The street network is the primary transportation system and serves a variety of modes and vehicular types, including automobile, truck, transit, and bicycles and pedestrians. Boulder's street system is largely built out and constrained by Boulder being a mature community, so the emphasis in the automobile modal element is to operate the system as safely and efficiently as possible. A significant number of intersection improvements are planned to increase efficiency, remove bottlenecks and reduce congestion. The intersection operational improvements are designed to increase traffic flow and include additional through, left- or right-turn lanes. Traffic flow improvements also consist of both the installation of new signals, and improved signal timing and progression of existing signals. These improvements and anticipated additional traffic signals are shown on the map below.

As the street system is aging, additional emphasis is needed on repair and replacement of street sections that have reached the end of their expected life. Boulder is committed to replacing high volume streets and intersections in concrete which provides a smoother travel surface, greatly extends their expected life and significantly reduces long-term maintenance costs. The recent street reconstruction projects on Table Mesa and Broadway are examples of this emphasis.

The street system is defined by a Street Functional Classification, consisting of a hierarchy of streets from the local streets to collector streets to freeways. These functional classes establish a common understanding of the use of the street and its character, regulate access from adjacent properties and determine how the costs of new street construction are shared between the city and surrounding properties.

Click here to see this map in the interactive Map It! section.

Roadway Policies

• The city will develop and manage its street network in a manner that places reliance on improving the efficiency of the existing system before expanding that system.
  
• The city will pursue development of a highly connected and continuous road system, based on a grid pattern allowing for convenient and efficient travel by all modes.

 Click here for more details on the Automobile Policies & System Plan from the 1996 TMP. (114.97 KB)