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BCC Approves Bike Ride in Deer Creek Canyon
The Board of County Commissioners approved a special event request for the Deer Creek Challenge, a series of three bike rides in one day that is expected to attract as many as 3,000 riders to Deer Creek Canyon.
 The rides will take place from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 29 and will start and end at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. Riders' start times for the 35-mile, 64-mile and 106-mile rides will be staggered to prevent all riders from being in the canyon at the same time. Traffic on Deer Creek Canyon Road will be restricted to riders and residents. The Jeffco Sheriff's Office and Colorado State Patrol will enforce traffic laws for both bikers and motorists. The Downing Group, of Denver, is the event's organizer.
Special events involving or affecting both Deer Creek Canyon Road and Golden Gate Canyon Road must go before the BCC for consideration, according to the County's Zoning Resolution. In 2009, The Downing Group submitted a similar request that the BCC denied because of safety and traffic concerns for motorists and bikers in Deer Creek Canyon. This year, the Board approved the event request with a 2-1 vote. Commissioners Kathy Hartman and Kevin McCasky voted for the special event.
"With 16 law enforcement personnel, 20 (event) staff and possibly 100 volunteers, this would be the best day to live in Deer Creek Canyon because the atmosphere would be one of instruction for cyclists," McCasky said. "We all share our neighborhoods. If you think about it, how many times do we go some place and impose upon another community or another neighborhood? I think there is a level of tolerance that we each need to have for our fellow citizens."
Several citizens, both bicyclists and Deer Creek Canyon residents, voiced their opinions at the hearing. Opponents of the event raised concerns about the safety of motorists sharing the road with thousands of riders that day and the days leading up to the race when riders would be training.
"This is not the type of road you should have 3,000 bikers on," said Deer Creek Canyon resident John Coyner. "It's too windy and too dangerous."
Several supporters of the race said it would be a good opportunity for the community.
"The road is not just for motorists. It's not just for pedestrians. It's not just for cyclists. It's for everybody," said Heather Furger, a member of the Pleasant Park Grange, a neighborhood association in Conifer.
After approving the event, Commissioner McCasky requested that County staff draft a resolution that requires The Downing Group to meet the Jeffco Sheriff's conditions as Lt. Michael Prange laid out in a memo to the Planning & Zoning Division. Those conditions include:
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The use of proper traffic control devices, such as barricades and signs
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A 10-day notification to all residents affected by the event
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Volunteers posted in areas where cyclists may have limited sight or encounter steep roads and heavy pedestrian traffic
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Contracts with all law enforcement agencies for off-duty officers as determined and agreed to by the Sheriff's Office, Colorado State Patrol and The Downing Group
The resolution will go before the Board at a future BCC Hearing. |
County to Pay Xcel $275,000 as Part of Quincy/Kipling Improvement
Commissioners agreed to pay Xcel Energy $275,000 to relocate three electric transmission line poles as part of the County's improvements to West Quincy Avenue and South Kipling Parkway.
 The Transportation & Engineering Division has designed improvements to create four through lanes, new acceleration and deceleration lanes, and left-turn lanes on West Quincy Avenue through the South Kipling Parkway intersection. Drainage improvements and sidewalks are also part of the project. Construction is expected to start next year.
The relocation of the poles is necessary to complete the project. Federal highway funding will reimburse about $137,500. The rest will be paid through the County's Impact Fee Fund.
For more information about the work at West Quincy Avenue and South Kipling Parkway, go to the Transportation & Engineering's Design Projects Web page. | |
Other BCC Actions
Sheriff's Office to Provide Fleet Maintenance to School of Mines PD
 The BCC approved a contract between the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the Colorado School of Mines Police Department to provide fleet maintenance services. Through the contract, the County will perform repairs and maintenance needed on any School of Mines Police Department vehicle for $30 an hour. Parts and fuel will be billed to the school at cost.
BCC Approves Contracts with Qwest for Internet Services
Commissioners approved contracts with Qwest totaling $223,000 for internet bandwidth services. The five-year contract is necessary now as Jeffco's IT Services moves the County's data center from the Admin & Courts Facility to the Laramie Building. The new contract terms decrease the monthly billing charges from the previous contracts by about $109 a month. |
 View BCC Meetings Online! | |
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