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Lyons downtown gets funding boost from Colorado

Longmont also helped by state's Main Street program
Monte Whaley
Monte Whaley
Downtown Barricades (2 of 6)
Downtown Longmont (Photo by Matt Maenpaa)

The town of Lyons was awarded $243,000 to improve bicycle and pedestrian access in its downtown as part of a statewide effort to bolster the main streets in several Colorado municipalities.

Lyons was among 16 transportation projects across Colorado worth $22 million given awards from the Revitalizing Main Streets Program Larger Safety Infrastructure Grant. The winners were announced this week.  

The awards were made possible when Gov. Jared Polis signed SB21-110 in March 2021, which provided an additional $30 million to support the Revitalizing Main Streets Program through two separate grants — Larger Safety Infrastructure Grants and Small Multimodal & Economic Resiliency Projects, according to a State of Colorado news release. 

The passage of SB-260 further extends the grant program beyond the current grant cycle, the news release states.

“These smart investments improve our quality of life by supporting our vibrant downtowns that drive Colorado’s economy and help ensure our state is the best one in the country to live, work and run a business,” Polis said in the news release. “These amazing projects will help our communities improve roadways and community infrastructure, support small business activity and public safety.”

A total of 72 applicants vied for the Larger Safety Infrastructure Grants after the state announced the opening for applications in March 2021. Applicants had until May 14 to submit proposals.

Lyons is the only municipality from Boulder County among the 16 award winners. The $243,000 will fund a 10-foot-wide multimodal pathway to connect Colo. 7 project on the west end of downtown Lyons to the trail network on the east end of town, according to the news release.

“This project will enable pedestrians and cyclists to travel safely on Broadway (or U.S. 36),” the news release states. The pathway will create pedestrian access to the businesses along Broadway, activate the north side of the highway for improved business access and pedestrian connectivity and add 51 parking spaces to the Lyons commercial downtown area, the news release states.

The city of Longmont has tapped into the Revitalizing Main Streets program three times to date, said Phil Greenwald, the city’s transportation planning manager, via email.

The projects were:

 
  • Partial coverage of the barricade costs for the city’s Main Street lane closure last year,
  • Wayfinding signs for the dismount zone being established on Main Street next month. The project includes bike racks to secure people’s bikes as they walk along Main Street’s dismount zones, and
  • Parklet construction for this year’s outdoor seating.