1. Community Engagement

    2017 - 2019

  2. Design

    2020 - 2022

  3. Build

    2023

Project Overview

Project Update - Summer 2022

Xcel, Comcast, Century Link/Lumin, and the City of Boulder are coordinating in order to underground the overhead utilities on 19th Street from Upland to Norwood. Undergrounding is estimated to begin in July/August 2022 and last through early 2023. Please watch this webpage for updates on this work or register for the project eNews below.

Staff anticipates completing final project design by early 2023. The earliest construction start date will be spring/summer 2023, dependent on the permitting process, CDOT clearances and funding.

A video update of the design and a link to the latest plans can be found below.

Project Improvements

From Norwood to Sumac on both the east and west sides of 19th Street:

  • Install continuous sidewalks and curb & gutter on both sides of 19th Street from Norwood to Sumac avenues
  • Convert the existing bikeable shoulders to a buffered bike lane facility
    • Note: On-street parking will not be permitted with the transition from a bikeable shoulder to a bicycle lane with the addition of curb and gutter.
  • Upgrade or install pedestrian curb ramps
  • Plant new landscaping and trees to replace trees that will be removed in conjunction with this project
  • Install a new storm sewer pipe and drainage inlets from Sumac Avenue to Wonderland Creek
  • Replace existing Wonderland Creek culvert with a 24 foot-wide by 5 foot-high culvert to meet floodplain development permit requirements
  • Bus stop improvements
  • Traffic calming (installation of speed cushions) and a reduction of the posted speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph.
  • Installation of enhanced pedestrian crossings where city guidelines identify them to be appropriate. All enhanced crossings installed through the project will include adequate street lighting and signage (State Law—Yield to Pedestrian).
  • Undergrounding of Xcel overhead utilities from Norwood to Upland (separate effort led by Xcel, in coordination with city staff

From Sumac to Yarmouth:

  • Plan for future multimodal improvements, to be constructed once funding becomes available

Project Background

19th Street from Norwood to Sumac avenues is an important multimodal travel corridor in north Boulder. Currently, there is an on-street bikeable shoulder and an existing sidewalk on the east side. These were constructed in the 1990s but the sidewalk does not meet current city design standards. The on-street bikeable shoulder ends at Violet Avenue and is then a designated bike route from Violet Avenue north to Yarmouth Avenue. On the west side of 19th Street, the sidewalk is not continuous from Yarmouth to Norwood avenues.

19th Street from Norwood to Yarmouth avenues has been given a high priority on the city's Missing Sidewalk Links program. The Missing Sidewalk Links program identifies, prioritizes and constructs missing sidewalk segments to provide a continuous pedestrian network and ensure a safe walking environment.

In 2014, the city submitted an application for federal funding to construct a 5-foot-wide sidewalk, install curb and gutter on the east side and complete the missing sidewalk links on the west side of this corridor. The project received funding from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) and the Federal Highway Administration's Safe Routes to School grant program for the estimated project costs.

The city is also planning improvements along Fourmile Canyon Creek to improve safety and accessibility to Crest View Elementary School by completing an underpass at 19th Street and Fourmile Canyon Creek. Learn more on the Fourmile Canyon Creek webpage. The two project teams are coordinating efforts.

Further exploration of the Wonderland Creek floodplain was conducted from late fall 2018 through summer 2019 to understand expectations for achieving the floodplain development permit requirements. Two additional alternatives were included in the project's Community and Environmental Assessment Process (CEAP) to meet the identified facility type for 19th Street through the Low-Stress Walk and Bike Network Plan and to address Transportation Advisory Board feedback provided in August 2018. All design alternatives also now incorporate the features needed to meet floodplain mitigation requirements.

Selected Alternative: Concept 4

On Nov. 21, 2019, the project team hosted an open house, with 78 people in attendance, to share the five conceptual design alternatives being considered for the project and asked for the community’s feedback on a preferred alternative and reasons for that preference. There was a comment form available at the open house and online The goal was to learn which option was preferred so we can balance the needs of the community and meet the goals of the Transportation Master Plan. Your input was utilized as a final concept is selected.

Thanks to all who provided their input on the 19th Street Multimodal Improvement Project! We received a total of 58 completed comment forms. Whether you completed it at the open house on November 21, or provided it online, we appreciate your feedback.

Both the meeting comment forms and the online comment forms expressed a preference for Alternative 4 which includes a combination of attached and detached sidewalks and buffered bike lanes.

Read about public comments, the recommended design alternative, next steps and how you can stay involved Alt 4. Read the Community and Environmental Assessment Process report CEAP.

Community and Environmental Assessment Process

During the city's annual capital improvements budgeting process, an interdepartmental team identified the 19th Street project to utilize the city’s Community and Environmental Assessment Process (CEAP). The CEAP is a formal review process to consider the impacts of public development projects. The purpose of the CEAP is to assess potential impacts of conceptual project alternatives in order to inform the selection and refinement of a recommended conceptual design alternative. The CEAP provides the opportunity to balance multiple community goals in the design of a capital project by assessing a project against the policies outlined in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, the Transportation Master Plan, departmental master plans, and sub-community or area plans (if applicable). The CEAP also ensures that environmental, social and fiscal impacts of projects are minimized and assures compliance with city policies, plans and regulations.

The final CEAP for the 19th Street project will be reviewed and provided official recommendation by the City of Boulder CEAP Review Group, the city's Transportation Advisory Board and City Council.

Previous Community Engagement Events

Meeting Materials

Nov. 21, 2020 Open House Meeting Materials: