Carbondale commission advances tactical urbanism recommendations: bike lanes, temporary bollards and targeted pilot sites

Carbondale’s bike-and-ped commission discussed a package of tactical urbanism and low-cost traffic-calming measures Wednesday, recommending near-term pilot treatments including bike lanes on West Main and Hendrick, temporary bollards and painted treatments, and targeted testing on Sopris and Eighth streets.

The commission’s working groups presented recommendations drawn from a walking audit and prior planning documents and asked staff to begin traffic counts next week to refine design choices and identify locations for pilots. Commission members said the intent is to test inexpensive, reversible changes before seeking trustee approval for longer-term work.

The working group focused first on establishing bike lanes on West Main and Hendrick and linking them to Sopris and downtown. "I think our first recommendation is bike lanes at West Main and at Hendrick," said Rick, a commission member who led one of the walk audits. Group members emphasized both streets are relatively wide and have little regular curbside parking, which could allow striping and protected bike lanes without removing frequent parking.

Commissioners and residents who joined the walk noted other near-term, low-cost options: painted bulb-outs, temporary planter islands, reduced parking on one side of Sopris to create lane space for bike lanes, and adding bollards where vertical separation is needed. Kevin, a town staff member, said temporary bollards would likely accompany any new striping because "any vertical element you can get is more effective," and explained bollards would probably be removed for snow season while striping would remain.

Participants expressed skepticism about short-term raised crosswalks because of installation complexity and maintenance; the group favored paint, temporary bollards or removable planters as lower-cost, reversible alternatives. The plan to test a bike lane on Sopris would likely require eliminating parking on one side of the street, the group said, and they recommended targeted neighbor outreach before proposing that change to trustees.

Eighth Street was proposed as a contrasting test corridor because it is narrower, tree-lined and already feels ‘‘calmer’’ to some residents. Several commissioners said it would serve as a useful comparison to wider streets such as Hendrick and Sopris.

Other ideas discussed included a bike box and green bike-box treatment at Village Road and Highway 133 to improve transitions between the Rio Grande Trail and the village; improved crosswalks and bulb-outs at White Hill on Snowmass Drive; and a pilot painted crosswalk mural or coordinated graphic treatments for downtown crosswalks to signal a lower-speed, pedestrian-priority area. Kevin cautioned that signal detection, lane widths and CDOT coordination could affect feasibility at signalized intersections.

The group also discussed connectivity at the Rio Grande Trail terminus and the bus stop area: participants recommended a clearer, painted preferred bike/ped route from the trail to Village Road to reduce conflicts where bikes, buses and pedestrians converge.

Commissioners set next steps: staff will begin traffic counts and speed measurements at locations identified during the walk; the working groups will refine the list of pilot treatments (stripe + bollard locations, potential bulb-outs, paint treatments, and sites where parking removal might be needed); the team will coordinate targeted outreach to adjacent neighbors and Park & Rec where pilots might affect park parking; and a public-relations subgroup will prepare early messaging so the community knows pilots are tests, reversible, and meant to improve safety. No formal votes were recorded during the discussion.

The commission repeatedly emphasized testing reversible, low-cost options first, with fall data collection and interim removal of temporary elements for winter plowing if needed. The group said it intends to bring a tighter set of recommended pilots to staff and then to trustees once traffic measurements and neighbor outreach are complete.