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 downtown quieter and more walkable. Ash Zolton, a downtown small-business owner and resident, said the pilot made the corridor feel “much safer” for people on bikes and that the project should proceed to a more permanent design. Several public-safety and health professionals, including Dr. Tanner Spies, a trauma surgeon, urged the council to keep changes that reduced speeds. “Early data has suggested that we have decreased speeds on Fourth and Fifth, which have led to a decrease in pedestrian and bike accidents,” Spies said.

Opponents, including many downtown business owners and residents, said the pilot harmed commerce, reduced usable parking, and created hazards for emergency vehicles and people with limited mobility. Councilmembers heard multiple accounts from merchants who reported fewer customers and from residents and drivers who said emergency vehicles had trouble getting through single-lane stretches. Nikki Hunt, owner of Thomas Hunt Jewelers, said parallel parking and access for people who use wheelchairs were made more difficult and called the changes “unsafe.” Nova Tucker, who described having mobility limitations, told council, “It is impossible to park and unload a wheelchair safely on Fourth Or Fifth Street.”

Council members debated three core goals: maintaining downtown access and business activity, keeping vehicle speeds low, and providing safer spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists. Several council members said the pilot had succeeded in slowing traffic but that the economic harm being reported by businesses and the operational problems described by emergency responders outweighed those benefits at this time. Councilmember Van Dyke said the city had to be mindful of downtown businesses that “might not make payroll next month.” Councilmember Stout and others asked for a faster decision timeline; Stout argued the council owed the downtown an answer rather than a prolonged pilot.

The motion that passed directed staff to restore Fourth and Fifth to their pre-pilot lane configuration and gave staff limited latitude — following recognized engineering standards — to adjust lane widths and striping while doing the reversion work. City staff confirmed the reversion work can be completed using funds available in this year’s transportation budget. Staff and council discussed, but did not adopt, a separate near-term alternative (version 2) that would have removed the bollards and used diagonal parking with a single driving lane while continuing engagement on longer-term options.

Council members on both sides said further work was needed on multimodal connections elsewhere in the city and on targeted traffic-calming measures that do not produce the operational problems described downtown. Transportation staff and councilmembers repeatedly referenced the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) as the standard that will guide any technical adjustments to lane widths or striping when staff implements the reversion. A number of councilmembers asked staff to bring a focused workshop on traffic-calming measures and alternative bike- and pedestrian-routing options to ensure future changes balance safety and economic vitality.

What happens next: City staff will schedule and implement the reversion to pre-pilot lane striping and parking patterns, using MUTCD and engineering standards for lane widths. Council and staff said they will continue a public engagement process and bring design options for targeted traffic-calming and multimodal connections back to the council for review. No permanent construction or curb changes were approved as part of the reversion vote.