Throughout the 38th Avenue Corridor Plan adopted by the Wheat Ridge City Council in October 2011, Wheat Ridge 2020 is listed as a responsible party for implementing work desired by the City of Wheat Ridge. Specifically it outlines a major role for Wheat Ridge 2020 in convening and supporting the 38th Avenue Leadership Committee. This work includes contracting an experienced professional to create the brand and marketing message for 38th Avenue and then implementing the marketing materials and events needed to help tell the story of how 38th Avenue is changing. 

Wheat Ridge 2020 has submitted a proposal for $92,800 to accomplish this scope of work in 2012. This includes consultant and material costs as well as the Wheat Ridge 2020 human resources needed. Please send a quick email or contact your City Council member to tell them you support this full implementation of the 38th Avenue Plan. Without the work happening beyond the curbs and the work repositioning the area, it will impossible to reach the vision imagined in the adopted 38th Avenue Plan.

You can find city council contact information at on the City's web page. Please call our office if you have further questions. We also welcome your testimony on Monday, Feb 13 at the City Council meeting.

• 38th Avenue revitalization
• light rail coming to WR
• community market and demographic issues
• infill development and revitalization
• urban design
• city planning and development fundamentals

Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6-9pm at the Wheat Ridge 2020 Offices.  Specific dates are February 7 and 21, March 6 and 20.  Plus a field trip to be determined by the class participants.  Cost is $15. 

Since the Academy began in 2007, 92 people have participated.  Of the 92 participants, 14 are current members of Wheat Ridge boards and commissions, 3 are current Wheat Ridge City Council members, and 5 are Wheat Ridge 2020 Board Members.  This is an excellent way to get involved in shaping the Wheat Ridge community.

If you are interested in participating in the 2012 WR2020 Planning and Development Academy, please email Denise Balkas at dbalkaswheatridge2020org  (dbalkaswheatridge2020org)   or call the office at 720-259-1030. 

Tuesday, December 6th, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Lakewood Heritage Center
801 S. Yarrow St., Lakewood, CO
Cost: $20 (Includes lunch & presentation)

To register go to www.Jeffcobrc.org/BusinessEducation. Click here for the flyer.

This milestone should be celebrated, and we also have a lot of work ahead of us.  We will need to seek resources to fully implement the plan.  Some of the first steps include creating and recruiting the Leadership Committee.  Then we will need to work on marketing, branding and events that will help us reposition the corridor to take advantage of the restriping to be completed next summer.

More details and next steps will be shared as we move forward in this implementation process. Feel free to call our office or read the plan to learn more.

To view the full plan, please go to the city's website.

There is a public hearing on this plan on October 10^th at the City Council meeting at City Hall at 7pm and we need your support.

If you believe Wheat Ridge should be a community that people drive to instead of racing through, you will like the 38^th Avenue Sub Area Plan. Other communities have proven these approaches to be effective and we want to help Wheat Ridge prosper as well.

The plan looks at a few key things:

• Economic Revitalization
• Placemaking
• Safety Improvements
• Road Diet

Economic Revitalization

The plan calls for the creation of a Leadership Committee comprised of 38^th Avenue stakeholders to work together on implementing the plan and moving 38^th Avenue forward.  Immediate work includes marketing and branding for the area and joint efforts amongst area businesses.  We will work with the real estate community to attract businesses and residents and lower vacancies on the street.

Placemaking

We need to make 38^th Avenue more people friendly.  Adding amenities to the street including landscaping and more pedestrian and patio activities can activate a place.  An additional concept in the plan is moving city hall, the police station and other civic uses to 38^th Avenue.  These civic uses will add more people and activity to our main street.

Safety Improvements

Many parts of 38^th Avenue feel unsafe for pedestrians.  With a school on the corridor this must be addressed.  Providing amenities (i.e. landscaping, onstreet parking) can help provide a buffer from traffic and make the street feel more safe.  Importantly, adding a center turn lane throughout the corridor will help make left hand turns much safer and decrease accidents caused by sudden stopping and swerving for turning vehicles in a thru traffic lane.  Emergency vehicles will have use of the dedicated center turn lane down the length of the corridor to continue to move efficiently.

Road Diet

A road diet is the removal of a thru traffic lane.  What is proposed in this plan is the removal of a thru traffic lane on 38^th Avenue in each direction from Teller to Depew. That area would be restriped to have a three-lane section with one lane of traffic in each direction and a continuous turn lane down the center.  The study concluded that this diet is feasible based on the flat traffic counts of the past 30 years.  Even with 15% projected growth in traffic, the street will operate efficiently and have only a small impact on how long it will take to travel the corridor.  This road diet will not only aid the above elements of the plan but catalyze change and help kickoff the new Main Street feel to 38^th Avenue.  It gives us room to add amenities and add vitality to the street.

This is a big plan and there has already been a lot of public input in the process. You can read all about it and see the whole plan and studies at http://www.ci.wheatridge.co.us/index.aspx?nid=981.

We hope that you will join us in supporting a progressive vision for 38^th Avenue.  Most other places that have implemented a road diet and this type of plan had to overcome some initial skepticism.  But the results have been strong.

On Clematis Street in West Palm Beach, Florida, they did a road diet in 1992.  They saw:

• Increase in property values from $40 per square foot to $100 per square foot
• Vacancy reduced from 80% to 20%
• Over $300 million in private investment.

On Fourth Plain Boulevard in Vancouver, Washington, they saw:

• 52% reduction in crashes
• Measurable economic growth
• Street feels safer; increase in pedestrian activity.

For more case studies, check out this information that was shared with City Council.

Even with all this evidence, some people are afraid of change.  They hope that somehow the status quo will improve instead of continuing to decline.  The recent businesses that have come to 38^th Avenue have been attracted to the vision of being a part of revitalization and change.  Let’s continue that momentum and help businesses grow.

Show up and speak in support or wear a sticker showing your support at the Public Hearing on Monday, October 10 at 7pm.

Call your City Councilors and Mayor or write them an email.

To learn more, contact Wheat Ridge 2020 at 720-259-1030 or click on the links in this blog.

Your Mayor, City Council and candidates need to hear from you with your thoughts on the future of Wheat Ridge and 38^th Avenue. Our elected officials should hear from all of us who support a brighter future for Wheat Ridge.

If you can join us on Monday night as a speaker or as a supporter in the crowd, please let us know at bfisher (at) wheatridge2020.org.

City Council District I

William J. (Bud) Starker
Karen Thaler

City Council District II

Kristi Davis
Lily Griego
Zachary David Urban
George Vendegnia

City Council District III

George Pond

City Council District IV

Tracy Langworthy
 

When:  Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 from 6pm-9pm
Where: Clements Community Center 

            1580 Yarrow Street, Lakewood, CO(map)

Wheat Ridge's own Francisco Reina's home was one of the feature homes.  The Reina house is an example of a retrofit affordable to "The other 99% of homeowners," according to Francisco Reina. His creativity and patience informed the style of his retrofits. It's a great example of how one change can follow another to add up to comfort, savings and a much more sustainable home.

Visit the CRES website to learn more.  An interesting blog article can be read here.