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Public Works
City of LakewoodDepartment
MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor and City Council
Thru: Jay N. Hutchison, Director of Public Works
From: Anne Heine, City Engineer
Date: May 22, 2009
Subject: Sidewalk and Bike Path Program
Engineering Division staff will present a brief program update at the City Council study session on June 1, 2009. The update will be informational and no Council action is being requested.
For many years, the Capital Improvement and Preservation Program (CIPP) included $400,000 per year to construct sidewalk and bike path missing links. Due to budget cuts in 2003, the funding for sidewalk construction was withdrawn. A one-time budget commitment totaling $2,100,000 has been included in the CIPP for 2009 and 2010.
The original program focused resources to complete missing links, defined as missing sections of sidewalks and bike paths that if built would create connections between existing sections. A list of approximately 160 locations, with construction costs estimated at $40 million, has been compiled through the years. The list is not a comprehensive list of all missing sidewalks and bike paths in Lakewood, but represents requests from citizens, City Council members and staff.
A multi-departmental team comprising Community Resources Department, Police Department, and the Public Works divisions of Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Street Maintenance, Comprehensive Planning, and Development Review Planning screened the list of missing links. The team prioritized the list using a series of evaluation factors, which were adopted by City Council in 1997. Higher priority is given to connections along arterial and collector roadways; local streets are given lower priority because traffic speeds are lower and there are fewer conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles. Proximity to major activity or commercial centers, schools, recreation centers and direct connections to bus and transit stops are also given more consideration. Site visits are conducted and factors such as evidence of pedestrian use, available right-of-way, ease of construction and overall cost are evaluated. Links adjacent to vacant land or land with potential for redevelopment are not given priority since the future developer is usually responsible for installing sidewalks. The complete list of evaluation factors is attached.
With the construction of the RTD West Corridor FasTracks light rail project, sidewalk connections to the future stations will be needed. While some of these connections may not meet the missing link definition, providing safe and convenient pedestrian connections to the stations will be important.
A lump sum of $400,000 of the current funding is being deferred for station connection construction in 2011 and 2012 for several reasons:
The remaining $1,700,000 is allocated to the attached list of locations for construction in 2009 and 2010. The list includes 13 locations, totaling approximately 1.4 miles of sidewalk and bike path construction. This list includes station access links at the Red Rocks Station, the Sheridan Station and along Garrison Street. These links complete missing portions of walk that are separated from direct conflicts with the RTD construction.
It is anticipated that the initial phase of construction will begin by late 2009 and is anticipated to be completed in 2010. The costs for the initial construction are based on rough estimates that have been completed prior to any design work beginning. Any savings realized through the design and construction of the initial locations will be added to the station access lump sum. If the project costs exceed the current estimates, the list of initial locations will be altered. City Council will be updated with any change to the proposed locations.
Attachments: Sidewalk/Bike Path Evaluation Factors
Overall Sidewalk Location Map
Sidewalk Location Descriptions
Individual Sidewalk Location Maps
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