Downtown Raised Crosswalks - Main Street Phase

Project typeTransportation
Project statusCurrent construction
StartMay 2023
CompletionMid June

Map of Main Street showing location of raised crosswalk

The City of Littleton places a high priority on pedestrian safety and has secured a grant to undertake improvements at three existing, high-use midblock crossing locations on the east side of downtown. The city has contracted with KECI Colorado, Inc., to construct three raised pedestrian crossings at the crossings located on Main Street at the north side of Bega Park, on Alamo Avenue on the south side of Bega Park, and on Prince Street at the Littles Creek Trail crossing adjacent to the RTD Littleton/Downtown Station.

The first phase of the project will be the Main Street crossing, with work anticipated to start the week of May 8, 2023. The Main Street improvements will be performed with a full street closure from Rio Grande Street to Sycamore Street. A full closure of Main Street will allow the phase to be completed more than two times faster than under multiple partial closures. A short vehicular detour route will be provided via Rio Grande Street and Powers Avenue, to the intersection of Main Street and Prince Street. Pedestrian access will remain open in both directions at all times throughout the duration of the phase.

The Alamo Avenue crossing will begin immediately following the Main Street phase. The Prince Street crossing is anticipated to be constructed in September and October, 2023. More details on the specific timelines and impacts will be provided at a later date.

Improvements

Raised Pedestrian Crossings with Flashing Beacons

Main Street north of Bega Park
Alamo Avenue south of Bega Park
Prince Street at Littles Creek Trail adjacent to RTD Littleton/Downtown Station
Main Street vehicular detour route: Rio Grande Street to Prince Street
Main Street pedestrian access will be maintained at all times, in both directions, no pedestrian detour required

Raised Pedestrian Crossings

Raised speed table that spans entire width of roadway
High-visibility markings including paint, signs, and colored concrete
Provides traffic calming
Increases pedestrian visibility in driver’s sight lines
"At-grade" crossing eliminates need for sloped crossing ramps
Existing example: northwest corner of intersection of Federal Boulevard and Bowles Avenue

Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB)

Flashing yellow beacons adjacent to crosswalk
Controlled by push buttons
Increases pedestrian visibility
Existing examples: Littleton Boulevard between downtown and Broadway

Per the Federal Highway Administration, these two improvements together have been shown to decrease pedestrian-related accidents by approximately 45%, and increased motorist yielding rates by up to 98%.