The 9th Street Project

Grand Junction City Council and city members have made some great strides for a development plan on 9th Street! Colorado Mesa University has collaborated with the city to incorporate it through campus. There are ideas for cycle tracks and light crossings for path users as well as protected bike lanes. As the project is planned for 2027 and 2028 they are looking for public feedback and support for the plan. This will be covered at the July 15th City Council meeting, making it a great opportunity for public comment for support, thoughts, and concerns. Over the next few months there will be more public meetings about this project as well, so we will keep an eye out!

The main highlights are:

• They're envisioning a 14'-wide path that would be 7 feet for pedestrians and 7 feet for a 2-way cycle track.

• In the 2 segments where it intersects with the roundabout, they will have raised "table tops" (similar to the crest of the hill on 1st Street south of Patterson) so it clearly shows that bikes have priority.

• The current design work only goes north to the large sidewalk on what was previously Elm Street. 

• The current plan is to continue the trail through the middle of the double horseshoe dorm on campus.

• A segment is still in design phase near the track and softball stadiums, which might need to turn east or west before continuing north to Orchard Avenue.

There is a 2023 Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan that is accessible through the city website which is an extensive document covering the finer details and regulations for implementing such infrastructure. 9th St is under the high priority list of routes to address along with 40 some other segments. Since the discontinuation of the 4th/5th St Pilot Project and many of the community members' comments on that, I believe they have sourced 9th St as the next main focus for downtown riders.

We will be keeping up to date on the progress, revisions, as well as any public meetings to help keep everyone informed.

The full document for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan can be found here: https://www.gjcity.org/DocumentCenter/View/8951/2023-Pedestrian--Bicycle-Plan?bidId=

-Olivia Ruiz, June 2026