Agenda Date: 08/12/2025
Subject:
Title
Safer Streets Littleton Update
Body
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From: |
James L. Becklenberg, City Manager |
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Prepared by: |
Kenna Davis, Senior Transportation Planner |
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Presentations: |
Brent Soderlin, Director of Public Works & Utilities |
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Doug Stephens, Chief of Police |
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David Gilbert, Senior Media Strategist Public Works Transportation Group |
PURPOSE:
This presentation will provide an update of the Safer Streets Littleton program and discuss the progress of 2025 actions.
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
Safe Community
DISCUSSION:
Safer Streets Littleton is an initiative by which the City of Littleton is improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety through testing and implementing people-first street infrastructure, changing the culture of the community surrounding safety, making data-driven decisions, and collaborating with partners agencies. The purpose of this agenda item is to provide an update on the 2025 program work tasks.
BACKGROUND:
In November 2023, City Council articulated a new and bold vision for a higher standard of bicycle and pedestrian safety on Littleton's streets. Council reaffirmed this commitment in February 2024, giving approval to a plan by Littleton's traffic and safety engineers to accelerate implementation of numerous safety measures and traffic calming methods. After presenting the 2025 workplan to City Council in February 2025, now city staff is providing an update on this workplan, including what has already been accomplished this year and what is still to come.
The city has a strong tradition of bicycle and pedestrian safety infrastructure projects, as represented by the numerous ongoing planning, design, and construction projects dedicated to improving multimodal facilities throughout the community. More than 20 grants have been secured in support of and to leverage city funds into completing the $65M worth of projects programmed in 2025. These projects will include a variety of new and improved infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians, with new and innovative concepts such as cycle tracks and protected intersections. In addition to this ongoing project work, $1M in dedicated funding was allocated for the Safer Streets Littleton program in 2025, combined with $867,000 in funds carried over from 2024. Staff has planned more than 10 events focused on continuing the education of the public on Littleton’s vision of a culture of safety, developed a robust data collection plan, and designed 20 pilot and quick-build projects (including revisions to previous pilot projects), along with implementing other major infrastructure and planning projects.
City staff is developing a strategic plan for promoting and advancing Safer Streets Littleton as a sustainable program. The strategic plan is being developed to build upon the base program established in 2024, including direction from City Council and stakeholder input and feedback provided by key stakeholders. As a result, a vision, mission, and goals have been developed based on key philosophies:
• Strategic Plan Philosophy: a change in safety begins with the city establishing a sustainable program; public engagement and education is critical to the program messaging; and future changes must put safety first.
• Vision: Reimagining Littleton’s streets as safe, connected, people-first places.
• Mission: The City of Littleton is dedicated to fostering a culture of safety through community-wide education, collaboration, and forward-thinking transportation solutions that continuously prioritize our commitment to the community’s safety.
• Goals: Four goals will guide future program efforts:
1. Collaboration and Resources: focused efforts working with internal and external partnerships, as well as creating a sustainable program.
2. Culture Change: utilizing education, programming, and events to achieve community support of a culture of safety.
3. Data-driven Decision Making: guidance of the program should be based on data and public input.
4. People-first Streets Infrastructure: testing, adapting, and building out projects that are focused on all users.
• Actions: The Strategic Plan has identified over 90 actions to be implemented over the next 5 years; each action has an identified lead, supporting personnel and partners, high-level schedule over the next five years, and detailed week-by-week schedule for 2025. Staffing availability has been included in this strategic plan to ensure the goals and actions are accomplishable
Led by Public Works Transportation Group, Safer Streets Littleton continues to be a program dependent on cooperative efforts with the City Manager’s Office, the Littleton Police Department, the Communications Department, and valued partners, such as Littleton Public Schools and South Suburban Parks & Recreation District. The success of this program moving forward will require continued community investment in the planning, educating, and implementation of safety measures, as well as supporting the necessary resources and maintenance of pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
Prior Actions or Discussions
Council adopted the Transportation Master Plan in 2019, and Public Works updated Council on Pedestrian and Bicycle plans November 28, 2023.
• Staff provided a presentation regarding Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning Update and Timeline Alternative Considerations on February 6, 2024.
• As a result of the February 6, 2024, study session, staff was directed to move forward with the recommended accelerated alternatives to include several bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements.
• Ordinance 05-2024 was approved on March 19, 2024, amending the 2024 Annual Budget to appropriate $2,300,000 from the 3A Sales Tax Capital Fund to fund the accelerated projects for 2024.
• A joint Council meeting with the Transportation Mobility Board was held on August 13, 2024, focused on vision zero mobility policies.
• On September 17, 2023, staff shared the draft school zone recommendations.
• The Safer Streets team presented an update on the overall progress related to Safer Streets Littleton to City Council on October 15, 2024.
• The Safer Streets team presented an update on the 2025 workplan related to Safer Streets Littleton to City Council on February 25, 2025.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
N/A
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the continuation of the Safer Streets Littleton program that includes the implementation of people-first street infrastructure, efforts to infuse a culture change around safety, continuing to make data-driven decisions, and relying on collaboration with partner agencies and providing the necessary resources for a sustainable program.
ALTERNATIVES:
N/A