Broadway Transit Improvements Project

Broadway is on the route for regional and local bus services, including the Flatiron Flyer (FF1, FF2 and FF5), AB1, GS, DASH, SKIP and 225. These buses connect Boulder to Broomfield, Denver, Golden, Louisville, Superior, Westminster and the Denver International Airport (DIA).

Currently, in the southbound direction, scheduled transit travel times on the corridor increase from 11 minutes during off-peak travel times to 19 minutes during peak periods, and on-time performance falls from 85% to 70% in the evening peak travel period. Buses turning onto Table Mesa Drive from Broadway are on average delayed 107 seconds at the intersection compared to 63 seconds for vehicles. At Regent, buses and vehicles are delayed approximately 30 seconds. The short segments of proposed bus lanes at both intersections would allow buses to bypass queued traffic, significantly reducing delays for the thousands of people riding the bus every day.

Bus lanes are dedicated to transit vehicles to help speed up transit travel time and improve reliability and safety.

• Curbside bus lanes can be used by buses and right-turning vehicles.
• Left-turn bus lanes can only be used by buses.

The new bus lanes on Broadway will be short additions focused at the intersection to help buses to bypass traffic queues. They will be marked and signed similarly to other bus lanes in the city, making it easier for all travelers to see where to go.

Local and regional planning documents provide policies, objectives and actions that guide the planning, delivery and funding of city services, infrastructure and programs.

• Boulder Transportation Master Plan: The City of Boulder’s 2019 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) has a renewed emphasis on moving people rather than vehicles with high quality, high frequency, reliable transit being the backbone of an efficient transportation system. The TMP calls for improvements to support Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and other regional service, thereby increasing transit travel speed and reliability along regional corridors.

• RTD Northwest Area Mobility Study: The Regional Transportation District's 2014 Northwest Area Mobility Study identified the Broadway/CO 93 corridor as an opportunity for transit system improvements that would facilitate existing and future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) services, along with other regional and local transit.

• Boulder Vision Zero Action Plan: Vision Zero is Boulder’s goal to reduce the number of traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries to zero. The 2022 Vision Zero Action Plan identifies the Broadway/CO 93 corridor as part of the High Risk Network, where nearly half of all fatal and serious injury crashes occur, or are likely to occur in the future, despite comprising only a small part – just 7% – of city streets. The plan calls for improving safety for all travel modes through intersection and traffic signal improvements.

• Core Arterial Network: The Broadway Transit Improvements Project is one of several projects on Boulder’s Core Arterial Network (CAN) initiative. The CAN is a years-long comprehensive roadway redesign effort toward safer, more connected and more comfortable travel on 13 arterial streets, which are key high-traffic streets.
• Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan: The 2020 Update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan recommends a safe, accessible, and sustainable multimodal transportation system that provides travel choices, is equitable and reliable, and supports climate commitments.

• DRCOG 2050 Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan: The Denver Regional Council of Governments' 2050 Metro Vision Regional Transportation Plan (2024) prioritizes investments that provide mobility choices, specifically investments in the region’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System. It identifies Broadway/CO93 as a transit corridor in need of safety and multimodal (taking the bus, walking, bicycling, and driving) improvements.

• CU Boulder Transportation Master Plan: The 2020 University of Colorado Boulder Transportation Master Plan found that over 20% of students, faculty, and staff travel to campus via the bus. The plan’s goals include reducing the total number of cars being driven to campus, encouraging the use of alternative transportation modes, and achieving greenhouse gas reductions from campus transportation.
• CDOT 10-Year Plan: The Colorado Department of Transportation's 10-Year Plan, adopted in May of 2020, identified intersection improvements on along Broadway/CO 93 to relieve traffic congestion.

• Boulder Low-Stress Walk and Bike Network Plan: The 2019 Low-Stress Walk and Bike Network Plan calls for a network of low-stress facilities to help people of all ages and abilities walk and bike safely and comfortably throughout the community.

• DRCOG South Boulder Road Corridor Study: The Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) South Boulder Road Corridor Study (2024) calls for enhancing transit speed, reliability, and frequency along South Boulder Road and Table Mesa Drive from Broadway to 120th Street in Lafayette.

The Broadway Transit Improvements Project is part of Boulder's Core Arterial Network (CAN) initiative. The CAN is a years-long comprehensive roadway redesign effort toward safer, more connected and more comfortable travel on 13 arterial streets, which are key high-traffic streets.

This project is one of several CAN projects with a smaller project scope. It will not change or repurpose current vehicle travel lanes, and all project work will take place in the existing public right of way. With fewer trade-offs, staff were able to develop and present a single conceptual design option to the community for input in winter 2024-2025.

Project intersection improvements are focused on Broadway and Regent Drive, and Broadway and Table Mesa Drive.

Separately, there are grant-funded traffic signal projects to improve intersection safety at the intersections of Broadway and Regent Drive, and at Broadway and Baseline Road, to be constructed in spring/summer 2025.

This project is partly funded by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and a federal Transportation Improvement Program grant from the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). The project will cost $4.6 million, with $3.98 million from state and federal funds, and $620,000 funded by the city.

Separate grant-funded projects to improve safety at the intersections of Broadway & Regent Drive and Broadway & Baseline Road will be constructed in spring/summer 2025. Existing traffic signals will be modified to allow for different types of left-turn signal phasing.

• The near-term Broadway & Regent Drive project will implement left-turn phasing that does not allow vehicles turning from 20th Street or Regent Drive to turn left when pedestrians are crossing Broadway at all times.

• The Broadway & Baseline Road project will modify the eastbound and westbound Baseline Road approaches to allow for different types of left-turn signal phasing to operate throughout the day based on traffic conditions.