Grand Junction council votes 4-3 to revert Fourth and Fifth Street pilot after months of public comment

The Grand Junction City Council voted 4-3 on Tuesday to return Fourth and Fifth streets to their pre-pilot configuration, reversing a temporary protected-bike-lane pilot that was installed last summer and had generated months of public comment. Councilmember Van Dyke moved to revert the corridors and the motion passed with Ballard, Cole, Van Dyke and Mayor Cody Kennedy voting yes and Councilmembers Bialfuss, Wynne and Stout voting no.

The decision follows hours of public comment and a staff briefing that showed modest safety gains: staff transportation data presented by transportation and engineering director Trent Prahl reported average speeds on Fourth Street had fallen about 4.3 miles per hour and speeds on Fifth Street had dropped from about 37 mph to roughly 32 mph after the pilot’s installation. Prahl also outlined an alternate design — previously described to council as “version 2” — that would remove the temporary white bollards and use diagonal parking with a buffered bike lane and a single travel lane, and that staff had estimated would cost roughly $40,000 to implement as an interim change.

Supporters of keeping a protected facility said the pilot had slowed traffic and made…