Jefferson County Commissioners to Vote on Revised Streets Plan

Brandon Figliolino

Call to Action: Jefferson County Streets Plan

November 14, 2015

This past year, engineers of the Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Department have been working on revising the standard used when resurfacing county streets and paving new ones— arterial in size. The current, longstanding plan is outdated, and in need of adjusting to accommodate the increasing cyclist traffic on county roadways. This new plan has an amendment in it that resolves this issue by adding four-foot bike lanes, where feasible.

Implementing this policy has numerous benefits for Jefferson County residents. It promotes healthy lifestyles, by giving people the opportunity to ride their bicycles in lieu of automobiles, helping them actively travel to destinations instead of passively. Including bicycle lanes also alleviates congestion on recreational trail systems. With more bike lanes on streets, there will be fewer cyclists using the trails to get around, giving more space on the trails for walkers, runners, and the like.

The revised plan also significantly improves the safety of both automobile and bicycle users. With the current lack of bike lanes, accidents are more likely to happen as drivers and cyclists drive and ride close to one another; there’s very little buffer to deter collisions. Adding bike lanes greatly reduces the likelihood of fatal crashes.

Lastly, local cities are already implementing similar policies on their maintained streets. If Jeffco refuses to adopt this plan, there will be gaps in the bike lane system that will make it more difficult for cyclists to get around. It may discourage them from riding altogether, which undermines the initiatives of the cities within Jefferson County.

I ask that everyone who is willing and able to attend the final vote for this plan, which will be held at 8:00AM on Tuesday, November 24^th at the County Admin Building (100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO).

You can also show your support by writing to the Jefferson County Commissioners at the email addresses below:

               
 commish1@jeffco.us; commish2@jeffco.us; commish3@jeffco.us

The modes of transportation we utilize in our cities are shifting, and we need the support of our county to help us complete streets and give everyone the opportunity to safety and effectively get to where they want to go. It’s time to act.

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