April 13, 2021
Jerry Guida, the president of the IPNA, called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. The meeting was held via Zoom.
Secretary’s report. Emily Green moved to approve the minutes from the January 14, 2020 membership meeting, the last meeting of the IPNA before April 13, 2021, due to the pandemic. Barbara Arguello seconded that motion, and it was approved unanimously.
Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval. She informed us that she had a death in her family today. She told us that it was nice to see all of us. She discussed the overlay zoning work on Tennyson and for Harkness Heights. She is working on trying to get improvements to Berkeley Park. She advised us that, hopefully, the playground construction work in the Inspiration Point Park should begin soon. Other than that, she said was here to listen. She will continue to listen to our concerns and to monitor what is going on with the bikeway.
Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. Riley LaMie from the Department discussed the Harlan/Gray Street bikeway. She said that the City has heard a lot from us about the project. As result of feedback at a public mtg on March 11, The City is going to change the project. At that meeting, which was attended by about 26 people, the Department presented the idea of a bikeway on both sides of the street on Harlan and Gray Streets. The Department has also received a number of e-mail messages since then, including about 20 comments relating to pedestrian safety. Additional comments were submitted about improving safety for all modes of transportation, and about parking and about mobility on Harlan Street. Some of comments were about fact that that street is already working well today, so why change it? The Department also heard that there were missing sidewalks on part of the street, especially near West 50th and 51st. People expressed a desire to keep parking on both sides of the street.
The Department narrowed the feedback into four major topics – intersection safety, keeping a shared roadway, parking, and speed concerns. The City will change the project to change it to a shared roadway, as it is today, with some improvements at intersections. It will leave parking on both sides of the street. The Department is looking for ways to discourage speeding. A lot of the questions the Department received in the feedback process were about Clear Creek Master Plan Coordination. Planning is ongoing now, in coordination with Arvada, Adams County, CDOT, and Denver Public Works. The City wants to improve the intersections, including the trail crossings. The plan is to provide a signals-based pedestrian crossing at West 52nd and Gray.
Jennifer Hillhouse from CDOT emphasized how much they value our comments. This is also a paving project; the neighborhood streets will be paved. She said she would appreciate any additional feedback we may have.
One resident said that she walks her dog in the area regularly, and has seen at least 10 people blow through the intersection. She said she would love to see sidewalks where there are none now. Another resident added that the lack of sidewalks and the hilly terrain are challenging for her family, and discussed the need for extra parking. One resident asked whether there’s a way to install mirrors on Harlan to make it easier to see what traffic is coming. Riley LaMie said there are things they can do to make the intersection more visible. She added that the long-term plans for are for the Clear Creek bikeway to be moved and completed, so that bicycle traffic won’t be routed through our neighborhood. The City of Arvada is exploring ways in which this could happen. There is no timeline, but it is something Arvada and Denver are actively coordinating on.
Most of the streets in Inspiration Point, we were told, are planned for repaving this summer. The City’s streets are repaved every seven to ten years. Residents will be notified before repaving.
The Department will hold a meeting on May 6, where it will share the revised designs and will be soliciting feedback. It wants to make sure people can bike safely and can share the road. One resident asked if the City will be presenting a signage package; Ms. LaMie said that that will be shared on May 6. John Sanchez asked whether the City will be coordinating with CDOT on the redesign of the West 48th and Harlan I-70 interchange. One resident added that whenever there are traffic problems near the neighborhood, some people will drive through the neighborhood, some of whom will get lost. Gina Volpe from AS’s office gave project number, 303-223-6575, to contact the City about this project.
One resident noted that there are no visibility problems with the stop sign at West 51st and Harlan, but it’s at the bottom of two hills. An explanation of reason for the stop sign, said Jesse, could be helpful. She’s seen people in the middle of the street, on their phones, trying to figure out where to go. One resident had a question about whether there could be a sidewalk on one side of Harlan Street. Ms. LaMie said that, although immediate improvements are those that are relatively low budget, sidewalk improvements might be considered. Jennifer Hillhouse said no sidewalk changes are planned right now. She noted that the City will document that there’s a need and will identify this as a possible future project. One resident asked how we can track the City’s priorities. Ms. Hillhouse said the City has a pedestrian master plan; this is a good resource for us to know. She discussed the City’s priorities in this area in very general terms. There are also grant-sharing opportunities. Ms. Hillhouse added that if we can’t attend the May 6 meeting, we can use any of the contacts they provided.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.
Sincerely,
Barry Roseman
Secretary