Daring to give a little bit of the streets back to bikes and pedestrians challenges the status quo.
Change is hard, including here in River City, but it is often welcome and necessary. Let’s talk about the pilot engineering redesign to 4th and 5th Streets in downtown Grand Junction and also the bigger picture.
I know for a fact that at least two years ago, and probably more like three years ago, City officials began openly discussing plans to reconfigure 4th and 5th Streets to make them more welcome to users of all types.
This proposal was also reported on by this newspaper long before August 2024. The City disseminated this information well ahead of time and also provided businesses downtown that might be affected the opportunity to give feedback. That said, one day in August it was time to just do the thing and start construction, and the city started with 4th Street.
The whole thing was rather mundane. But a section of the public began complaining over these changes including charges that cars were forced to slow down or that access to the Post Office was now limited. That’s fine, and pretty much everyone involved with this project knew that there might be some pushback.
I decided to attend the City Council meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 21. What I heard there from non-elected people was interesting, but not always edifying.
The comments from public at the podium went on for over an hour and while there was considerable support voiced for the project, there was also an abundance of opposition. Opposition is one thing, but making up things to support your position is a whole ‘nother thing. I heard people that should know better say that this project came on really fast, implying there wasn’t a transparent public process, and that it also was bad to do because the two streets were paid for with vehicle registration and gas taxes. (So I guess that college students or senior citizens without a car are up the creek?)
Another individual who had been on City Council, served as the mayor, and now owns a downtown business said, “if you restrict traffic flow, you will cripple it [downtown].” Say what? The very reason downtown Grand Junction is beloved by so many is that traffic is restricted and that you actually have to get out of your car and walk to enjoy the milieu.
What’s the big deal anyway? Why is there so much emotion over the fate of two streets of a small city in western Colorado for a total of only about 25 blocks? The issue is that the car, the individual motor vehicle, has been king of the hill, top dog, since probably the 1940s in America and now the city comes along and dares to give a little bit of the streets back to pedestrians or bicyclists.
This is definitely a turf battle and ego war and essentially not so different from any other fundamental civil right people have fought for, such as the right of women to vote or people of color not to have to go to the back of the bus. Right now in Grand Junction, anyone with a large motor vehicle pretty much can do anything they like with it, including screaming at bicyclists to get off the road, pretending they are Tom Cruise in “Jack Reacher,” running stop signs and stoplights, going 75 mph on Patterson Road, and making a lot of noise. Even though most of us who enjoy this luxury are more responsible than this, we often don’t realize just how destructive wanton motor vehicle use can be to the community.
Grand Junction is growing by leaps and bounds, and people and their cars are moving here from all over the country. Despite the increase in traffic, the city realizes that people value things like walkability, a minimum of traffic noise, and safety for all street users. By the way, there’s a reason that it’s illegal in Colorado to black out your front side windows: a pedestrian or child trying to cross the road in front of your SUV/pickup/assault vehicle can’t tell if you see them in the crosswalk trying to sneak past your four-foot-high hood, but this is a matter for a different column.
Kudos to the City of Grand Junction for recognizing the importance of livability downtown and for prioritizing the safety of all travel forms. Many of us appreciate your transparent planning on this issue, including that from City engineering staff and elected officials, such as Councilman Abe Herman. The fact that you listened to constructive feedback and already have made substantial adjustments to the project demonstrates that you’ve been responsive to the community from the beginning.
Jack Byrom has been enjoying Mesa County’s open spaces since 1975.
