Iris Avenue Transportation Improvements Project

There is no preferred alternative at this time.

Community input, along with data analysis and city goals, is informing the next step: the Community and Environmental Assessment Process (CEAP). The CEAP is a formal review process. It assesses the potential impacts of capital improvement projects to help select a recommended alternative.

The CEAP will evaluate the four conceptual alternatives for the configuration of the roadway and advance the overall design process to develop a recommended alternative to share with the Transportation Advisory Board and City Council this fall.

While we work on next steps, we've heard community questions about the project. To help you get answers, we’ve put together 10 new fact sheets.

• View the June 2024 fact sheets

Safety is a priority for the city. Day-to-day emergency response and disaster emergency response are two of several key considerations for the project.

The development of the four conceptual design alternatives was informed by input from the city’s Boulder-Fire Rescue and Police departments, and the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) for the City of Boulder and Boulder County. We will continue to work closely with them throughout the design process.

The following improvements are common design elements across all four design alternatives:

Common Design Elements	How these design improvements help people
Protected bike lane	Provides end-to-end connectivity and separation between vehicles and bicyclists to improve safety and comfort.
Safer crossings	Improves north-south connectivity and pedestrian experience along the corridor.
Optimized signal operations	Improves safety of all users with the added benefit of reducing delay and congestion, and improving safety.
Bus stop enhancement	Improves transit user comfort and safety, increases transit efficiency, and reduces conflicts between buses and people on bikes.
Updated wayfinding	Reduces barriers to walking, rolling, biking, and taking transit.
Safer access to driveways	Reduces potential for crashes, particularly for vulnerable road users; improves the experience of vehicles turning onto/off of Iris Avenue.
Improved sidewalks and curb ramps	Reduces barriers to walking and rolling; improves pedestrian safety, and comfort and accessibility.

In addition to speeding on Iris Avenue, speeding on the side streets is a concern and affects the safety and quality of life of residents and users of those streets. We’ve heard from the community that traffic diversion happens on these side streets today. Residents are concerned this will increase as a result of the Iris Avenue Transportation Improvements Project. Staff will identify the specific locations along these street segments to receive traffic calming. Street segments with the largest speeding problem will be prioritized first. These prioritized segments will receive speed mitigation and traffic management when the Iris project is implemented.

Iris Avenue is the second of three priority corridors in the city’s Core Arterial Network (CAN) initiative.

The CAN is a connected system of protected bicycle lanes, intersection enhancements, pedestrian facilities and transit facility upgrades. This connected system 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. The CAN initiative is one of City Council’s top ten priorities.

• Learn about the CAN

Summary of themes from 2023 community engagement

• East-west travel is important, and people driving appreciate Iris Avenue as a convenient and reliable route across the city.

• People walking, rolling, biking and taking transit also want Iris Avenue to provide convenient and safe routes.

• Sidewalks could be improved to provide comfort, safety, and attractive walking conditions. Sidewalks are currently: not wide enough, winding, sloping, bumpy, and often blocked by overgrown vegetation.

• Crossing Iris Avenue safely and conveniently is a priority for people of all ages and abilities traveling to school, work, for errands, and for recreation – but today some see it as a barrier to getting where they want to go.

• Vehicles travel at high speeds, creating unsafe conditions and excessive street noise.

• Safer neighborhood and business access is essential.

• Drivers feel unsafe turning onto and off Iris Avenue and feel they’re more likely to crash with oncoming traffic when doing so.

• Delivery, transit, waste management and other vehicles stop in-lane, blocking the bike and right-side travel lanes.

• Residents are concerned changes will impact emergency evacuation and response.

• Neighbors want to maintain the character of their neighborhoods, which they see as providing safer, more comfortable alternatives for walking, rolling, and biking than arterial streets like Iris Avenue are concerned that changes to Iris Avenue could create traffic diversion onto nearby streets.

• Community members want attractive facilities and opportunities for placemaking.

• Beter wayfinding and help navigating to local and regional destinations are desired.

• Roadway pavement conditions could be improved.

• Transit service is infrequent, and many transit stops are not accessible and lack shelters, benches, and trash cans.

We heard from:

• Residents, employers and employees at pop-ups, through online questionnaires, and at an open house.
• Children, youth and families shared their experiences traveling along and across Iris Avenue when we met them at their schools and when they walked Iris Avenue with our partners at Growing Up Boulder.
• Advocacy organizations like Boulder Walks, Community Cycles, and the Center for People with Disabilities gave voice to the experience of walking, biking, rolling and strolling the corridor today.

Past community engagement events in 2023

• Dec. 16: Winter Walks in the Park at Melody Park from 11 a.m.-noon
• Dec. 9: Winter Walks in the Park at Columbine Park from 11 a.m.-noon
• Dec. 2: Winter Walks in the Park at Parkside Park from 11 a.m.-noon
• Oct. 24-Nov. 8: Virtual Open House
• Oct. 24: Open House, 5:30-7:30 p.m
• Sept. 27: Guided Biking Tour
• Sept. 19: Guided Walking Tour
• Sept. 16: Fall Transportation Safety Fair
• Sept. 14: Boulder Junction Funktion
• Sept. 13: Growing Gardens Pop-up
• Sept. 10: What’s Up Boulder
• Sept. 6: Elmer’s Two Mile Pop-up
• Aug. 31: CU Bike Fest
• Aug. 30: Foothill Elementary Pop-up
• Aug. 30: Columbine Elementary Pop-up
• Aug. 9: Red Oak Park Bike Giveaway
• Aug. 6: Accessible Roll and Stroll
• Aug. 1: National Night Out

Community engagement also included a questionnaire and interactive map during summer 2023.

In early 2024, we plan to construct pedestrian and bicycle enhancements to Iris Avenue at the 15th Street crossing. We received funding from the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) Community Mobility Planning and Implementation (CMPI) 2019 grant program to improve three crosswalk locations, including at this crossing.

While these crossing improvements support our CAN goals, they are not part of the Iris Avenue Transportation Improvements Project. Learn more about the city’s Pedestrian Crossings.

Sewer maintenance work is planned for spring 2024 on Iris Avenue from Broadway to 28th Street, and in the neighborhoods to the south. There may be traffic and parking impacts. Learn more on the Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Program webpage.

This is a text alternative to the project context map graphic. The core study area extends east and west on Iris Avenue from Broadway to US-36/28th Street. The secondary study area extends east to west from the same limits, and north to south from roughly Norwood Avenue to Balsam Avenue/Edgewood Drive. On the core study area, there are bookend improvements with no changes to existing vehicle lane configuration: west of the project limits, there are Broadway Bookend Improvements from Broadway extending east to Hawthorn Ave; east of the project limits, there are 28th Street Bookend Improvements from just east of Folsom Street extending east to 28th Street. Between 13th Street and Folsom Street/26th Street, which is the area excluding the bookend improvements, the core study area includes end-to-end improvements including protected bike lanes as well as sidewalk and bus stop upgrades. This area also has four conceptual design alternatives developed.

This is a text alternative to the timeline graphic. This timeline graphic shows the Alternative Process for the Iris Avenue Transportation Improvements project. The first step was to Establish Guiding Plans and Policies. The second step was to Understand the Corridor. The third step was to Identify Improvement Options. The fourth step was to Develop Improvement Options Screening Criteria. The fifth step was to Screen Improvement Options for Feasibility. The sixth step was to Refine Remaining Options into Conceptual Alternatives. The seventh step was to Present Four Feasible Conceptual Alternatives for Feedback. The current and eighth step is CEAP Alternatives Evaluation. The ninth step will be to Present CEAP Alternatives Evaluation and Staff Recommendation for Feedback. The tenth step will be Finalize CEAP Alternatives Evaluation and Staff Recommendation. The final and eleventh step will be to Present CEAP Alternatives Evaluation and Staff Recommendation for Board and Council.