Transportation and parking

Nicole Speer asked about enclosed bike lockers a company could install. Staff said they are watching such options and that new approaches would need new resources. Tina Marquis asked whether emotos can be registered, and police said yes and they would be returned.

Ryan Schuchard asked that secure bike parking be built into future network planning and suggested a possible ordinance on bike registration at sale. Transportation staff said limited resources prevent a standalone parking plan but parking will be considered in projects. Police said some shops register bikes at sale and the city cannot mandate it.

Tara Winer asked why the theft chart covered only January to August and asked for full-year 2024 and 2025 totals. Staff said the window allowed a like-for-like comparison and promised full-year data. She also worried that police understaffing would end the work in 2027, and police said the work will continue.

Staff presented the bike security project. Boulder has 21% of residents commuting by bike, and staff held 15 registration events and visited 16 bike shops. Bike theft is down 14% and recoveries are up 13% year to date, against goals of 10%.

“So far in 2026, we are seeing 14% less bikes stolen year-over-year with the year year-to- date recovery of stolen bicycles at 13%.”

Speakers from the National Federation of the Blind Boulder Valley chapter thanked the city for installing audible pedestrian signals at eight intersections, 64 push buttons. They said much work remains.

Under item 8A, the mayor proposed a position of support for the Front Range Passenger Rail sales tax measure, which would fund train service from Fort Collins through Boulder and Denver to Pueblo. A straw poll was unanimous, 8-0, directing staff to draft a support resolution.

Council Member Adams raised concerns about e-moto and e-bike safety, describing young riders without helmets getting injured. Redford said many of these vehicles are legally unregistered motorcycles that parents mistakenly buy as e-bikes, and police are focusing on education (tagging bikes, working with shops) alongside enforcement and citations for illegal riding.

“we have parents buying what they think is an ebike, but it's actually by law a motorcycle that can't be ridden on the street without plates and a driver's license”

Mayor Pro Tem Winer asked whether the new $36,000 in snow and ice technology funding will help seniors on troublesome streets west of Broadway. Transportation director Ble Bailey said no streets are being added to the program this year, pending more data from a mild prior winter.

Staff proposed a new pedal-cab agency and driver license requiring CBI background checks, liability insurance, and compliance with bicycle traffic law, after an increase in traffic incidents and unlicensed operators at events like CU football games. Council asked about sales tax contribution, minimum wage compliance for four-hour operators, and enforcement on CU's campus before adopting the ordinance 7-0.

Staff proposed a new pedal cab agency and driver licensing ordinance in response to safety and insurance concerns raised by transportation, code compliance, and police after incidents at CU football games and other events. The ordinance requires driver background checks, agency liability insurance, compliance with bicycle traffic rules, and bans on-board food, beverage, and alcohol sales; no additional staff is anticipated, and Denver's ordinance was used as a model.

Staff presented paired requests for eminent domain authority on the North and South 30th Street corridor safety projects, covering bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, and bus upgrades, funded mainly by federal grants. Staff said most acquisitions are small easements settled by negotiation, with eminent domain used only as a backstop to protect grant deadlines.

Intergovernmental affairs officer Heather Staer described state Initiative 175, which would dedicate motor vehicle and fuel tax revenue solely to traditional roads and exclude transit and multimodal projects. She said a related law, House Bill 1430, would offset the new money, so the city likely would see little new road funding while losing flexibility for its transportation master plan and Vision Zero work.

“it would severely limit the uses of that funding”

Staff explained Initiative 175 would dedicate existing motor vehicle and fuel tax revenue only to traditional roads, cutting funding for the city's transportation master plan and Vision Zero work; combined with House Bill 14-30, it would likely produce little net new road money. Council straw-polled opposing it.

Staff proposed cutting one of four road design engineers who deliver projects funded by the transportation sales tax. Levy opposed the cut, saying it would reduce the county's ability to finish safety projects already on the list. Loachamin asked what the cut would mean for commitments the board had already made.

A Community Cycles speaker warned that declining FAA airport funds would push the city to draw first on transportation sales tax dollars, delaying bike lane, sidewalk, and transit work and setting up future fights between paving and bike lanes.