Lakewood council refers Complete Streets ordinance amid heated Bunce Road debate; residents, students press safety concerns

Lakewood City Council on April 21 voted to refer a jointly drafted Complete Streets ordinance and a companion ordinance to create a Complete & Active Streets education and advisory board to the Committee of the Whole and the Planning Commission after extended debate and extensive public comment focused on a proposed shared‑use path on Bunce Road.

The communication and ordinances, introduced by council leaders and the mayor, would codify a complete‑streets framework to guide transportation projects and establish a citizen advisory board to support education, shorter‑term mitigation and community engagement between large capital projects. The ordinance divides projects into tier 1 (major routes and intersections that require public input and planning‑commission review) and tier 2 (other transportation projects that should nonetheless consider complete‑streets elements).

Why it matters: Council and the administration said the ordinance will create an accountability structure to implement the city’s Active Transportation Plan and to guide choices that affect pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular safety near schools and neighborhood corridors. Opponents said a proposed multimodal path on Bunce Road — the focus of much of the evening’s public testimony — increases the number of driveway and intersection conflict points, would remove mature street trees, and raises concerns…