Consultants outline federally funded Reconnect West Laramie study, seek stakeholder input

Consultants leading the federally funded Reconnect West Laramie study presented an overview of the project and sought feedback from members of the West Laramie Growth Area Authority at the authority's April 15 meeting.

Bill Dello, consultant with the project team, said the study is “really focused on creating intuitive connections that people of all ages and abilities can use,” listing walking, cycling, transit and driving among the modes the team is analyzing. He told the authority the work began in January, that the team is completing an existing-conditions report, and that the contract runs through June 2026 but the consultant team is aiming for a roughly 12-month schedule with a target of January 2026 for deliverables.

The project is funded through a grant from the federal department of transportation. Dello described objectives that include improving pedestrian and bicycle safety, enhancing multimodal connectivity and identifying short-, medium- and long-term recommendations that could help the city pursue construction funding. He said the study will coordinate with a separate city-led transit study and that the consultant team is drawing on prior plans and reports including downtown bicycle and pedestrian studies and other local visions.

Dello presented five corridors the team has identified for further work: the Curtis Corridor (with an existing multiuse path), the Madison–Flint corridor (using a former railroad right-of-way the city is designing as a multiuse connector), the Garfield Corridor (leveraging an existing footbridge), the Spring Creek Corridor (which could extend Venture Drive across I‑80 and the Laramie River) and the Riverside Corridor (which includes an existing private at-grade crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad). He said the team plans stakeholder meetings this spring and summer and larger public engagement events in summer and fall, including open houses and pop-up outreach guided in part by University of Wyoming students assisting the project.

Authority members raised safety concerns and potential near-term priorities. Janine Jordan and other members and residents highlighted pedestrian and school crossings along Highway 130/230, and several speakers identified Venture Drive and Adams Drive — near the WyoTech campus and the I‑80 interchange — as locations where speeding and stop‑sign noncompliance create safety problems for pedestrians and bicyclists. Dello said the study will examine collision history and feasibility for improvements and that the project team plans to meet with Union Pacific later in the summer to discuss the feasibility of converting any of the existing private railroad crossings into public crossings; he noted Union Pacific typically engages through retained consultants and that an initial agreement and consultant fees are often required.

Authority members and the consultant discussed follow-up. The consultant team said it has several stakeholder sessions scheduled and can extend invitations to authority members; the authority asked the consultants to offer at least one follow-up work session, and Mary (project manager for the county grant project) said the consultant would like an hour with the authority in July. The project team also maintains a project website and a public survey, Dello said.