The City of Golden transformed 0.8 mile of Washington Avenue between CO 58 and CO 93 into a complete street that provides safe and convenient travel for multiple modes of transportation, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users. Besides implementing a complete street corridor, this project used two innovative design elements that are keys to project success. First, a wide “super gutter” created a concrete bike lane. This treatment enhances delineation between the travel lane and the bike lane and provides a smoother, safer ride for cyclists. Second, in a two-block section of multi-family housing with an unlimited curb cut, residents randomly pulled in and backed out, creating a safety hazard. By reconfiguring this area with back-in diagonal parking, Muller’s design provided a bike lane and a wide 10-foot sidewalk, which reduced conflict points between bicyclists/ pedestrians and car doors and improved line of sight for vehicles pulling into traffic. This approach also drastically reduced the amount of retaining wall required along a steep hillside. This project was funded under the CDOT Local Agency Program.

The required retaining wall along Washington Ave was dressed up by the community with a painted mural that is intended to start a dialogue about mental health. The project costs were covered by a handful of community organizations.