If you haven’t been to Lower Downtown (LoDo) in the past 3 years, the amount of bikeability around the area has increased significantly. From the creation of the 18th and 19th street protected bike lanes offering a great North/South connection across the neighborhood, to the Blake Street bike lane creating a good east-west connection between Five Points and Downtown, a post-pandemic LoDo defined primarily by the woes of the pandemic and the extended 16th street mall closure doesn’t seem as bad.
Recently, DOTI began construction on a 17th Street Bike Lane. This lane has the potential to be a game changer, as once its completed, it will allow for connections to at 5 protected bike lanes and at least 3 other bike lanes. I rode it this past Monday night, and here is what I experienced.
The Ride
From Wynkoop to roughly Blake were the more developed components of the lane. Green paint, flexiposts, and good wayfinding were all hallmarks of the experience
As I passed Blake, a troubling part began to emerge. The design of the lane so far had been fine, but having to cross traffic diagonally, particularly when it was near a heavily impacted part of town, felt like a suicide mission. I ended up deciding to wait, passing contra in the blake street bike lane in front of Slice Works. If this section is going to have any level of success, it will need to have a leading signal similar to intersections along the Blake Street bike lane or the Marion Parkway Bikeway.
A few blocks up and the bike infrastructure began to disappear. This became wholly apparent as the lane, still under construction, was blocked by a car trying to get into an alley. At this point, I had to get on the sidewalk to get back into the lane.
Until the lane ended, the rest of the bike lane was a straight, buffered line. The one worry I had is how it abruptly ended about a block before Broadway, becoming completely unprotected for about a block.
Final Impressions
Its hard to make a final judgement based off of the fact that the bike lane has not been completed, but there is a lot of good and worrying elements to it. For me, the strongest point was the wayfinding, with several signs giving directions to other destinations. The protected elements felt pretty decent as well. That being said, the diagonal element of the lane without a leading signal, along with the abrupt end prior to Broadway, are worrying. If this potentially highly connective and highly effective lane added the signal and, at the very least, had some indication that it was about to end, it could be one of the best connections of a growing network of bike lanes that comprise LoDo.
Featured image is a mock up from the 17th Street Bike Lane
Colorado Car Free 