I’m Katie McReynolds and I live near Caley and Windermere.
I’m really excited about the work that you’re doing on the inclusionary housing ordinance. I’m also so excited to see how Littleton will embrace affordable housing, while also supporting new development and gentle density near light rail. It makes sense and I support it.
I also heard you’re starting a sustainability task force and I just want to say how proud I am to live in a city that is taking the climate crisis seriously and is working to face it head on. The pandemic created a new momentum for carbon-free transportation and it provides an unprecedented opportunity for positive change in Littleton.
That brings me to my last topic, bike safety. On Caley Ave, which is a safe route to school for Ralph Moody specifically between Prince and Windermere, the sidewalks are historically narrow for bikes and pedestrians to share. And on this stretch, bikes and cars are supposed to share the road. Since many people walk with their kids to school on Caley, we are forced to ride in the street with the working commuters. There is a CDOT Safe Route to School Grant-funded project that may be able to help make this a little safer, and I wanted City Council to be aware of it.
Denver is already on the map for bike friendliness, adding 125 miles of new bikes lanes by 2023. And with the big bike boom the US has ever seen in 2020, there are more bikers on our roads than ever before. More people WANT to bike especially in Colorado. We need to make cycling in Littleton as natural of a choice for people as walking. We don’t question if there’s a sidewalk outside when we want to go somewhere, but we need those guarantees in Littleton. I want to motivate city council to encourage more bikers in Littleton with better bike parking, as parking for 12-24 bikes can fit in one parking space. Think of how many cars, that eliminates. A 2022 study by Carnegie Mellon showed how replacing short car trips with bike and scooter trips can lead to less congestion, but local areas need more micromobility infrastructure for this positive outcome.
I hope my words are encouraging, as I think we are heading in the right direction, but this is very important to me as a Littleton citizen.
Thank you!