total population of the county, the news release states.

The bikeway will provide the only safe, direct, comfortable bicycle connection between the two cities. Confirming the regional significance of this connection, the DRCOG Active Transportation Plan — adopted January 2019 —  identified the CO 119 corridor as a Future Regional Active Transportation Corridor and CDOT designated CO 119 as a Tier 1 High Demand Bike Corridor, according to the news release..