For the last year, the Regis Community Council and WalkDenver have been working together on ideas to address safety issues on Federal Boulevard for people walking, biking, and accessing transit in northwest Denver. Last September, in conjunction Community Council, we invited local leaders from Denver and Adams counties to join us on an eye-opening walk along Federal. The goal was for these decision-makers to experience firsthand what conditions are like for those who travel the corridor on foot.
The next step was to envision what a safer street could look like and invite community members to experience for themselves the difference in comfort and safety a few street design changes could make. On April 27, the Community Council and WalkDenver hosted a pop-up demonstration at the intersection of Federal Blvd and 50th Ave. Using cones, painted tires, beach balls, and hay bales, we set up a temporary median, protected bike lanes, and “bulbouts,” also known as curb extensions.
Volunteers came out to help us measure vehicle speeds along Federal both before and during the event to see if the demonstration had any effect. The results were very exciting: not only did overall speeds go down, but we found that the percent of drivers going over the speed limit was dramatically reduced from 30% before the pop-up to 8% during the pop-up.
Meanwhile, feedback from pedestrians passing by was overwhelmingly positive. Of the 41 people who took our survey (75% of whom live in the area), the vast majority said they felt that bulbouts, medians, and protected bike lanes would make it safer and easier to travel along Federal Blvd and 50th Ave. See photos from the event at the Denver Streets Partnership Flickr page, check out the video below, and download the full report!