Littleton council approves $748,750 study of Bowles Avenue
The agreement funds a multimodal review of congestion, sidewalk and transit-access gaps, crossings and visibility problems along Bowles Avenue from Santa Fe Drive to Sheridan Boulevard.
Littleton City Council approved a $748,750 agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation for a multimodal study of Bowles Avenue between Santa Fe Drive and Sheridan Boulevard. City staff describes the corridor as congested and difficult to navigate without a car.
The council approved the agreement through its consent agenda Sept. 15, with seven votes in favor, the meeting transcript shows. The agreement includes $599,000 from a Denver Regional Council of Governments Transportation Improvement Program grant and a $149,750 city match.
The nearly two-mile corridor carries about 26,500 vehicles per day. Littleton staff’s report says it has more than five hours of average daily congestion, six designated crossings and 16 bus stops. Eight stops do not meet Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards, and six of those also lack a sidewalk connection.
The report also describes sidewalks typically less than 5 feet wide along Bowles’ south side, gaps and likely accessibility deficiencies on the north side, no bicycle facilities and crossings without refuge areas or current accessibility features. Fences, landscaping and roadway geometry limit visibility in some places. Staff identified Platte Canyon Road, Federal Boulevard and Santa Fe Drive as congestion bottlenecks and cited visibility concerns near the Platte Canyon Road approaches, the Echostar intersection and some side-street and driveway access points.
The study will examine transit access, pedestrian and bicycle connections, intersection operations, congestion, visibility, access management, right-of-way constraints and roadway geometry. It is expected to include community engagement and recommendations for preferred alternatives.
The agreement requires Littleton to select a consultant and hold a project kickoff by Sept. 30, 2027. Grant funding is expected in federal fiscal years 2027-28. The council action and agreement do not set a completion date.
The study could recommend early-action safety work such as restriping, signage, signal-timing changes, fencing modifications or bicycle and pedestrian improvements. Those would be potential recommendations, not approved construction projects. The agreement is separate from the city’s Lee Gulch drainage-planning agreement considered at the same meeting.