CDOT grant will help city reduce Main to two lanes

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Alamosa to reduce Main Street to two lanes to alleviate restaurant and shop congestion parking congestion created by COVID safety precautions.(Courier photo).

ALAMOSA – The City of Alamosa has received a $50,000 grant through the Colorado Department of Transportations (CDOT) “Revitalizing Main Streets” program. According to CDOT, the city will use the funds to reduce its one-way Main Street (U.S. 160) from three lanes to two, repurposing the closed lane for public use including dining and retail activities in downtown.

It will provide permanent space that is more pedestrian friendly and accommodating for COVID-19 mitigation measures. Alamosa was among six communities to receive a CDOT grant ranging between $12,000 and $50,000. The $4.1 million initiative is providing financial assistance to communities seeking to make creative modifications to state roadways or other public spaces as a way of promoting social distancing and economic activity.

At a recent meeting, City Manager Heather Brooks said the city would not be replacing curbs, gutters and sidewalk to make the change as the cost would be prohibitive, rather some type of barricades will be placed to open up space on both sides of Main and parking will remain parallel. Each entity is required to provide an additional 10 percent match to qualify for a grant.

“In the applications received thus far, we have seen creative examples ranging from expanding downtown business capacity to encouraging multi-model access to a park in a small, rural community,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew.

“The program has additional capacity, so we encourage localities to take a look at other cities’ solutions and explore how these funds could benefit their own community.” For awarded projects on the state’s right-ofway, temporary special use permits will be required, including safety plans that address traffic flow for vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, freight/delivery and detour plans.

This initiative is supporting the Can Do Community Challenge, as part of the Can Do Colorado campaign. Another CDOT “Can Do” initiative is the Community Telework program, which builds on the existing efforts to offer healthy and safe transportation options for employees who can work from home.


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