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 up" site, improving north–south connections such as the Eleventh Street bridge, and creating loop circulation that links the Creek, Thirteenth Street and Central Park.

Parks staff said one of the central moves in the concept is to make Thirteenth Street "bike and pedestrian first" by removing private vehicle access in most conditions and providing a west-side designated bike route so bicyclists can continue to pass through during market days and other events. The design would also provide electrical hookups and other infrastructure to support markets and temporary activations.

Rendering and concept slides shown to TAB highlighted the proposed conversion of the library parking area known as "Boulder Beach" into accessible creek-edge green space, tiered park patios down to the water and a raised, table-top treatment at the east end to create a plaza-like Festival Street. Parks staff also described an Arboretum concept that would explore an elevated boardwalk and separated bike connection to bridge roughly 40 feet of grade between the hill and Civic Area, with potential for an interpretive canopy walk and viewing tower.

"As a mobility professional…civic spaces are made that much more powerful when they are also nodes for movement of people on foot and people on bike," Blythe Feeley, director of Transportation and Mobility, told TAB during introductions. Feeley emphasized coordination between transportation and parks on keeping the Creek Path and Thirteenth Street safe and connected.

Staff said Phase 1 of the Civic Area opened in 2018 and that the current work will recommend a smaller Phase 2 construction boundary (than the larger study area) to City Council in November. If approved, schematic and design development would occur in 2026, with construction targeted in 2027 for the funded elements. Parks staff committed to return to TAB in 2026 with more detailed street- and plaza-level design where bike/ped separation, paving and other engineering details will be refined.

TAB members asked about several practical issues: how bicycles and pedestrians will be deconflicted during festivals, whether underpasses and at-grade crossings will provide convenient north–south continuity, and operational measures (speed management, signage, paving treatments) to slow cycling speeds in high-conflict festival areas. Staff said many of those ideas — speed tables, paving differentiation, signage and options for temporary traffic control during events — are under consideration and will be developed during schematic design.

Parks staff also described the use of temporary "pop-up" activations (pilots like the Wildwoods nature play installation) as a way to test design ideas and activate areas before full construction funding is available. Mark Davidson, parks senior planning manager, said successful pilots can become "permanent pop-ups" for two-to-three years and inform later design.

TAB members generally supported the concept direction and asked staff to prioritize safe multimodal circulation, clear wayfinding to and through the park, and careful planning for festival days when large pedestrian crowds and bicyclists must share space. Staff will bring a recommended Phase 2 boundary and refined cost analysis to Council in November and return to TAB in 2026 for detailed design review.

Ending: Parks staff and Transportation and Mobility will continue coordination as the project moves from concept to schematic design; TAB will review detailed design in 2026 and Council will see a Phase 2 recommendation in November.