PEDAL - East-West Mobility Study

East West Mobility Study

East-West Mobility Study

US Highway 34 (Eisenhower Boulevard) is the major east-west route through Loveland. In addition to local traffic, three million (3,000,000) tourists travel US 34 every summer on their way to and from Rocky Mountain National Park. Since this is a federal highway, much construction on the road is paid by federal funds administered through the State of Colorado.

A major bridge on US 34 in Loveland (between Cleveland and Garfield Avenues - over the railroad tracks) has reached the end of its 40-year lifetime and is scheduled for replacement. State and federal funds provide a great deal of the money for this project. While major bridges are on a 40-year replacement cycle, major road have a 20-year replacement lifetime. City engineer Tom Gathmann is determined to get a bridge that will support the next cycle of road upgrades.

What started as a study to determine the long-term needs for US 34 evolved into the East-West Mobility Study, which considered all the east-west routes through Loveland. Copies of the study report are available from the City of Loveland department of Traffic Engineering (500 E. 3rd Street, 962-2535). P.E.D.A.L. was contacted by the study group to represent the interests of cyclists.

Tom Gathmann (bless his heart) wants to include bicycle and pedestrian lanes on the replacement bridge (it is a life-threatening experience to walk or bicycle across it now). He also wants to include an interesting version of off-street bicycle paths adjacent to US 34 all the way through town. This is hard for Tom to sell to the Powers-That-Be.

Some support (or at least some visibility) from bicyclists, roller-bladers, and people with feet and legs would really help Loveland improve east-west transportation for Those Not Encased in Heavy-Metal Boxes. Show your support. Call or write (in words of 2 syllables or less) your City Council Creature and explain to it why Tom's ideas would be a Good Thing.