A Summary of the Urban Trails Committee’s Latest Meeting
Story By: Makenna Livingston, In the Dirt Editor
Photos By: Poppy Williams
An Overview
Grand Junction’s Urban Trails Committee is laying the concrete for safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians.
On April 9, the Urban Trails Committee (UTC) conducted a meeting to discuss infrastructure priorities, future projects and ongoing efforts to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in Grand Junction. The meeting covered funding, long-term planning and better ways to organize transportation initiatives across the city. UTC is an advisory group that assists the Grand Junction City Council by helping plan and address the issues that pertain to the sidewalks, paths, and roads in the city’s urban areas.
“We say, ‘Hey, this is messed up, we’d love to get some dollars thrown over this way,’” said Diana Rooney, an Urban Trails Committee member.
How to Prioritize?
Infrastructure priorities topped the agenda in their proceedings. Members on the board discussed how to organize and rank these priorities for those without a rank. One member suggested breaking up the whole priority list into segments to organize independent categories. When accumulating the list, they use a combination of data and past board recommendations.
“[The priorities] that get ranked every year are determined with five different weighted elements, including erosion, safety, social equity, connectivity, and usage,” Rooney said.
School Saftey
Through collecting data and surveys, UTC uses its findings to promote plans for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists of all abilities and ages. The committee has also been involved with the Safe Routes to School initiative.
A recent topic of discussion was the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and how funds have been allocated toward sidewalk improvements around schools. The committee also discussed two future projects that they voted on last year—Hermosa Avenue and Ella Lane near West Lake Park.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Reports
Members also reviewed the walk audit report conducted on Feb. 12, 2025. The audit included 20 participants from UTC and city council staff. The walk audit covered five routes from Patterson Road to Horizon Drive. The group analyzed both the quantitative and qualitative data related to traffic stress experienced by pedestrians.
The committee also discussed the upcoming bicycle and pedestrian count. Rooney proposed a plan to obtain volunteers to help with the count. She also introduced a new technology that uses smartphones to simplify the process. The city is also considering purchasing multi-modal pedestrian and bicyclist counters.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan
Discussions then shifted to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, a long-term initiative fueled by research to create a safer, more comfortable environment for those using alternative transportation in Grand Junction. This portion of the meeting was more aimed towards the administrative side of the plan.
“I think there is an opportunity for streamlining the work that is led by this committee and also thinking about some of the policy advisement roles that are taken here and how they can better interact with the Pedestrian and Bicycle plan,” said committee member Henry Brown.
The committee also discussed the approval of March Minutes, current engineering updates, and the annual roadmap.
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