Thornton seeks input on Colorado Boulevard bike facilities by July 31

Thornton residents, commuters and other people who use Colorado Boulevard have until Friday, July 31, 2026, to tell the city what they think about possible protected bicycle facilities along the corridor.

The city is studying an 8.25-mile section of Colorado Boulevard between 88th Avenue and the E-470 interchange. The work is still in the study and alternatives-analysis phase. Thornton has not approved a final design, construction project or construction schedule.

What Thornton is studying

The city is evaluating several ways to separate people biking from vehicle traffic, including protected bike lanes, cycle tracks and multiuse side paths. The treatment could vary from one segment of Colorado Boulevard to another, depending on conditions and design considerations.

Thornton says the corridor was selected for study because of high vehicle speeds and traffic volumes, disconnected bicycle facilities, and a history of serious and frequent crashes.

What public feedback may influence

The survey gives corridor users an opportunity to describe safety and access problems, identify segment-level priorities and weigh in on the types of facilities they would prefer to see studied further. Feedback may also inform future design considerations affecting people who bike, walk, drive, use transit or operate businesses along Colorado Boulevard.

Residents should treat the survey as an input opportunity, not a vote on a completed project. The city has not said that one facility type will be used throughout the corridor, and survey responses should not be read as representative of all Thornton residents unless the city provides a methodology for making that conclusion.

Funding and next steps

The Denver Regional Council of Governments lists the project in its approved 2026-2029 Transportation Improvement Program as a Thornton-sponsored active-transportation preconstruction project. The regional record identifies $2.053 million in approved funding, including federal, state and local shares, for the corridor effort.

That funding record supports the study and preconstruction activities listed in the transportation program. It does not, by itself, establish that construction has been approved or that work will begin in 2026 or 2027.

Thornton’s current schedule calls for another public-engagement phase in fall 2026, followed by preliminary 30% design and final study work during winter 2026 and spring 2027.

People who live, work, shop, commute or travel by bicycle along Colorado Boulevard can submit feedback through the city’s project survey before the Friday, July 31 deadline. The responses will arrive before Thornton moves into more detailed study and design work.

Sources

• City of Thornton project page
• Colorado Boulevard Project Survey
• DRCOG transportation program project description