Fwd: [EXTERNAL] Re: New Bike Lane Request

[Bryan Wilson]

This email thread from May of 2022 really seems to have all the key details with all the key people.

Why wasn't a shared-use connection included thru Congress Park?
None of the answers I got seemed to make sense & everyone seems to be contradicting themselves or one another.

The relevant planners & my District 10 Council Office were all included.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, May 27, 2022 at 6:44 AM
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: New Bike Lane Request
To: Pulsipher, David C. - DOTI CE3124 City Planning Manager <David.P...@denvergov.org>, <Mallory...@denvergov.org>, <Mercy....@denvergov.org>
Cc: City Council District 10 <distr...@denvergov.org>, Rijo, Stephen A. - DOTI CE0429 City Planner Senior <stephe...@denvergov.org>

I wasn't able to attend the Parks & Rec Update Mtg for the Congress Park Pickleball, Tennis, & Basketball courts.  I did skim the video recording and really didn't see/hear any specifics on whether the "ADA Walk" would connect the Alley completely to the parking lot & if it would be wide enough to accommodate bikes.

Thinking that it really needs to be at least 8 feet wide to be within the Denver Bikeway Design Guidelines.  This is important since the East Central Area Plan called out E 9th Ave as a Neighborhood Bikeway.

https://www.denvergov.org/EastCentralPlan

Unfortunately, the Congress Park Pool update bottlenecks the 8-foot wide shared-use path down to 6 feet.  It goes on to make 90-degree turns right in front of the pool house.  This seems like it will create conflict between pedestrians & bikes just passing through.

Having a safe & direct bike route would really help with safer bike connections to places like the Denver Botanic Gardens, Cheesman Park, King Soopers, and the new 9th & Colorado plaza if coming from the West.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, & I would appreciate a response.

Regards,

Bryan Wilson

On Thu, Mar 10, 2022 at 10:27 AM Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello again, David.

I just learned of an update to the Congress Park Pickleball courts.
https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Parks-Recreation/Planning-Community-Engagement/Park-Facility-Projects/Congress-Park-Projects#section-3

I've CCed Mercy & Mallory who are listed on the project.

Can't see based on the project flyer anything more than "ADA Walk" for the access in question.

My concern:
In short, 9th Ave is slated to be part of the E 9th Ave Neighborhood Bikeway per the East Central Area Plan.  I want to make sure that is taken into consideration for this project.  I'm thinking a Multi-use path where the ADA Walk is listed will serve both bikes & ADA compliance.

A direct route from 9th Ave to the Congress Park Parking lot entrance would be ideal.

Excuse the sloppiness, but this is what I'm suggesting.

Note the addition of the black fence line surrounding the pool area.  The new fencing has blocked the former access to the upper courts. I'm thinking we should install a new connection represented by the green line.  Another issue is snow melting off of the courts across the existing path and refreezing.  It would be great to get some kind of drain installed similar to what is at the City Park Tennis Courts.

I'd be happy to meet with anyone to explain the issues that I've observed and potential solutions.

Regards,

Bryan Wilson

On Tue, Mar 8, 2022 at 11:29 AM Pulsipher, David C. - DOTI CE3124 City Planning Manager <David.P...@denvergov.org> wrote:

Hi Bryan,

We coordinate closely with Parks so that shouldn’t be an issue. Definitely let us know if you see something that isn’t working like it should.

 

David

 

 

 

David Pulsipher

c: 720.840.4581

o: 720.913.5746

 

From: Bryan Wilson <bryanjw...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 11:19 AM
To: Pulsipher, David C. - DOTI CE3124 City Planning Manager <David.P...@denvergov.org>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: New Bike Lane Request

 

Thanks for the quick response!
Yup, understood, about planning timeline.  Just wanted to make sure that it was a known issue of people using that alley to circumvent the traffic signal on 8th.

 

It's my understanding that the E 9th Ave NBW was in the East Central Area Plan.  How do we get Parks & Rec to acknowledge that the E9thAveNBW is planned so that they don't block potential through access in other projects?

 

Particularly, the Congress Park Pool is getting updated.  Seems to me that a shared-use path between the tennis courts & the pool would create direct access through the park for commuters, while also providing ADA Access to the upper courts.

I've been told that the plan is to simply send bike commuters down the alley, which doesn't get cleared of snow, then along the sidewalk south of the tennis courts & pool house.  In my opinion, this is going to create a conflict point between bikes & pedestrians (particularly children) exiting the pool house to the playground or parking lot.

I'm hoping that we can at least "plan" for that through access to be a reality someday.

 

Thanks again!

Bryan Wilson

 

On Tue, Mar 8, 2022 at 10:31 AM David Pulsipher <david.p...@denvergov.org> wrote:

Hi Brian,
 

Thanks for your email. Currently, 9th between Broadway and Garfield is in our catalog as a proposed neighborhood bikeway. Neighborhood bikeways are local roads that have been identified as having potentially good characteristics for bicyclist comfort, convenience, and safety.

There are many types of treatments that can be found on a neighborhood bikeway, including traffic calming elements like chicanes, pinch points, speed humps, and curb extensions. There are also vehicle volume mitigation tactics like what you identified, diverters.

In order to determine the correct treatment, a study needs to be conducted to capture vehicle volumes and speeds, to ensure the right treatment is placed where it will have the greatest impact.

The city has a prioritized approach for examining parts of the city for these treatments, and then building out complete networks for people walking and biking. This is called the Community Transportation Network approach, which you may have heard of. Our first areas of focus have been in Downtown, South of Downtown, and Northwest Denver.

The second iteration of this effort will focus on the Globeville, Elryia, Swansea (GES) neighborhoods, and West Denver. After those efforts, we may begin to examine east of downtown, including the location you identify.

Unfortunately, due to limited resources, the city has to prioritize it's approach and resources and we are unable to allocate adequate resources to this project in the immediate term. But the 9th Avenue project is on our radar and will be included in subsequent implementation phases.

I hope this information was helpful.

Sincerely,
 

David Pulsipher
Planning Manager, DOTI

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