Laporte improvements from Wood Street to Fishback Avenue#
Project complete
The City of Fort Collins restriped Laporte Ave. from Wood St. to Fishback Ave. with buffered bike lanes in summer 2024. Filling the gap in the bicycle network on this section of Laporte Ave. was a high priority recommendation in the City's Active Modes Plan.
Laporte improvements from Fishback Avenue to Sunset Street#
Now under construction
Construction on this portion of the project began in November 2024. Estimated completion: Spring 2025.
Project summary#
This set of projects will improve vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian safety along the Laporte Avenue corridor by addressing deficient sidewalks, adding bicycle lanes and adding a center reversible turn lane, upgrading the roadway with curb and gutter, and other traffic improvements.
Background#
Click the map to download a high-resolution PDF version.
Prior to the start of this project the Laporte Avenue corridor between Fishback Avenue and Sunset Street had several gaps in bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Many locations lacked sidewalk and curbs, and the bike lanes are often narrowed and weren't well defined. The corridor provides access to Poudre High School and has significant bicycle and pedestrian activity with the proximity of the school and residential neighborhoods. There have been several near misses and at least one serious accident involving bicyclists and pedestrians in recent years. There were also two deficient bridges on Laporte Avenue over the New Mercer Canal, just north of Grandview Cemetery.
The project corridor is part of the City’s Low Stress Bicycle Network and is recognized by the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO) as a high priority for bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
City Staff gathered feedback from stakeholders, including Poudre School District, nearby residents and property/business owners. The City also held an open house in October 2019. There was widespread support for the proposed improvements.
Firecracker 5k
Asphalt and temporary striping over bridges
Bridge Rocks
Bridge Footers
Setting Precast Bridge Structure
Project timeline#
- Procure Design Consultant
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The City accepted proposals from several design consultants and selected one in November 2022.
- Stakeholder Engagement
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The City and its Design Consultant conducted outreach to stakeholders along Laporte to make sure all concerns are considered during the design phase.
- Design Phase
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The City developed the design for the Corridor Project with input from stakeholders.
- Contractor Procurement
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The City completed the competitive bid selection process for a qualified CM/GC contractor responsible for building the improvements along Laporte.
- East Segment Construction
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Construction was completed with as little impact to the traveling public or adjacent property owners as possible.
- West Segment Construction
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Construction is now underway along the Laporte Corridor west of Taft Hill Road; this work is adding the safe pedestrian and bicycle facilities, as well as curb, gutter, and drainage improvements. The goal of this phase of the project is to deliver the end product with as little impact to the traveling public or adjacent property owners as possible. We don't anticipate the need for extended full roadway closures during this phase.
Other Resources#
The Laporte Bridges Project#
The two bridges on Laporte over the New Mercer ditch just north of Grandview Cemetery are past their design lifespan and are not wide enough to accommodate additional modes of travel. The replacement of these bridges needs to happen when the irrigation canal is not running, so the City decided to make their replacement a separate project, the Laporte Bridges Project. This project will replace and widen the two bridges, and add large, separated bike and pedestrian pathways on either side of Laporte from the 7-Eleven to Stodgy Brewery.
October 2019 Laporte Avenue Open House Materials#
On October 9, 2019, the City hosted a community open house to seek preliminary feedback about the Laporte Avenue redesign. Materials presented at the open house are below.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Options
Contact#
Gunnar Hale | Project Manager | (970) 817-0456 | ghale@fcgov.com