Residents press Open Space trustees for bike route to Dowdy Draw as staff present multimodal access data

More than a dozen residents and staff pressed the Open Space Board of Trustees on Tuesday to move faster on bicycle access to South Boulder trailheads and to address trailhead parking and safety.

The most urgent public request was to open an existing trail connection between Shanahan Ridge and Dowdy Draw so riders can reach the Dowdy Draw and Marshall Mesa trailheads without riding on Marshall Road and crossing Highway 170.

The issue mattered to riders and parents who said unsafe street crossings and narrow shoulders put students and other cyclists at risk. "We don't need to collect more data or wait months or years to act now," Wendy Sweet, executive director of the Boulder Mountain Alliance, told the board. "Create a safer, low carbon, car free option to Dowdy Draw." She and other speakers asked staff to treat bike travel through open space as essential infrastructure rather than an accessory to parking.

Why it matters

Board members and staff said the request ties directly into the citywide Strategy 7c, the city's current initiative on multimodal access to open space, and to OSMP's own work on trailhead facilities. Staff presented a new data summary that combines survey, visitation and field observations to map how people reach open space, and a separate 2024 trailhead utilization study that measured vehicle parking, bike-rack use and picnic-table occupancy at 50 locations.

The data show that arrival mode varies by residency, site and activity: staff summarized that across the study area about 59% of visitors arrive by personal vehicle, with Boulder city residents driving less (about 44% by vehicle) than county or out-of-county visitors. Staff also reported large absolute vehicle counts at landmark trailheads: Chautauqua drew the most vehicle arrivals in the analysis (staff: "over a quarter million vehicle arrivals" by their accounting). The 2024 trailhead counts found average vehicle counts similar to the 2019 baseline overall but identified hotspots where formal lots frequently hit capacity and where spillover parking is common.

What staff presented

Jeff Haley, deputy director for visitor experience and infrastructure, and Anna Reed, a senior human-dimensions analyst, presented results from the internal data review and the 2024 trailhead study. Reed said the 2024 bike-rack observations were the first systematic dataset for racks and picnic-table use. Highlights staff emphasized: - About 59% of visitors arrive by vehicle overall, with higher vehicle shares for out-of-county visitors and lower shares for city residents. - Some subareas (for example, Dowdy Draw and certain southern trailheads) have high vehicle arrival rates and limited bike/pedestrian connections; other neighborhoods close to connected bike/ped networks show much lower vehicle use. - Bike racks showed low average occupancy overall but more frequent presence of at least one bike at trailheads near town or at event-driven peaks; highly visible inverted-U racks near paths saw more use than older, tucked-away racks. - Spillover parking (cars parked outside a formal lot along private drives or streets) changes the parking picture at some sites: Dry Creek and Chautauqua were highlighted examples.

Staff framed the work as a data-driven input to policy options: identifying priority locations for access improvements, justifying infrastructure funding, and guiding messaging and behavioral interventions. Staff said the 7c work remains in an exploratory phase: internal data are not sufficient by themselves to design citywide interventions and staff will need to coordinate with transportation and other departments.

Public and board reaction

Public commenters pressed the board and staff for quicker action on a specific connection from Shanahan Ridge to Dowdy Draw. Andrew Feeney, who coaches Fairview High's mountain-bike team, told trustees: "Our kids and our community need a safe non car route to this trailhead." Multiple parents, coaches and advocates said teams currently must ride on Marshall Road and cross a busy highway to reach the South Boulder trails.

Board members voiced both support for the data work and impatience with the pace. Trustee Michelle Estrella thanked speakers and said the board will get a fuller presentation on the planning work later in the meeting, but several trustees later urged staff to treat the Shanahan'Dowdy connection as low-hanging fruit when it is within OSMP control.

Staff timeline and next steps

Staff said the 7c analysis is still in the "assess what we know" phase. They reported an updated timeline in which policy options and draft recommendations would be refined through late 2025 and into early 2026, with a public draft and adoption process to follow in 2026. Staff also said their department has recent staffing changes and that one planner was newly assigned to the project; staff committed to returning with more detailed alternatives in the months ahead. Dan (presiding officer) and OSMP staff said they expect follow-ups to come before the board in December and in the first quarter next year.

Board members asked staff to identify actions that can be implemented quickly and to consider a trial or a targeted, surgical change (for example, opening a short trail segment to bike use) when that change is within OSMP authority. Staff indicated that some trailhead improvements are already under construction (Marshall Mesa redesign, Sawhill Ponds, Chapman Drive; Dry Creek reconstruction was also cited) and that additional bike racks and signage are being installed at high-demand sites.

Ending

Speakers and trustees agreed that multimodal access and trailhead congestion are connected policy issues. Public commenters asked for quicker, concrete steps on safety and bike connectivity; staff framed their data as the basis for targeted investments and cross-department coordination. The trustees asked staff to return with clearer alternatives and timelines at upcoming meetings so the board and community can evaluate specific proposals.