Matt Muir, Policy Director, C4C
On the 26th of January, I had a very good video meeting with Town of Superior transportation staff regarding the 88th Street Project. Concerns about the area started at least a year ago and around that time a meeting was held that included representatives from at least Superior, Louisville, and the Boulder Valley School District. I was not at that meeting. Cooperative response to the problem has been going on for a while.
I’m wary of going into detail about the meeting I had with Superior staff. I state this not to avoid the problem, rather, because there are numerous parts of the discussion, some technical details, and nuances that could easily or even accidentally be misrepresented. If you have questions, you can email me at matt@c4commuinity.org.
In short, if there were more money and more time, then solutions would be forthcoming. That’s not the case. Instead, what Superior and Louisville are doing is working together to put an interim solution in place. Simultaneously, Superior is actively seeking grant funding for a better and longer term solution that will consist of hard infrastructure improvements.
Some of this has to do with the Redtail Ridge development which is adjacent to part of the travel area. Those developers are being helpful and in, say, 18-24 months there will probably be a separated path or trail in the northeastern part of the travel area and due south of the schools in order to move bike-ped use out of and away from the right-of-way with the roadway in that area.
Superior is hearing the criticisms, they are reviewing their plans, its council and mayor are exercising oversight, and my interjecting myself or C4C at this stage would not be helpful. In our meeting, I maintained a conversational tone since it was evident that staff is working on the problem and they are listening.
One facet of the problem I will share is that the bike-ped use peaks in the morning and is virtually entirely northbound. It peaks again when school lets out and it is virtually all southbound and contra-auto-traffic both on the sidewalk and in the bike-able shoulder. The result is not an easy problem to solve.
Bike-ped users leave school and rather than crossing westward at the intersection of 88th and Health Park/Campus Drive in order to subsequently travel south on the right-hand side of 88th, they are, instead, avoiding the intersection, crossing southbound, and returning southbound on or along 88th going against the auto travel lane. The new two-way bike-lane layout changes this dynamic a little.
Vertical plastic delineators were to be installed to indicate the division between the auto-lane and the two-way bike-lane. That installation has been delayed while staff and council review the comments on the proposed layout and plan.
A view of the project looking north and without the plastic delineators whose installation has been paused as of January, 2026.
That users are electing to ride and walk in this manner means they are doing it for a reason which includes their own on-site sense of safety. Instead of fighting it, Superior staff was trying to propose a way to work with it.
For the time being, I’m going to monitor this project. Too often these debates can devolve into disputes. We’re lucky to live in Boulder County. The county and its municipalities plan and design to leading standards. Often the people involved have kids or ride themselves, they are doing their best. We’ve surrounded ourselves with roadways for 100 years and shifting them to multi-modal design is not easy. Conversely, I am well aware of the adverse safety outcomes associated with roadways.
I also applaud the helpful parents who contributed video of drop-off and pick-up times along the 88th St. travel area. The video really made the point. I can’t speak for BVSD though I know they understand too, they’ve been running around trying to add bike parking to schools all over the district as bike use grows.
Louisville is in the middle of its trails master plan update and that has the potential to add bike-ped access that is safe. Superior is seeking funding for an improved infrastructure solution in order to achieve safety. Superior is examining more interim mitigations to improve safety. When government is supported to design to leading standards, the data shows that outcomes, including safety, are superior.
Thanks for supporting C4C in its effort to partner on these outcomes.