DENVER – Lisa Byington was rolling down Dartmouth Avenue alongside the Bear Creek Trail and at the end of her ride when something fast and violent caught her eye.
“I saw a guy just kind of explode up into the air, and the crash was so loud that I was actually worried it was a car crash that had happened behind me,” said Byington.
She biked the short distance onto the trail and at the entrance of a bridge found an injured cyclist and was stunned when she looked again.
“There was another woman laying on the grass over here and her bike was crashed over on the side. His bike was actually half over the fence,” said Byington.
The entrance to the pedestrian and bike bridge on the trail at Bear Valley Park, one riders take every day, was suddenly closed and blocked by a wire fence.
Lisa said it was clear both cyclists were hurt and she called 911.
“Both of them were a little disoriented from their crashes. She had what appeared to be a broken arm. He had a bunch of scrapes and punctures on his belly from hitting those pokey parts on the top of the fence – as well as some puncture,” Byington told Denver7.
After a few minutes, she said both bikers confirmed they had not crashed into each other but separately, moments apart at the entrance of the bridge. Byington said there was a white sign on the front of the fence to indicate the bridge was closed, but no other advance signage to warn riders to slow down before turning the corner.
Worried that other bikers could get injured, Lisa made another phone call.
“I did a 311 call to Denver Parks and Rec – to get them to put up the cones. I said there needs to be signage over there,” added Byington. “Because you can’t see the closed sign with the trees and the tall bushes and grasses – it’s kind of a blind corner.”
That incident was in late July, then a few weeks later, Cody Schlager, a daily bike commuter who takes the Bear Creek trail, said there was another sudden bridge closure about a mile away from the first at Dartmouth Avenue and S. Webster St.
“I take this bridge every single day. It’s a pretty vital connector for me,” said Schlager.He said just like the prior closure, this one had the white ‘bridge closed’ sign posted on the wire fence blocking the entrance, but there were no other cones or warning signs in advance to let bikers know of the upcoming closure”
“There were no detour signs and nothing further up. So I just rolled right up to this and there it was. There are blind corners, so you could easily come around a blind corner, not expecting the bridge to be closed, and get injured,” said Schlager.
Cyclists told Denver7’s On Two Wheels that it took several days before added signage, including orange detour signs were posted ahead of both bridges, which has concerned the biking community that takes this popular route, not just for weekend riders but for cyclists who take the trail to get to work.
We hopped on our bikes to ride the detour at Dartmouth and Webster and check out the closure on the other side of the Bear Creek Trail, which takes riders onto the narrow sidewalk along a busy S. Wadsworth Blvd.
“You can see right away – a 90 degree turn and if you weren’t paying attention that would be an easy way to hurt yourself right there,” said Schlager.
That side also had the white ‘bridge closed’ sign on the fence blocking the entrance to the bridge and now there are several orange signs ahead of that closure warning riders coming from all directions of the impending closure as well as cones placed on the path.
But it’s that gap between closing bike and pedestrian infrastructure and the placement of detour signs well ahead of the blocked bridges that is frustrating users of the trail.
On the first day that On Two Wheels checked out the closures, the cones at the first bridge were tossed into the brush. Schlager also told Denver7 when he first rolled up to the closures, he struggled to find information online from the city about what was happening.
"I’ve tried to check all their social media accounts that might be relevant to this. I've yet to find anything – it took them five days to post about why this trail was closed and what's going on with it,” said Schlager.
Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) has posted information on its website about both closures, including why the bridges are shut down and the detour routes.
For the first closure at Bear Valley Park, DPR said during a routine inspection in late July, critical structural issues were discovered and the bridge has been deemed unsafe. There is no timeline on when it might be repaired and there is “no funding available at this time.”
DPR’s website said corrosion has caused holes “at critical locations in two primary load bearing members.”
To the question as to why wasn’t there another solution other than closing the bridge until further notice, DPR added:
“Due to staffing limitations, the specialized nature of bridge repairs, and budget limitations, staff and funds are not immediately available to avoid bridge closures like these. These repairs must be added to the existing backlog and will be addressed as staff and funding availability allows.”
At the second bridge closure at Dartmouth Avenue and S. Webster St, DPR said Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) discovered earlier this month during a routine inspection “critical and irreparable structural damage” and that it’s unsafe to use and will have to be rebuilt.
DPR said this bridge had “widespread corrosion” and that several areas of the structure showed “100% section loss.”
DPR’s website added: “The severity and extent of corrosion found were drastically worse than the previous inspection. Due to staffing and budget limitations, resources are not immediately available to avoid bridge closures like these. This replacement must be added to the existing backlog and will be addressed as staff and funding availability allows.”
It’s likely this bridge will remain closed for several years.
Denver7’s On Two Wheels requested an interview with Denver Parks and Recreation to better understand the process the city follows when closing bike and pedestrian infrastructure and the placement of signage to warn users and get answers on why there is a delay.
We also wanted to press the city on how it alerts the public on closures and detours via social media channels.
Neither would go on camera, but both DOTI and DPR provided emailed responses.
On the question about the delay, here’s what Nancy Kuhn, communications director for DOTI wrote:
“Regarding alerting pedestrians and bicyclists: when we find that a bridge is no longer safe to remain open, DOTI will immediately close the structure. It is possible there may be a lag between the closure and when city staff are able to get physical signage in place for the trail detour, but the city works to do that as quickly as possible and we apologize for any inconvenience if there is a lag. Trail detour information is then also provided on DOTI’s website when involving a closed pedestrian bridge.”
Stephanie Figueroa, spokesperson for Parks and Recreation added:
“An emergency closure of the pedestrian bridge in Bear Creek Trail near Wadsworth Blvd at W. Dartmouth Ave. and Webster St. was put in place by DOTI for safety reasons. The DPR team responded as quickly as possible with a detour plan and physical signage.”
As to how riders are alerted to closures via city social media channels, Denver7’s On Two Wheels received these written responses:
“DOTI does not provide notification of all sidewalk and bike lane closures, but provides a listing and map of those happening in the downtown area. People can find this information by searching “Denver downtown street construction” in google or on the city’s website and they’ll find a link to this page,” wrote Kuhn.
Figueroa added: “ In terms of notification, DPR uses its website and social media channels to give notice of trail closures. DOTI’s bridge program webpage links to the trail detour page.”
The trail detour page includes a map of detours for both closures, which you can view at this link.
Denver7 searched both DOTI and DPR’s social media accounts and just this week, Parks and Rec posted about the bridge closure at Dartmouth Ave. and S. Webster St.
While I was riding with Schlager, he said he’ll continue to take this route as it’s his way to work, but he’s worried about the long term detour now in place around the second bridge closure.
“Just yesterday on Webster, I had a driver like honk and flew around me at a high rate of speed. So it's not exactly a good option,” he said.
To that concern, DPR wrote:
“When having to close a trail, we look to ensure that pedestrian detour routes are ADA compliant and try and detour a trail to an off-street 8’+ wide path when possible, or a protected bike lane, which in this case was not possible. We place detour signage at all decision points when a turn needs to be made.”
DOTI did provide information on what cyclists should do if they need to file a claim.
"We cannot speak to the injuries that you are referencing or the circumstances around those, but if someone believes that the City & County of Denver has injured them or damaged their property, they can file a claim [denvergov.org].
We would encourage any safety concerns surrounding a detour to be reported to 311 and we can have an inspector or DPR take a look."
While checking out the closures, Denver7’s On Two Wheels heard from several more cyclists and neighbors who stopped by to express their concerns to our cameras about the extended closure and what’s next for this portion of the Bear Creek Trail.
Corbin Small, who lives in the Bear Valley neighborhood, daily rides the trail with his kids as they head off to school.
“I was shocked when I was riding for the first time and going to turn on the bridge and all the sudden there’s a huge metal grate welded onto the bridge and a detour sign just a few feet off of it – not a lot of heads up and have heard of a couple of people getting into accidents and crashing, so certainly some more awareness around upcoming detour,” said Small.
“People can be traveling 15 miles per hour on these paths on bikes on paths they ride all the time. Give people a little more heads up about a significant closure.”He also expressed worries about the detour at Dartmouth Ave. and S. Webster St.
“Not having access to the bridges is a bummer but it’s also a safety concern. The detour is right on Wadsworth and it doesn’t feel very safe. To not have a plan for bridges and trails that we use every day, we’d love to get information and to know how we can be part of a solution,” said Small. “All the work you’re (the city) is trying to do to promote the use of the trails – you want to keep people informed and aware so that they keep on choosing bikes over cars.”
As to what’s next for both closures, DOTI did share an update with Denver7 that might offer a glimmer of hope for trail users on the bridge at Dartmouth and Webster. While both bridges cannot be repaired and must be replaced, the city has identified funding to start the design process.
Here’s their full response:
“DOTI has identified funding in the 2026 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) pedestrian bridge program to start the design of a replacement bridge. DOTI/DPR will begin scoping this project this fall and hire an engineering firm in early 2026 for design. Funding for construction will be requested in a future year CIP request. The timeframe is contingent on if we can replace the bridge in-kind or if it requires a different structure type, due to floodplain and permitting restrictions.”
Lisa Byington told Denver7 she reconnected with one of the injured cyclists she helped that day to see how they were doing, but couldn’t find any information on the other rider.
Then during our interview, the unexpected happened.
“Is that you? Is that you? You’re the dude,” she excitedly said.
About 5 minutes into our conversation, Doug Reed, the other hurt bicyclist, just happened to roll by and surprise Lisa for a beautiful reconnection.
“Lisa, nice to meet you,” he said.
He shared a little bit more about his injuries and how his crash went down.
“It happened so fast, just taking a corner. I don’t even know if I really saw it. If I did, it was really late and right before I hit it,” said Reed.
He injured his arm and had scrapes on his leg and then puncture injuries “about every two inches on my stomach,” added Reed.
He told Denver7, he’s grateful Parks and Rec placed detour signs ahead of the closure and both cyclists said they know closures sometimes have to happen. They just hope the city reconsiders that lag time between when DOTI closes a bridge or other bike infrastructure and when Parks and Rec can place warning signs about an upcoming detour.
“I’m still a little upset about it. In my head, I didn’t need to go through that.” said Reed.
Denver7 will follow up on the city's progress on a solution and potential replacement for the closed bridges, including the timelines and costs.
Denver7's first On Two Wheels special report dove into the unique hazards when biking in the Mile High City.
The special report below includes real-life video examples shared by Denver cyclists showing what it's like navigating the roads with drivers.Biking dangers in Denver: Close call stories ‘On Two Wheels’Denver7's On Two Wheels is also tracking road user data across the state in the infographics below. You can view the graphs in fullscreen mode at this link.
