About the Project

The City of Boulder is studying Sumac Avenue from Broadway to 19th Street to address infrastructure needs and improve travel connectivity.

  1. Community Engagement

  2. Plan

  3. Design

  4. Build

  5. Complete

Project Overview

This project will improve travel infrastructure and connectivity for everyone traveling on Sumac Avenue from Broadway to 19th Street. This includes continuous sidewalks, pavement maintenance and storm drainage improvements.

The city is prioritizing work on this street due to its deteriorating pavement conditions and its connection to nearby Crest View Elementary School. Improvements to this part of Sumac Avenue also support creating walkable and bikeable routes to key destinations in Boulder, a priority of both the City of Boulder's Transportation Master Plan and Low-Stress Walk and Bike Network.

An aerial of Sumac Avenue from Broadway to 19th Street
The project area.

Provide Your Input

The City of Boulder invites community to learn about and provide feedback on proposed concept designs to improve travel on Sumac Avenue between Broadway and 19th Street. Community members can participate through the in-person or online open houses.

The open houses include information on designs, past project work, the project timeline and funding. Proposed designs include pavement maintenance, continuous sidewalks, storm drainage improvements, improved curb and gutter, traffic calming, and a crosswalk for people walking and biking from Sumac Avenue across Broadway to Wonderland Lake.

Online Open House

View open house materials and the opportunity to provide feedback online in English or Spanish.

In-person Open House

The in-person open house was held on Wednesday, May 15 from 5-7 p.m. at the Maker Space Room 310 at Crest View Elementary School,1898 Sumac Avenue.

Proposed Improvements Summary

Proposed designs include pavement maintenance, continuous sidewalks, storm drainage improvements, improved curb and gutter, traffic calming to slow vehicles, and a crosswalk for people walking and biking from Sumac Avenue across Broadway to Wonderland Lake.

Detailed Proposed Improvements

The proposed roadway is two ten-foot lanes with on street parking in some locations. The locations with on street parking are still to be determined based on community input and may change slightly from this preliminary concept.

The proposed improvements, which subject to change, include:

  • An eight-foot sidewalk along the north side of Sumac Avenue.

  • Mountable curb and gutter on the north side of Sumac Avenue.

  • Vertical curb on the south side with no sidewalk.

  • A drop-off area for Crest View Elementary School between the school entry loop on the north side.

  • A flashing beacon crossing just north of Sumac Avenue to cross Broadway to Wonderland Park.

  • A marked crossing on Sumac Avenue at 15th Street and 17th Street.

  • Two speed humps through the Sumac Avenue corridor.

For a visual conceptual representation of the proposed roadway improvements for Sumac Avenue, view the graphics below. The two graphics are aerial plan views of the proposed roadway split in the middle of the road. Below each graphic, typical sections are shown as they change through the corridor.

The page 1 graphic is from Broadway to 1560 & 1565 Sumac. The page 2 graphic is from 1560 & 1565 Sumac to 19th Street. If more descriptive information is desired as a text alternative to the image, please reach out to the city at the contact information on this webpage.

Timeline

  • January 2024: City staff resumed this project after a pause due to staffing and financial reasons.

  • Spring 2024: The city will host in-person and virtual engagement opportunities to provide information on work done so far and next steps.

Following community engagement, we will advance design, and finalize project funding and implementation. Staff will meet with individual property owners on Sumac Avenue to discuss these next steps.

Background

This project began in 2019 and was paused in 2020 for staffing and financial reasons. In 2019 and early 2020, the city hosted two community meetings. Materials from past in-person open houses available upon request

Annexation Agreements

Property owners with frontage, or land affected by the project, may share in the cost of the improvements according to the existing annexation agreements below. The City of Boulder will work in partnership with property owners to determine reasonable allocation of project costs.

Agreements sorted by property

Stay connected

The city will share project updates when available on this webpage and through the Transportation and Mobility newsletter.