2023 Transportation Snapshot

The City of Boulder Transportation and Mobility Department is dedicated to building a people-first transportation system: a safe, accessible and sustainable multimodal transportation network that brings people and places together.

In 2023, here’s what we worked on to keep our community moving.

2023 Highlights

The top five highlights from the year include:

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30th and Colorado Intersection and Underpass drone shot

We built Boulder’s first protected intersection — along with an underpass for walking and biking.

Years in the making, Boulder’s new protected intersection and underpass make travel safer for everyone with separated, protected lanes for people walking and bicycling. The 30th Street and Colorado Avenue project is part of a set of upcoming projects supporting travel at one of the busiest areas in the city.

We continued prioritizing improvements on key streets.

A person biking on the Baseline Road bike lane next to tall curbs with mural art

A City Council priority, improvements on the city’s Core Arterial Network, or CAN, will help reduce the potential for severe crashes and make it more comfortable and convenient for people to get where they need to go along Boulder’s main corridors.

Projects in 2023 began community engagement on key corridors and built more protected bike lanes — including the first concrete “tall curbs” in the U.S.

We incentivized e-bikes.

We supported cleaner, greener transportation by distributing over 400 adaptive, cargo, and standard e-bike vouchers — including 351 income-qualified e-bike vouchers with higher discounts for eligible community members.

The city also worked with local organizations like Community Cycles to get the word out, coordinate with local bike shops, encourage people to sign up, and teach the community about greener travel options.

I love my e-bike and enjoy riding it. — Older adult E-bike Incentives participant. 

Person riding an e-bike on a Neighborhood GreenStreet

We’ve been awarded over $30 million to help fund proposed transportation projects.

Person pointing at a transportation map

The city has been awarded over $30 million in state and federal transportation funds! Funds will support specific projects the city submitted in its grant applications, including projects to help end severe crashes, support safer and more efficient travel, and improve multimodal travel — including for people walking and biking to local schools.

We completed the new Vision Zero Action Plan.

Red traffic light

Vision Zero is the city’s goal of zero serious and fatal crashes. The 2023-2027 Vision Zero Action Plan outlines ways to ways to work toward this goal over the next five years.

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Hearing from community

a collage of images of people participating in community engagement for the project

We asked for feedback, and Boulder delivered! You helped inform projects around the city’s transportation network, the airport, the city’s snow and ice response, streetlight color temperatures, access to Chautauqua Park, social streets and more.

  • The community shared over 7,400 comments on city transportation projects.
  • Boulder submitted over 5,600 transportation requests on Inquire Boulder, with 2023 hot topics focused on potholes and the airport.
  • Community members contributed to the Boulder Valley Resident Travel Study to help the region understand how Boulder travels and how we can work toward meeting its transportation goals.
  • The city held several bilingual community meetings in Spanish and English for key projects, supporting equitable community engagement.

Improving safety and connectivity

Core Arterial Network

Person biking on Baseline Road near 32nd Street next to tall curbs with art.

We built strategic safety improvements during pavement resurfacing along parts of Baseline Road, including protected bike lanes and new crosswalks and “crossbikes” — crossings painted green for people biking.

We began holding community conversations for the Iris Avenue Transportation Improvements Project, including an open house, listening sessions, pop-ups and other events, to hear your thoughts, concerns and hopes.

City staff speaks with a child next to a table of miscellaneous toys for a transportation activity.

We started construction on the 28th Street and Colorado Avenue Protected Intersection Improvements Project, which will build Boulder’s second fully protected intersection, bus lanes, and sidewalk-level bike lanes to connect to nearby projects.

We completed construction and art on the 30th Street and Colorado Avenue Protected Intersection and Underpass project. This project will provide important safety, accessibility, mobility and drainage improvements, including by building the first fully protected intersection in Boulder and creating almost a mile of protected, separated paths for walking and biking.

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underpass at 30th Street and Colorado Avenue with art

Better underpass lighting

30th and Colorado Intersection and Underpass at night

Lighting in all underpasses along multi-use paths is now on 24 hours a day to support people walking, biking and rolling. Lights were also converted to light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, which support safe travel and energy cost savings by improving visibility and energy efficiency.

Traveling in style

We featured a local artist’s work on new protected bike lanes along Baseline Road and installed an urban design project: a mural crosswalk at Pearl Street and 18th Street. These public art and design projects were installed in collaboration with both the Transportation and Mobility Department and the Community Vitality Department.

People installing murals by artist Talia Swartz Parsell on tall concrete curbs at Baseline Road
Mural art designed by Talia Swartz Parsell
workers installing a mural crosswalk

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Providing transportation choices

Charging up your ride

The city's shared e-bike and e-scooter program supports more sustainable local transportation alternatives, encouraging people to take trips without a car and connect them to transit options for longer trips.

  • Since the expansion, there were over 330,000 trips on Lime e-scooters.
  • In 2023, there were over 700,000 trips on BCycle-bikes.
  • The Share the Path courtesy campaign supported the message of moving around Boulder together, however you choose to get around town.
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A graphic of people riding different devices that says, "Share the path! However you roll, please consider your neighbors."

Bringing transit back

hop by CU

Bus ridership in Boulder continues to rebound closer to pre-COVID-19 levels.

  • The 19 public bus routes serving Boulder averaged over 21,800 weekday riders in the fall of 2023 — about 19% higher than in fall 2022.

  • The community took 557,939 trips on the city’s HOP bus route in 2023 — about 27% higher than 2022 numbers.

Regional travel options

The city collaborated with regional and state partners on transportation projects.

  • A regional team, including city staff, secured full funding for the CO 119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Project between Boulder and Longmont. Construction will begin in 2024.
  • With the support of your input, our partners at RTD brought back popular services on Route FF1 from Boulder to Denver route and Route GS from Boulder to Golden.

Keeping Boulder moving

Everything we use to travel needs to be maintained. City staff work daily to maintain the transportation network that keeps Boulder moving — whether that be our streets, bike lanes, multi-use paths, crosswalks, streetlights, or traffic signs and signals.

Roads and sidewalks

construction workers repair pothole
  • 36.3 lane miles of pavement repaired.
  • 30,000 square feet of pavement patched.
  • 199 ADA curb ramps upgraded or built.
  • Responded to 1,394 pothole repair requests.
  • Responded to 242 pavement maintenance requests.

Signs and markings

  • 1,388 traffic signs installed, maintained or replaced.
  • 877 traffic posts, or delineators, installed or replaced.
  • 149,278 square feet of pavement markings, such as crosswalks, maintained or installed.

Snow removal

  • Nearly 48,000 miles plowed.
  • Held the annual snowplow naming contest, with winning names like Pizza.
  • 32 adopted bus stops shoveled by volunteers — including 12 new volunteers for the 2023-2024 snow season.
  • Developed potential changes to snow and ice clearing for the Snow and Ice Response Review.
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2023 Snowplow Contest Name Winners
2023 snowplow name winners

What's next in 2024

Highlights include:

  • A big year in construction, with nine projects anticipated to begin — including the Downtown Boulder Station Expansion.
  • Continued priority work on the city’s Core Arterial Network — including community engagement, new bike lanes and the city’s second fully protected intersection.
  • Installing more efficient lights on city-owned streetlights.
  • Continued community engagement on the airport, snow and ice response, and other topics.

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