Traffic on 16th Street is flowing again, following the completion on Thursday of underground utility work that required more than three months of road closures for eastbound traffic from 11th Avenue to 8th Avenue.
As the city prepares for the next phase of the 16th Street Enhancement project — which is expected to begin in the summer and take another five to eight months — some nearby businesses worry about the project’s impacts after months of lower foot traffic.
“If you want my true opinion, it’s useless and unnecessary,” said Ayn Blanton, a barista at John Galt Coffee. “It makes no sense to me why you would use taxpayer money to shut down very integral paths of movement during the school year. None of it makes sense to me.”
The enhancement project was first approved in 2023 under the promise of improving the corridor of 16th Street between 7th and 11th avenues after receiving more than 100 responses from Greeley residents on how to improve the area. The project aims to improve pedestrian conditions by constructing additional sidewalks and widening existing ones, in addition to adding bike lanes for bicyclists.
The city also plans to improve traffic safety through the area by constructing roundabouts at the intersections of 9th and 10th avenues. Roundabouts can reduce fatal traffic collisions by 90% and collisions that result in injury by 75%, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
Aesthetic improvements are also driving the project, according to the project webpage on the city’s engagement website, Speak Up Greeley. The city hopes the improved corridor, which sits at the north end of the University of Northern Colorado campus and at the south end of downtown, will create a better connection between the two.
The city hopes this improved connection will entice prospective college students to attend the university and consequently choose to make Greeley their long-term home. This is in response to a 2019 report from McKinsey & Company that stated that college towns could see employment growth of 11% by 2029, and the city is looking to take advantage of that.
UNC Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management Pete Lien is among those who are looking forward to the project’s expected benefits.
Businesses such as Margie’s Java Joint have been frustrated with the parking situation during construction along 16th Street in Greeley. City officials are hopeful the 16th Street Enhancement project will address parking issues and more. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)“UNC is such a huge part of Greeley, and Greeley is a big part of UNC,” Lien said. “So when we make enhancements to campus — you look at the School of Medicine (at 20th Street and 11th Avenue) … just having that building (Bishop-Lehr) be taken down from a community perspective is amazing, right? I mean, it’s just a huge change. It just looks better.
“So then 16th Street, I think, provides greater access to downtown, which absolutely benefits our students.”
Though the project isn’t likely to directly tie to enrollment growth at the university, Lien expects the enhancement will be a real factor in driving up enrollment.
“It’s a combination of things. Those partnerships and the work that we do together, both the university and the city, absolutely enhance the overall experience for our students and and betters our opportunities to communicate the value of not just UNC, but the value of UNC within the Greeley community.”
The first phase of the enhancement project began on Nov. 18, 2024, when the Felsberg Holt & Ullevig Engineering Firm worked to make improvements to the utilities along 16th Street. Construction crews have been out there for the past three months, and recently finished construction of water mains on 9th and 10th avenues, sewer along 9th Avenue and a gas and electrical line for the 11th Avenue signal, which cost the city $5.5 million to complete after reimbursement from a Colorado Department of Transportation grant.
With the first phase complete after weather delays, the city will focus on the above-ground changes it wishes to implement across the corridor. These changes include the previously mentioned roundabouts and sidewalks as well as some stormwater grates so that water will be immediately drained off the road.
After a contractor is selected in late spring, the next phase of construction is anticipated to take place in early summer.
Businesses along 16th Street are doing what they can to prepare for further disruptions and headaches caused by the construction.
“I will say it’s definitely disruptive,” Margie’s Java Joint manager Michele Clemente said. “It’s in the middle of everything, and parking has been kind of a nightmare for a lot of people.”
The parking along 16th Street is one of the issues that the enhancement project will be looking to address. However, the recent construction meant it was an even bigger issue than before, taking out on-street parking on the south side of 16th Street, across from the businesses.
“We have traffic backed up, and that makes it very hard for customers to navigate the streets in front of the shop,” Blanton said. “It makes the already chaotic intersection of 16th (Street) and 7th Avenue even more chaotic.”
The traffic from the construction was affecting business, Clemente said, though it wasn’t affecting Margie’s as severely as some of the other businesses farther down the corridor
“I think that when people don’t come here, it’s because parking is such a nightmare, and they couldn’t find a spot,” Clemente said. “It’s a deterrent for our customers.”
On Feb. 18, the city hosted a virtual community meeting regarding the completion of the project’s first phase and what residents and business owners could expect in the coming months. During this meeting, Michelle Stevens of Felsberg Holt & Ullevig, a consulting firm specializing in transportation planning and traffic engineering, revealed new plans that included accommodations for businesses impacted by the construction, such as protected zones for delivery drivers and the city taking responsibility for snow removal.
“We just want to make sure businesses are aware that that is something the city is committed to providing,” Stevens said.
Greeley Communications Specialist Becca Vaclavik also noted during the community meeting that the Downtown Development Authority awarded 12 businesses construction impact support grants totaling $36,000 over the past three months to help them offset the project’s negative impacts.
Vaclavik was unsure at the time whether there would be a second round of grants. The city plans to host more public meetings regarding the project around late spring where the public can provide input.
Despite the frustration expressed by some businesses along 16th Street, the city maintains that feedback from area businesses and stakeholders has been largely understanding or appreciative.
“Construction projects, especially along well-traveled corridors like 16th Street, can understandably cause disruption,” Greenlee said. “While construction can be frustrating, the long-term benefits will include improved safety, accessibility, additional parking, enhanced landscaping, and upgraded lighting.”
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