Overview
The City of Arvada is working in collaboration with Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) on a project to build the only trailhead serving the Rocky Mountain Greenway (RMG) within the City of Arvada on JCPL property. The trailhead will provide universal access from Standley Lake Library, existing parking area, and Kipling Street to a central public trailhead. From this hub, multiple new ADA-accessible routes will lead to the RMG.
Trail Users and Community Benefits
A recent study identified trail-user groups as pedestrians (including walking, running, wheelchair), recreational bicyclists, and school, work, or other utilitarian-purposed bicyclists, ranging in age from youth to seniors in Arvada and Westminster. The trailhead will serve the general community, library patrons, and more than 3,500 youth enrolled in six schools within a 1.5-mile radius.
General Project Timeline
Project timeline is approximate and subject to change.
- Trail design options available: July 8
- Online community survey/input through Speak Up Arvada: July 8 through Aug. 1
- Final Design Refinement: Fall 2022
- Purchasing/Contracts: Winter 2022/Spring 2023
- Construction: Spring/Summer 2023
Trailhead Design Elements
- Multiple 8-foot wide paved accessible trail routes from the library parking lot west edge to a central trailhead and the existing RMG. The accessible route will tie into an existing accessible route from the trailhead to the library’s front entrance. An accessible route from Kipling Street paved in 6 - 8’ wide concrete will also tie into the trailhead and the RMG.
- A central trailhead gathering area to serve multiple uses, consisting of an iconic shade shelter, paved plaza, seating, bicycle racks and bicycle repair station, drinking fountain / water bottle fill station, wayfinding signage, information for active lifestyles along with educational interpretive signage.
- Xeric plantings and retrofit of the existing automatic underground irrigation system needed to sustain the new landscape and restored areas.
- Parking for the trailhead will be accommodated using the existing library parking lot; future parking lot expansion may be proposed.
Click thumbnail to view larger image: Concept Design Options 1 (Canal System Theme) and 2 (Eagle's Nest theme). Both designs feature ADA accessible trails, sustainable landscape features and educational-opportunity/gathering areas.
About Rocky Mountain Greenway
Announced in 2011, the Rocky Mountain Greenway (RMG) vision is a system of uninterrupted trails linking the three Metro area National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs): Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, Two Ponds NWR, and Rocky Flats NWR. Beyond the Metro area, the broader vision is to extend this Greenway Trail to Rocky Mountain National Park. When complete, the Greenway Trail will link thousands of acres of public lands together.
Contact
Darin Delay, Parks and Urban Design Manager City of Arvada, ddelay@arvada.org