Thanks to Signature Windows and Doors for presenting Crank It Forward 2025. Their support makes C4C’s work possible.
Every year C4C holds a fundraising gala called Crank It Forward in order to fund its program services. For 2025, the funds raised will go towards incentivizing the design and construction of the North Foothills Bikeway. The reasons for doing so are threefold.
The North Foothills Bikeway Project passed unanimously at the county commissioner level and is now seeking funding for design and construction. It would be about 20′ away from the white edge line on the roadway per standards. It would be grade separated which means it would have its own bed independent of the roadway’s bed. It would mostly or fully be at or below 5% grades making it accessible to a wide range of abilities. Image courtesy of OTAK.
Safety
First is safety. US 36 North Foothills Highway between Boulder and Lyons is one of if not the most dangerous roads in the state for cyclists. The data shows it. Boulder County estimates that at least 80% of cyclists do not ride on the road between Boulder and Lyons because of objective safety concerns. According to the CDOT bicycle counter just north of the City of Boulder on North Foothills Highway, there are 70,000 to 90,000 bike trips a year there.
Opportunity
Second is what C4C calls opportunity. In 15 minutes on your way to work or four hours alone or with friends, one can have a great day on a bicycle in Boulder County. CDOT terms this health. Quality of life, livability, human flourishing; there are many terms for the individual and collective well being and ability to live a full human life that come with safe and appealing access to work, services, and play on a bike.
Network Multi-modalism
At the risk of sounding ridiculous, the third reason is change in transportation that is transformational. One could go into detail that would be exhausting but the North Foothills Bikeway project contains no roadway component. Most bike-ped infrastructure projects are an accessory to a roadway project and funded in single digit percentages. The North Foothills Bikeway is a bike-ped project alone and on a scale that is meaningful.
Where the 20′ separation is not possible, there will be vertical separation in the form of a wall or similar as shown in this rendering. Image courtesy of OTAK.
C4C’s position is that the partnership between CDOT and Boulder County, specifically the execution of Boulder County’s Transportation Master Plan, demonstrates a leading standard in bike-ped design and outcomes for great infrastructure that can transform how we design and use the lands that connect our communities.
Use of Funds
C4C plans to leverage its funds in a couple of ways. Most state and federal grants come with a community match segment which is about 17% of the total funding. The local government almost always pays this portion of the grant. However, as was the case with C4C’s $30,000 donation to Boulder County a few years ago, a community partner can offer to pay some or all of the community match. This makes the grant application more competitive because it demonstrates community interest.
Intersections would be designed for safety since they are particularly prone to collisions. If you’re a cyclist in the “strong and fearless” category, you may continue to use the shoulder of the roadway. That category is 5% or less nationally, maybe around 20% in Boulder County. Image courtesy of OTAK.
Another example of what the bikeway would look like when it cannot have the standard 20′ of separation and, instead, has vertical separation in the form of a wall between cyclists and autos. The image also shows examples of why the project’s cost is significant in the form of drainage, retaining walls, and constrained right-of-way. Image courtesy of OTAK.
As for details, the most lethal and most used part of North Foothills Highway is the five mile segment between the City of Boulder and Lefthand Canyon Drive. At $8M per mile as indicated in the feasibility study, that’s $40M to build that segment and a corresponding community match of almost $7M.
A second way to leverage donated funds is the potential for naming rights. A delicate topic for CDOT and Boulder County, it is possible to donate monies on a scale around $1M in exchange for having an individual or corporation’s name or names listed as supporters of the project. In order to do this, C4C needs to bring partners to the project who are capable and serious in their intent to support the project.
C4C Has Already Started
C4C is seeding this effort with $30,000 that it had previously allocated to an effort towards a similar project on Highway 93 between Golden and Boulder. That project is taking a long time. Consequently, C4C has shifted the $30,000 to the North Foothills Bikeway project.
At Crank It Forward, every dollar raised will go to two things. C4C’s ongoing program services or seed funding for the construction of the North Foothills Bikeway.
The Boulder – Westminster path took 20 years. The Boulder – Longmont path under construction now is at about 15 years. Let’s get the North Foothills Bikeway built sooner rather than later so that we can fix safety problems and preserve or improve Boulder County’s great way of life.