In my recent list of Ten Things Fort Collins Bicyclists Can Be Thankful For, I put down the improvements to N. Shields as the number one item this past year. The work that was done was a huge collaborative effort. The changes positively affect all modes of transportation, increase accessibility to the north end of town as well as to several natural areas, and were done with a fair level of sensitivity to residents who live or frequently travel through the area.
Today the City and County held a joint ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the (near) completion of the project. (There’s still a bit of sidewalk and some landscaping that needs to be finished up.) I was one of only two bicyclists that attended the event, which was a little disappointing. But there were several cyclists pedaling past on the bike trail, so we still had some representation, even if it wasn’t right there at the ceremony itself.
This is a short video I put together of the ceremony. It’s only five minutes long, and it sorta captures the incredible level of teamwork that it took to pull this project off. [When Pedal Fort Collins became Urban Fort Collins, not everything transferred over. The video is one of those things. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to update this at some point.]