Separated bike lanes coming to Lakewood
Lakewood is dedicated to creating a quality, safe, convenient, continuous and accessible bicycle transportation network to support bicycling as a mode of transportation for all ages and abilities. Besides having numerous health benefits, bicycling as a mode of transportation has the potential to relieve traffic congestion, improve air quality and increase overall mobility in the community.
What is a separated bike lane?
A separated bike lane, also known as a protected bike lane, is defined by the Federal Highway Administration as “an exclusive facility for bicyclists that is located within or directly adjacent to the roadway and that is physically separated from motor vehicle traffic with a vertical element."
Because they are physically separated from vehicular traffic, separated bike lanes can contribute to increased bicycling volumes by appealing to less-confident riders who may not feel comfortable riding a bicycle directly adjacent to a moving vehicle. They can also improve overall safety on the roadway through traffic calming effects and by increasing motorists’ awareness of the bicycle facility.
Next steps
Lakewood is beginning the process of installing Lakewood's first separated bike lanes on South Garrison Street between Jewell and Mississippi avenues. As part of this installation, the striping pattern between Utah and Iowa avenues was changed to include a parking-protected bike lane during repaving in July 2023. The rest of the separated bike lanes will be completed in summer of 2024 with the installation of plastic curbing and posts separating the bike lanes from the rest of the road.
Following the completion of the separated bike lanes on South Garrison, the next separated lanes will be installed on Denver West Parkway and a section of Harlan Street near Alameda Avenue. With the upgrade from buffered bike lanes to separated bike lanes, they will have a similar installation of plastic curbing and posts. No restriping will be necessary on either of these roads as part of this project.
A proposed network of future separated bike lanes will be developed during the 2024-25 update of Lakewood's Bicycle Plan. In addition to pursuing recommendations in the updated plan, the city will continue to evaluate locations for installing separated bike lanes during the annual street maintenance program when roads are repaved. They will also be considered on an ongoing basis using the factors listed on the right side of this page.
Stay up to date on the status of these lanes as they are added throughout the city by subscribing to this page, and participate in this project in other ways:
Watch March 2024 project update presentation to City Council.
Review the Additional Information section to the right.