The city of Boulder, Colorado, is a compact college town with approximately 100,000 residents and a long history of innovative transportation improvements that focus on pedestrian and bicycle connections and safety. The developing area around the city's historic railroad, formerly known as Transit Village, became a model of the city's innovative approach to transportation projects when in 2007, the city adopted an implementation plan that would turn the light industrial area into a livable, walkable neighborhood with a mix of uses. StudioTerra, having held a long history with the area, was the landscape architect for the project, providing conceptual, landscape and hardscape design through construction documentation and administration. The goal of the plan was to create a well-used and well-loved pedestrian oriented place, provide convenient and safe pedestrian and bicycle connections and create a variety of community gathering spaces. The project consisted of two main components which focused on multimodal connections in an environment where people are the priority.

Pearl Parkway Multi-Use Boulevard
Pearl Parkway, a high capacity arterial that carried traffic coming into Boulder from the east, underwent zoning changes that allowed for multi-family housing on the street, something that had never been done before in that area. Through this project, the arterial was re-envisioned as a tree-lined, multi-use boulevard, creating a high capacity thoroughfare in the center with slow, local pedestrian and bicycle focused spaces on either side. These spaces serve the newly developed residential projects on either side of the boulevard. On-street parking was desired for the units and wide paths made the street more friendly for pedestrians and residents while allowing for more bicycle traffic resulting in a key, multi-use path.

 
The objections of the multi-way boulevard were to accommodate all modes of travel, minimize stormwater runoff by maximizing permeable surfaces, create an environment for street trees to thrive through the provision of high volumes of soil for each tree and create a pedestrian friendly area with specific designs to ensure slow speeds for cars and bikes.

"Through traffic could remain through and not be impeded while a much quieter situation could occur on the side that would be conducive to mixed use development, shopping, housing and also accommodate all the pedestrians and bikes."
- Carol Adams, ASLA, PLA - Principal, StudioTerra

Much of the pedestrian and bike area uses a variety of bricks including heavy duty for vehicular areas, permeable wherever possible and standard where permeable are not appropriate. To create a cohesive and unified look, the same material was pulled into the area from Boulder's downtown, pedestrian Pearl Street Mall, a well-known, brick mall. A suspended pavement was installed along Pearl Parkway creating enormous soil volume for the future street trees, mitigating the effects of the surrounding pavement and creating a healthy environment for the trees to thrive.

Junction Place Shared Street
Perpendicular to and intersecting with Pearl Parkway is Junction Place - the city's first shared street. This innovative street relegates first priority to the pedestrian and invites cars in at very low speeds. The street incorporates the same family of site furnishings and bricks - but in a different pattern to suggest a large public outdoor gathering area - including the drivable portion with permeable pavers used throughout the site.

"It became a place where cars are invited in but they aren't the primary user and you really feel as you're driving in, that you're entering a pedestrian space." - Carol Adams, ASLA, PLA

Depot Square, part of the Junction Place shared street, includes a new underground Regional Transportation District bus station and parking structure with a public plaza, affordable housing complex, hotel and restaurant above, located at grade. Originally the historic Boulder Train Depot that once sat in central Boulder, the depot was preserved and relocated, later being moved and repurposed to the popular Depot Square plaza restaurant. Ample seating, lighting and public art enhance the space into a pedestrian oriented, mixed-use public area.

As seen in LASN magazine, August 2020.