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LONGMONT, Colo. -- It can sound like a broken record sometimes: More people are moving here. Areas are growing and cities are needing to adjust to keep up. The City of Longmont accepted a long-term plan in October to redevelop their Main Street corridor in an effort to do just that.
“The City of Longmont is seeing the future and what they need to do to adapt to the growth potential,” Longmont Redevelopment and Revitalization Manager Tony Chacon said.
That means a lot of changes are in store to help give more people places to live. The area on the south end of the Main Street corridor will see a facelift.
“Along the St. Vrain Creek area with a much robust opportunity for higher density is higher building profiles and a lot more investment opportunity,” Chacon said.
South of downtown by the river, that's where you're going to see most of the revitalization changes. The biggest changes will be noticed in transportation, over on Coffman Street, one block over from Main.
Officials said they're looking into the, “possible elimination of some of the parking by adding a bus lane that goes in both directions,” Longmont Transportation Planning Manager Phil Greenwald said.
This stretch gets busier by the day, meaning residents and non-residents alike are seeing more congested roads and walkways. So the city’s transportation manager said improvements were needed.
“Well, I would say yesterday was probably when we needed that,” Greenwald said.
So they're hoping bike lanes, more walkable areas and mid-block crosswalks make a difference.
“Would really like to enhance the bicycle section there and the pedestrian elements so there’s a level of safety increasing,” Greenwald said.
Ultimately, the city is trying to get some people off the roads, but also making it safer for the growth. Simply put, in 10 years, this corridor will look a lot different.