Construction on roundabouts, safer crossings, speed bumps and more is coming to the Alamo Placita with a new neighborhood bikeway project that got underway this week.
Neighborhood bikeways aim to slow traffic and lower the number of vehicles on certain streets, making them more comfortable for cyclists. Bikeways have become a major part of Denver’s strategy to build bicycle infrastructure — sometimes garnering criticism from neighbors and multimodal advocates alike.
The Alamo Placita bikeway will start at East Third Avenue and North Emerson Street, just north of Speer, and continue north to East 11th Avenue. There, the bikeway will switch three blocks over to North Pearl and continue to East 20th Avenue, ending near Benedict Fountain Park.
Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said the bikeway will provide north-south transit options for bicyclists and connect dense areas of Capitol Hill to the Cherry Creek trail.
Initial plans for the neighborhood bikeway would have built similar infrastructure on Washington Street and Clarkson Street, but DOTI said “the community expressed concern about the extensive on-street parking removal associated with implementing the bikeways” and pivoted to Emerson and Pearl.
Those streets will look noticeably different after the bikeway is finished.
Most notably, four new roundabouts, or traffic circles, will be built along Emerson Street, at Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and 10th avenues. There is also an existing roundabout at Emerson and Seventh Avenue.
The city will also install speed bumps, or speed cushions, between Third and Fourth avenues on Emerson Street. Speed bumps are relatively rare on public roads in Denver, but have become increasingly common since 2022.
Several pedestrian crossings will also be improved with “bulb-outs”, which shorten the distance between two curbs, and flashing crossing beacons to alert drivers to pedestrians.
Construction of the bikeway will cost about $839,000 from the 2017 RISE Bond and is expected to conclude this year.
A DOTI study found that over a four-year period, there were 371 car crashes on the streets where the bikeway is being built, with a majority being T-bones. In the same period, there were about 25 incidents involving bicycles or pedestrians.
The local registered neighborhood group did not respond to a request for comment. Its website
A member of the Alamo Placita Neighborhood Organization told Denverite that opinions on the project are split.
While many in the neighborhood have applauded the effort to make streets safer, a group of neighbors have gathered signatures to protest what they argue will result in low parking, poor aesthetics and difficult driving conditions.
