The Colorado Department of Transportation has granted Colorado State University over $580,000 for constructing improvements of the Mountain Loop bikeway, according to SOURCE. 

The Mountain Loop is located at the intersection of Pitkin Street and Center Avenue near the Newton Memorial statue by the Behavioral Sciences Building. 

According to SOURCE, upgrades are being made to the bikeway to improve safety and traffic congestion in order to maintain CSU’s status as a “bicycle-friendly campus.”

Bikeways all over campus are scenes of injuries, tickets and crashes.

“This area is no exception,” said Aaron Fodge, CSU alternative transportation manager.

As reported by SOURCE, the funding of the project from the CDOT is due to a grant application by the President’s Vision Zero Task Force. 

According to their mission statement, the task force’s goal is to reduce the number of traffic-related injuries and deaths at CSU. They are entrusted with evaluating the safety and functionality of all transportation logistics on campus. 

The group aided the University’s application for the Larger Safety Infrastructure Grant offered by the CDOT’s Revitalizing Main Streets initiative.

Revitalizing Main Streets supports communities across the state to actualize transportation-related projects meant to increase safety, according to the CDOT website. 

The bikeway will be receiving the addition of CSU’s second bike roundabout due to the success of the first one installed between the Lory Student Center and Morgan Library, according to Fodge.  

“The roundabout has provided clarity and predictability, reducing the previously stressful mixing of bicyclists and pedestrians at that location,” Fodge said. 

The LSC roundabout has increased the safety of both bicyclists and pedestrians using the previously chaotic intersection. There were “injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists at this intersection because of the unpredictable movement,” Fodge said. He said that since the installation of the roundabout, he has not been informed of any injuries at the intersection.

The desired effect of the second roundabout installation is to have a similar impact on student safety, and the project will also include a new split trail for bicyclists and pedestrians to commute between the Chemistry and Visual Arts buildings, according to Fodge. 

“The trail would also provide new ramps prior to joining the Pitkin Bikeway,” said Fodge, who explained that the current trail system in that area is an old service road. 

Separate paths for pedestrians and bicyclists will facilitate the flow of traffic and make it less likely that bikes would strike pedestrians, he said. 

Pedestrian safety is a priority of the project, with renovations of the bikeway including “new pedestrian crosswalks along Mountain Loop,” Fodge said. He explained that the crosswalks will work in addition to the separate bicycle and foot traffic paths to keep pedestrians more separated from bicyclists, decreasing the chance of collision. 

During the construction period, Fodge explained that detours and road blockages are expected to be minimal.

“I would imagine Pitkin would remain open and the trails would likely have some periodic closure,” he said.

The Mountain Loop renovations are slated to begin in the summer of 2022 and end before the fall semester starts.

Samy Gentle can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @samy_gentle_.