Recently, I took a bike ride down the new-ish South Monaco Parkway bike lane that begins at roughly Magnolia and Monaco near the Southmoor light rail station to the north and ends at Belleview and Ulster in the Denver Tech Center to the south. Given that Southeast Denver where I live has never been the most bike-friendly of places, I was really excited to try this lane out. Here is what I experienced.
Quick note about the pictures: I took a majority of them on my second ride two days after the first. During the first ride, I was focused mainly on getting a “feel” for the lane itself, while my second ride was for getting visual documentation of the lane.
Getting There and Initial Impressions
I started at about 9:15 AM on Sunday morning, December 2, arriving at the corner of Magnolia and Monaco at about 9:12 AM before putting Strava on. Because I live to the northwest of the bike lane itself (near Evans and Interstate 25), I took the High Line Canal path there.
When I arrived, the only vehicle that I saw there was an RTD bus (the 105) and a sporadic car or two going into the neighborhood. The bike lane begins near the Southmoor light rail station and a King Soopers, so it feels fairly central, if not slightly south, to the neighborhood.
Images below: 1.) The full ride logged on Strava; 2.) Entrance to the South Monaco Parkways bike lane at South Monaco and Magnolia.
Southbound
The first part of the lane is a slight uphill climb for about a mile or so until Eastmoor Park. After Eastmoor, there is a downhill segment that parallels the car lane on Quebec Street and passes under Interstate 225. There is a 4.2 percent grade climb that begins to level off around Ulster and Technology Way that is the most difficult part of the southbound component. The gradual climb continues until about Ulster and Tufts, where it completely levels off and then goes downhill until the Ulster and Belleview turnaround.
Images below: 1.) Intersection near Eastmoor Park; 2.) “Share the Road” marker on the street just north of Ulster and Technology Way; 3.) The end of the bike lane at Ulster and Belleview facing away from the intersection toward South Promenade.
Turning Around
The most confusing component of the lane itself is the southern turnaround. Without warning, the lane ends shortly after Belleview and lets riders off near a shopping center. The northern trek home begins similar to the southern trek: a slight uphill climb, followed by a cresting off and downhill component. There are slightly more unprotected sections of the northbound lane, and a brief section of no bike lane with a green “share the road” pavement marker on the way back. But once the rider gets past the Interstate 225 underpass, the northbound bike lane infrastructure parallels the southbound infrastructure.
Images below: 1.) Northbound lane entrance; 2.) Brief part of the northbound bike lane that is unprotected; 3.) Northernmost part of the South Monaco Parkway bike lane across from the Southmoor light rail station.
Concluding Thoughts
One of the things that I noticed in regards to the bike lane was that it seemed to ease traffic. Drivers didn’t seem to be making the same mistakes that news outlets such as CBS Denver reported when the lane debuted in September. I felt safe about 85 to 90 percent of the time along the route, even in sections along Ulster where car traffic was heavier and the lane was fragmented. From a “difficulty” perspective, the inclines, including the ones leading up to Eastmoor Park and the climb into/out of the DTC, make it a little tough. Additional signage near the southern end of the lane would be a vast improvement as well, along with general maintenance all along.
The most substantive criticism I have is not of the lane itself, but lack of ridership. I used the lane twice this week, once on Sunday morning to get a feel and another Tuesday afternoon, and I saw no other bikes near or on it. Even though it was in the 30s both days and during slightly off hours, having a whole bike lane to myself doesn’t happen often. If Southmoor residents want a convenient and fairly straightforward alternative way of getting to work in the DTC, running small errands, or exercising, look no further than the South Monaco Parkway bike lane.
Images below: 1.) Huzzah! I made it through the loop of the South Monaco Parkway bike lane… twice! 2.) A (qualified) thumbs up—use the lane but also advocate for a better lane when you can!
Sharrows are not bike infrastructure. Can you tell why they were used in that section? In the picture the street looks plenty wide to accommodate a lane.
John, it’s a major bus stop in the Tech Center. Loren: now go repeat the ride from north to south, but take Oneida north as you approach the park on the return. That will allow you to get across Hampden, but you will have to get a little creative to get back to Evans.
Thanks for the tip Bruce. Getting back to Evans has always been a headache since I moved here. I feel like, unless I am using the arterial neighborhoods, I have to say a Hail Mary before I even attempt it.
I ride this lane home from work every day. I’m not a fan of the steep climb up from the underpass, but it’s still much better than some of the alternative northbound routes from the DTC (the underpass has no cross-street or driveway traffic).
My biggest complaints after about three months are mostly about pavement quality and lane maintenance. Snow removal needs to be a priority for the underpass: not only does it collect all the slush from the other lanes, it catches snow from the overpass far above, and the overpass blocks any sun that would melt it. Combine with the inadequate street light coverage in the underpass and the fact that it’s easy for even a slow rider to hit 30MPH by the bottom, and injuries are likely. Aside from the snow and other debris, there are plenty of potholes and cracks in spots where they could hurt someone.
Sharrows are definitely not bike infrastructure, though the one depicted’s in sort of a loading zone driveway for the office building plus southbound bus stop at the Ulster-Tufts transfer point plus signalized pedestrian crossing plus slip lane from eastbound Tufts. (What’s the NACTO guideline for this situation? Probably “Stop and reconsider your life choices.”) Drivers usually aren’t going super-fast through that stretch and at least it’s flat with good visibility. The parts of this route with no lane markings that really worry me are the ones near curves and through real intersections, and there are several of those.
And then there’s the parking lane that was kept through Southmoor, without any pavement markings to let drivers know it’s the same parking lane it’s always been, not a second bike lane or something. There are a lot of people out there who seem to think this was a three-lane-to-one conversion for the car traffic. There won’t be enough cars parked there for them to get the correct idea until summer weekends. I’m not looking forward to passing all those parked cars when the time comes.
Anyway, it’s a definite improvement.for me, if not the fully-protected lane that would make it feel safe for eight-year-olds and their grandparents. I’d love for the lanes to be extended up Monaco all the way to Cook Park, allowing for easy and direct access to the Florida Ave bike lanes and Cherry Creek trail.
Hey Elizabeth,
I absolutely agree in regards to lane maintenance. The underpass was scary to go under both times, and I approached it with severe caution. It also is, as I mentioned, a “fairly bike-able lane” not a perfect lane. The sharrows in the DTC area frustrate me as well.
Comings from my work in the advocacy sphere, my two biggest suggestions are the following:
1) Pressure our councilwoman
Kendra Black has advocated heavily for this bike lane. Bring up the snow removal aspect to her if you haven’t already. I rode the lane around 9:15 AM on a day where some of the snow was beginning to burn off pretty rapidly given it is early in the winter season, but later it could get treacherous. Next time there is a meeting, if you can attend it, try and make it out.
2) Pressure Denver Public Works
With the recent passage of the 2019 budget, there are a lot more earmarks for special projects related to bike lane maintenance than the 2018 budget. While I am going to talk about them in more detail down the road, presumably maintenance and building out of the lane are part of that budget. If your work schedule permits you (DPW has inconvenient meeting schedules from my experience) try and make it out.
Cheers.
Good suggestions! You should see the email I sent to DPW about the lane a couple months ago–photos and everything. No direct response, but the lane did get a good sweeping within a couple of days (I think someone had dropped a flowerpot off the overpass?)
I attend an awful lot of Kendra Black’s meetings. She has extremely good newsletter game.
I did a bike>>light rail>>bike commute for probably 80% of my work days this summer/fall to a twelve-story building in this area. It was a rare occasion when another bike was utilizing the covered rack when I arrived, and I totally understand. There may be no neighborhood in Colorado with more contempt for cyclists and pedestrians than DTC. The entire concept of this suburban hellhole needs to be shot into the sun.