Aurora wants to hear from Colorado residents about Transportation Improvement Plan

The City of Aurora is looking at how to better connect residents and visitors to destinations. The resulting plan will propose improvements that offer safer, more sustainable, and more convenient transportation.

Previous transportation plans have focused on specific areas of the city individually. Aurora's first-ever citywide multimodal transportation master plan will examine the city's transportation needs for everyone who walks, rolls, bikes or takes transit.

For wheelchair users like Monet Ridenour, broken pavement makes for a bumpy commute.

"Some of the sidewalks themselves are a little bit narrower, so sometimes I have to go on the road. Sometimes the sidewalks can be cracked and busted," said Ridenour. "Even the accessible ramps are too inclined for a wheelchair like mine. I'll scrape my chair on the bottom."

Ridenour and other commuters who spoke to CBS News Colorado say improvements can be made with better security, especially at light rails.

"The cons are definitely not feeling safe when there's people doing drugs right in front of you," said Koda McGee, who uses public transit. "But it's nice that when you don't have the means to have a car or afford gas, you can get places."

Tom Worker-Braddock, Senior Transportation Planner for the City of Aurora, says they've seen the need for a more articulated vision of ways to improve walking and biking throughout the city, as well as ways to identify where they need new transit services or how to change current services.

"How you feel walking your kids to school up in northwest Aurora may feel differently than driving along Smoky Hill," explained Worker-Braddock. "We want to pay attention to the needs of all those different people as they travel around the city."

Some residents have added a pin to the city's interactive map to highlight issues of concern.

One cyclist writes, "Please change the gravel/dirt portion of the Sand Creek Trail under Peoria Street to concrete."

An RTD rider suggests: "This bus stop and the one around the corner could be spruced up so folks find them a more attractive option, and so folks who have to take it don't feel bad about it."

A commuter on foot adds, "There is no pedestrian sidewalk over the 470 bridge making it difficult and dangerous to walk."

The city says the plan will reflect feedback from diverse communities throughout the city's neighborhoods and business centers, especially those who are underrepresented.

Connecting Aurora is being developed over the next two years and a final draft will be presented at the end of 2025. Add a pin to the map to highlight things you like, issues, or areas of concern. 

The city is hosting in-person community events in April for residents to provide feedback:

Wednesday, April 10, 5 to 7 p.m

Mission Viejo Library, 15324 E. Hampden Circle.

Wednesday, April 17, 5 to 7 p.m.

Martin Luther King Jr. Library, 9898 E. Colfax Ave.

April 23, 5 to 7 p.m

Tallyn's Reach Library, 23911 E. Arapahoe Road.