[BikeLongmont] meeting tomorrow

[Richard Masoner]

Hi Terri,

My son is now nine but he's ridden with me several times from my work off of 
south Sunset to home in east Longmont over the past three years in all 
conditions (rain, sunshine, dark, etc). My daughter (now five) has been 
pulled on a trailer on each of these trips. I've used the following routes 
with my children without difficulty during commute hours, with heavy traffic 
in some of these areas. I have my son ride in front of me so I can see what 
he's doing and he can hear my directions.

There's no avoiding the steep hill between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Of these 
routes, I think the hill on Gay Street isn't quite as steep as the one on 
Coffman. There's no crime in walking up the hill if necessary.

Routes

* From Sunset, take the sidepath on the south side of Ken Pratt to the 
railroad tracks (where Nelson Rd runs into Ken Pratt). There's a crosswalk 
here to get across to Nelson Road at the light. Cross Nelson on the 
crosswalk (going contra-flow -- watch for all the right turning traffic from 
west-bound Ken Pratt onto Nelson) and then turn north onto Price Road which 
is parallel to the train tracks. Cross the pedestrian bridge over the St. 
Vrain River and continue north on Price. After you pass Boston Avenue, veer 
left onto Gay Street. Take Gay to 4th and continue to the library.

* From Prospect neighborhood, use the Lefthand Creek underpass to get north 
of Pike.From Missouri Avenue, turn north onto Bowen. Take Bowen north and 
cross Ken Pratt at the light. Traffic is busy alongside Safeway here but the 
street is wide. Follow Bowen around as it curves into Colorado Blvd. Turn 
left at the light onto Pratt Parkway -- the road narrows at the bridge so be 
careful. Immediately after crossing Boston Ave I generally get onto the 
sidewalk in front of Budget Home Center if my children are with me. I also 
usually cut across Budget's parking lot to get onto 1st Ave. Turn North onto 
Coffman. Wait forever at 2nd Ave (there's no light) to continue north on 
Coffman. East on 4th to the Library.

* I've taken Pratt Parkway from Southmoore a couple of times with my 
children, but I avoid it because of all the cross-traffic.

Len lives in Southmoore and bike commutes to the Civic Center so he may be 
able to offer additional suggestions.

Richard Masoner

P.S. to Nenad -- Sorry about whipping by you on Ken Pratt this evening; I 
was running late! Hope you all had a great meeting.
--

On 6/14/05, Terri Musser <terri at musser.org> wrote:
> 
> 
> I just checked the bikeways map on-line and cannot tell if there's now a
> good link or not (thinking of the trail bridge over by Boston maybe?). I'm
> trying to find a route easy enough for my 7-year old to get from Prospect
> (Pike Rd) up to the library.
> 
>
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