LITTLETON, Colo. — Littleton City Council approved a construction contract Tuesday night to use millions in grant funding for trail and street safety improvements, despite some public pushback surrounding the design changes for one trail along a key thoroughfare.
Whether on her bike, horse, or feet, Tammy Whitney said part of her reason for living in Littleton is the miles and miles of “crusher fines” trails, made up of finely-crushed rocks.
“Those of us who are getting older, it's just easier on our knees and our hips,” she explained, standing on the Railroad Spur Trail that runs along Mineral Avenue between Jackass Hill Road and the popular High Line Canal Trail. “This is the place I love, and it's a place that I hate to see turn into concrete."
That is the City of Littleton’s plan: to replace the current version of the Spur Trail with a 16-foot-wide concrete path, separated for pedestrians and cyclists. The city said it’s to make the roughly three-quarter-mile stretch safer and more accessible.
The concrete connection is also set to extend west to the RTD light rail station at Mineral Avenue and U.S. Highway 85.
U.S. Army veteran and former State Representative David Ortiz lives in Littleton.
“On my mountain bike and road bike, these trails are really great,” he said of the crusher fines trails. “I’m not really using my wheelchair too much on these trails, but that's because using my wheelchair on a trail like this is a little difficult.”
Ortiz, who was injured during combat, welcomes a concrete option for pedestrians, saying it gives more of the community a chance to enjoy precious open spaces.
“I think not just Littleton, but the state, the country, should be more accessible for folks living with a disability,” he told Denver7 Tuesday. “For the sacrifices that we make in service, we should have access to trails, to restaurants, to mass transit. These are the things that we have earned the right to use. So I would just ask that the community considers that when they're planning anything in the future.”
The compromise of allowing for both a more accessible concrete path and the existing soft “crusher fines” surface many prefer has been a topic of debate that was recently reignited. The initial planning of the trail improvements began back in 2021.
Concerned residents like Ned Sterne said a combination was part of the original plan, but there was not enough public engagement when the plan was changed to an all-concrete option.
“We've been fighting for the last four-and-a-half months to get the city to return to what was the original plan, and that is a dual surface trail. And really, they've dug in on us, stonewalled us,” Sterne said.
- Check out an overview of the project below
Denver7 took that concern to Littleton Deputy City Manager Mike Gent.
“There wasn't enough room to create a sufficient paved area and a sufficient soft surface trail area without considerably more cost, including removing more trees, retaining walls, because it's on a slope,” he said. “Within the constraints of the time allowed to us with this project, as well as the budget… this is the ideal design within the constraints of this particular project.”
Those constraints exist because the trail improvements are part of a larger project to improve mobility and safety in this part of Littleton. The city’s partnerships include the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Safer Main Streets Grant, which expires at the end of 2025.
For that reason, city leaders explained, pausing the project and delaying construction to re-design this contested stretch of trail would force the city to forfeit roughly $4 million in total grant money, earmarked for safety improvements like protected bike lanes, flashing crosswalk lights and more.
The prospect of losing out on that money for those safety improvements led the Littleton City Council to a 6-1 vote approving the construction contract Tuesday.
“I cannot vote against this when kids are getting hit by cars,” Council Member Joel Zink said before his vote.
Gent said Tuesday that advocates for “crusher fines” trails are being heard, and that their passion will change how city leaders discuss future proposals and designs.
“Even when you know they might not get the exact outcome they want on a specific project, the influence they continue to have on the community, and how we go in the future, is real and significant,” he said.
