Boulder staff outline Civic Area Phase 2 concept, recommend Thirteenth Street be pedestrian- and bike-first

City of Boulder parks and recreation staff gave the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) a preview of the Civic Area Phase 2 conceptual design on Oct. 13, outlining a plan that centers Boulder Creek, emphasizes event space in Central Park and Thirteenth Street, and moves toward a Thirteenth Street that prioritizes walking and bicycling over private vehicles.

The draft concept covers a study area broadly bounded by Ninth to Fourteenth streets and Canyon to Arapahoe, with the Arboretum path and connections to the CU campus included. Staff said community engagement prioritized placemaking elements — the farmers market, Festival Street uses and Central Park — while transportation feedback emphasized preserving the Boulder Creek Path, slower cycle speeds through the park, separated bike and pedestrian routes where possible, improved wayfinding and locating multimodal hubs with robust bike parking and scooter parking near activated spaces.

"The civic area has been planned to be a prominent urban center and regional park," said Shihomi Kuriyagawa, Civic Area project manager for Parks and Recreation. Kuriyagawa described the plan’s goals as unifying a currently "chopped…