Bicyclists decry removing protected bike lanes on Folsom in Boulder

“With the lanes leaving so quickly, it kind of shows that maybe we’re not as committed to cycling and safety as we pledge ourselves to be.”

On Tuesday evening, the Boulder City Council voted to remove parts of the protected bike lane corridor on Folsom Street following complaints about increased travel time for cars and the impact on snow removal. The street had gone from 4 lanes to two to provide space for an expanded, protected bike lane as part of the city’s Living Lab project.

On Wednesday September 30th, cyclists and members of Safe Streets gathered at Folsom and Spruce to decry the removal of the bike lanes saying it was a step backwards in the city’s transportation plan. Nathan Sobol, a resident in Martin Acres in South Boulder “when you have four lanes of traffic, it’s really about moving cars as fast as possible from point A to point B. A street is a platform for economic development, a platform for human life. So if we’re really going to call it Folsom Street we need to make it safe for human beings to be on the street.”

Ryan Van Duzer told KGNU’s Tony White that the protected bike lanes on Folsom encouraged more people to take to their bikes, “we want more options like this in the city of Boulder, to make it safer to ride your bike.”

Van Duzer says that with the city scaling back the bike lanes, it sends a mixed message about what type of city Boulder aims to be “with the lanes leaving so quickly, it kind of shows that maybe we’re not as committed to cycling and safety as we pledge ourselves to be.”