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Background
In fall 2024, the City of Golden completed construction of a new sidewalk along Mt. Zion Drive and Pinal Road. This long-planned improvement addresses key gaps in the city’s sidewalk network and supports better accessibility and pedestrian safety—priorities raised by many residents over the years.
Work Completed
To make room for the new sidewalk, a portion of Pinal Road was converted to one-way traffic, and a section of Mt. Zion Drive was slightly narrowed. As part of the project, the City committed to monitoring traffic patterns through the narrowed section to ensure vehicles can continue to pass safely in both directions. Observations so far show that drivers are successfully navigating the area without conflict (see traffic cam images on the right to see interactions between vehicles successfully passing each other through the narrow section).
Additional safety enhancements include new NO PARKING signs and a striped centerline from the Mt. Zion Drive and 19th Street intersection extending approximately 400 feet to the northwest. Ongoing sign and striping maintenance, along with snow removal, have been added to the Streets Department’s regular responsibilities.
Community Feedback
We’d like your input! Please take a moment to share your experience with the new sidewalk and traffic changes below.
Background
In fall 2024, the City of Golden completed construction of a new sidewalk along Mt. Zion Drive and Pinal Road. This long-planned improvement addresses key gaps in the city’s sidewalk network and supports better accessibility and pedestrian safety—priorities raised by many residents over the years.
Work Completed
To make room for the new sidewalk, a portion of Pinal Road was converted to one-way traffic, and a section of Mt. Zion Drive was slightly narrowed. As part of the project, the City committed to monitoring traffic patterns through the narrowed section to ensure vehicles can continue to pass safely in both directions. Observations so far show that drivers are successfully navigating the area without conflict (see traffic cam images on the right to see interactions between vehicles successfully passing each other through the narrow section).
Additional safety enhancements include new NO PARKING signs and a striped centerline from the Mt. Zion Drive and 19th Street intersection extending approximately 400 feet to the northwest. Ongoing sign and striping maintenance, along with snow removal, have been added to the Streets Department’s regular responsibilities.
Community Feedback
We’d like your input! Please take a moment to share your experience with the new sidewalk and traffic changes below.
We'd like to hear about your experience with the new sidewalk and traffic safety improvements.
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The test case of this past winter has worked well. As always, I just go slowly.
I am very concerned if traffic on 19th will experience the congesting “trickle” effect of students crossing. with the big increase of pedestrians from the post grad apartments adjacent to Beverly Heights.
Please help us with this as well as the upcoming opening of the Sophomore dorms.
Thanks!
Ruth
3 days ago
We have been walking to town via Pinal since we moved here. Love the improvements ensuring safety and a walkable route. The Mt Zion stretch appears to be visually narrow, but the 20 mph and the road lines ensure safety. I also appreciate the ability to engage with the city on these improvements pre and post work.
Bartman
5 days ago
Although a sidewalk was needed, the idea that it had to be a full 6-ft wide when no other sidewalks in the neighborhood even come close, was misguided. Technically to be ADA compliant, the minimum is 36". What it has caused is issues when the snow melts and refreezes. It's now so narrow that there is really no "sliding" room in the case of slick roads. It also is on a semi-blind curve and at night when people decide to walk on the east side of the Mt Zion/Pinal entrance, in the dark, and IN dark clothing, it's a little scary when you suddenly come upon someone walking/cycling on that curve. In the instance of ice/slick road, it's downright dangerous to the drivers and the pedestrian. Why wait until someone actually gets hurt before addressing this? That should've been talked through with residents in the whole neighborhood that come and go that way, not just the few people whose properties were actually impacted prior to construction. Also, since there is no one that currently seems to reside in the house on that curve, the tree on that property has not been trimmed up so one can see through to determine if there is a pedestrian or cyclist in the curve that can't quite be seen.
SingingDove
6 days ago
The sidewalk is a huge safety improvement. I have two young children and the old design presented a major risk of being struck by a vehicle. The new design forces drivers to slow down a tad and offers pedestrians a place to walk. Thank you for the improvement!
emacfar
10 days ago
I understand the need for a wider sidewalk. I also understand the constraints. But this is simply not a particularly brilliant solution. "Traffic calming"??? Really? Turning all of Pinal into a pedestrian mall would clearly calm traffic even better. Or how about making Mt Zion one way northbound? That would calm traffic and eliminate those pesky yellow busses all in one swoop. Who cares about the safety and convenience of residents/taxpayers/voters who actually have to drive cars in and out of Beverly Heights several times per day?
No. No. No. Widening sidewalks with utter disregard for the consequences of narrower vehicular traffic lanes is not the right answer. It is only quicker and easier.
BTW, how much calmer will traffic be at Pinal & 19th at 8am weekday mornings when the new dorms fill up? Maybe a one-way Mt Zion and a traffic light where the student crosswalk current resides will be the city's next brilliant move.
Fred
13 days ago
I think that the work was done thoughtfully and safely. Photos from the traffic cam are helpful to understand how school buses and cars fit at the narrow section. One side-effect of a narrower section is traffic calming. Slowing down in cars and on bikes will help us navigate the section safely.
I like the wide sidewalk for walks with my husband, grandkids, and dogs from our home on Mt Zion to our Pinal loop.
Cookie
15 days ago
I feel the blind corner is now too narrow for two cars to safely pass at the same time.
KBorgelt
18 days ago
I have lived on Mt Zion Drive for about 35 years, and this sidewalk provides me with a greater feeling of safety when I use it. There may/will be a problem during our snowy months due to a narrowing of the traveled/road way due to the snow berms created during plowing and possibly total coverage of the sidewalk. This will require additional attention by the snow plow operator. I like this improvement, but there may be future consequences that will have to be addressed.
Mike McGuire
19 days ago
While I like the addition of the new sidewalk the road is too narrow particularly when we have snow plowed making the lane even narrower and then add trash day to this and it is a one lane road. Not well planned in my opinion.
Steve Copeland
20 days ago
Without reservation, I like the improvements. Easier flow of pedestrians and cars. I live on Mt. Zion Drive.
connewr
20 days ago
The improvements are fine, but please ask the USPS to place a mailbox in this area. The previous mailbox on 19th Street was removed a few years ago in connection with that streetscape project, and Beverly Heights/new Mines Park desperately needs a drop box for mail. Thanks
Tcclarj55
20 days ago
Making Pinal one way and the addition of the sidewalk is great. Having a sidewalk on Mt. Zion is good, but the landscaping and yard of homeowner on one side of the street was much more impacted than the other. Also, the sidewalk is so wide on Pinal it makes driving it really awkward. That width may be code but since precisely none of the other sidewalks in the neighborhood are that wide it adds less benefit than it’s worth.
It needs priority when it snows. Traveling south by car on Pinal, I had a couple slides on ice that formed after partial melt/refreeze that would have resulted in fender benders had someone been coming the other way. No snow can be piled on the uphill/west side of Pinal in this narrow area, not only does it block the sidewalk, it hangs around for days and ends up creating a sheet of ice.
mnjpenn
20 days ago
I love the new sidewalk. I feel much safer when walking my dog or taking my toddler to the park. Previously the blind curve made me very uncomfortable with limited room to walk.
The test case of this past winter has worked well. As always, I just go slowly.
I am very concerned if traffic on 19th will experience the congesting “trickle” effect of students crossing.
with the big increase of pedestrians from the post grad apartments adjacent to Beverly Heights.
Please help us with this as well as the upcoming opening of the Sophomore dorms.
Thanks!
We have been walking to town via Pinal since we moved here. Love the improvements ensuring safety and a walkable route. The Mt Zion stretch appears to be visually narrow, but the 20 mph and the road lines ensure safety. I also appreciate the ability to engage with the city on these improvements pre and post work.
Although a sidewalk was needed, the idea that it had to be a full 6-ft wide when no other sidewalks in the neighborhood even come close, was misguided. Technically to be ADA compliant, the minimum is 36". What it has caused is issues when the snow melts and refreezes. It's now so narrow that there is really no "sliding" room in the case of slick roads. It also is on a semi-blind curve and at night when people decide to walk on the east side of the Mt Zion/Pinal entrance, in the dark, and IN dark clothing, it's a little scary when you suddenly come upon someone walking/cycling on that curve. In the instance of ice/slick road, it's downright dangerous to the drivers and the pedestrian. Why wait until someone actually gets hurt before addressing this? That should've been talked through with residents in the whole neighborhood that come and go that way, not just the few people whose properties were actually impacted prior to construction. Also, since there is no one that currently seems to reside in the house on that curve, the tree on that property has not been trimmed up so one can see through to determine if there is a pedestrian or cyclist in the curve that can't quite be seen.
The sidewalk is a huge safety improvement. I have two young children and the old design presented a major risk of being struck by a vehicle. The new design forces drivers to slow down a tad and offers pedestrians a place to walk. Thank you for the improvement!
I understand the need for a wider sidewalk. I also understand the constraints. But this is simply not a particularly brilliant solution. "Traffic calming"??? Really? Turning all of Pinal into a pedestrian mall would clearly calm traffic even better. Or how about making Mt Zion one way northbound? That would calm traffic and eliminate those pesky yellow busses all in one swoop. Who cares about the safety and convenience of residents/taxpayers/voters who actually have to drive cars in and out of Beverly Heights several times per day?
No. No. No. Widening sidewalks with utter disregard for the consequences of narrower vehicular traffic lanes is not the right answer. It is only quicker and easier.
BTW, how much calmer will traffic be at Pinal & 19th at 8am weekday mornings when the new dorms fill up? Maybe a one-way Mt Zion and a traffic light where the student crosswalk current resides will be the city's next brilliant move.
I think that the work was done thoughtfully and safely. Photos from the traffic cam are helpful to understand how school buses and cars fit at the narrow section. One side-effect of a narrower section is traffic calming. Slowing down in cars and on bikes will help us navigate the section safely.
I like the wide sidewalk for walks with my husband, grandkids, and dogs from our home on Mt Zion to our Pinal loop.
I feel the blind corner is now too narrow for two cars to safely pass at the same time.
I have lived on Mt Zion Drive for about 35 years, and this sidewalk provides me with a greater feeling of safety when I use it. There may/will be a problem during our snowy months due to a narrowing of the traveled/road way due to the snow berms created during plowing and possibly total coverage of the sidewalk. This will require additional attention by the snow plow operator. I like this improvement, but there may be future consequences that will have to be addressed.
While I like the addition of the new sidewalk the road is too narrow particularly when we have snow plowed making the lane even narrower and then add trash day to this and it is a one lane road. Not well planned in my opinion.
Without reservation, I like the improvements. Easier flow of pedestrians and cars. I live on Mt. Zion Drive.
The improvements are fine, but please ask the USPS to place a mailbox in this area. The previous mailbox on 19th Street was removed a few years ago in connection with that streetscape project, and Beverly Heights/new Mines Park desperately needs a drop box for mail. Thanks
Making Pinal one way and the addition of the sidewalk is great. Having a sidewalk on Mt. Zion is good, but the landscaping and yard of homeowner on one side of the street was much more impacted than the other. Also, the sidewalk is so wide on Pinal it makes driving it really awkward. That width may be code but since precisely none of the other sidewalks in the neighborhood are that wide it adds less benefit than it’s worth.
It needs priority when it snows. Traveling south by car on Pinal, I had a couple slides on ice that formed after partial melt/refreeze that would have resulted in fender benders had someone been coming the other way. No snow can be piled on the uphill/west side of Pinal in this narrow area, not only does it block the sidewalk, it hangs around for days and ends up creating a sheet of ice.
I love the new sidewalk. I feel much safer when walking my dog or taking my toddler to the park. Previously the blind curve made me very uncomfortable with limited room to walk.