In partnership with the Boulder Valley School District and Boulder Housing Partners, the city was awarded $707,222 in funding Safe Routes to School improvements to the Manhattan Middle School community.

  1. Community Engagement

    2022 & 2025-2026

  2. Design

    2026

  3. Build

    2026

  4. Complete

    2026

Jump To
Completion Date
2026
Current Phase
Community Engagement

Project Overview

This project will provide improved pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, safer driveway and street crossings, and traffic calming elements to help Manhattan Middle School students safely and comfortably walk, bike and roll to school. Beginning in fall 2025, we will engage the community in developing a conceptual design to improve safety and comfort for people traveling on Manhattan Drive from Baseline Road to Iroquois Drive.

Timeline

  • 2025: The City of Boulder will receive the grant award funds and begin community engagement and conceptual design. We will partner with the Boulder Valley School District, Manhattan Middle School, and Boulder Housing Partners to engage the community.
  • 2026: We will continue community engagement, complete design work, and begin construction.

Community Engagement

We heard from the Manhattan Middle School community in 2022 that Manhattan Drive feels unsafe for students walking, biking, or rolling to school due to:

  • Lack of a bike facility: There is currently no bike lane or other bike facility on Manhattan Drive.
  • Narrow sidewalks: Sidewalks on both sides of the street are not wide enough to accommodate the number of students using the sidewalks to walk, bike, or roll to school.
  • High vehicle speeds: Speed data indicates that the majority of drivers on Manhattan Drive routinely travel significantly faster than the 20 mph speed limit. The 85th percentile speed collected was 29-31 mph, meaning 85% of drivers were traveling at or below this speed.
  • Uncomfortable crossings: Crossing Manhattan Drive feels unsafe due to high vehicle speeds, lack of yielding compliance, and the high level of activity during drop-off and pickup times.
  • Limited visibility: The curves on Manhattan Drive south of Baseline Road and high levels of on-street parking limit visibility for all road users.

We will re-engage with the community in fall 2025 to understand the current school community’s concerns and priorities for improving safety on Manhattan Drive.

The City of Boulder is committed to transparent, inclusive and equitable community engagement. This project will provide multiple opportunities to inform and consult the community per the city’s Engagement Strategic Framework.

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Funding

This project is funded by a combination of a federal Safe Routes to School grant award and city funds. View the 2023 grant award press release.

Nearby Projects

This grant supports other projects in the area to make walking, biking and rolling safer and more comfortable. This includes signal timing that gives pedestrians a head start at the Baseline Road and Manhattan Drive intersection as well as paving and restriping Baseline Road east of Foothills Parkway both completed in 2024.

The Baseline Road Transportation Safety Project is a multi-year project focused on improving safety along Baseline Road between 30th Street and Foothills Parkway, one of the city’s most-traveled corridors. Phase 1 improvements, including the installation of a protected bike lane, were completed in 2023. Phase 2 improvements are planned for 2026.

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