New dedicated bicycle lanes are planned for Pitkin Avenue on the west side of downtown Glenwood Springs in an effort to provide a safer north-south route for pedal pushers to make their way through town.

Two 4-foot lanes will be painted onto the existing street surface, one in each direction. The designated bike lanes will be to the right of the travel lanes and left of the parked cars, city Transportation Manager Tanya Allen explained.

The bike lanes are to be painted later this month or in early July, and will extend the entire length of Pitkin, from Eighth Street to 14th Street.

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The only other streets in Glenwood that have dedicated bike lanes are Blake Avenue from Seventh to 23rd Street, and on Donegan Road in West Glenwood from the intersection at U.S. 6 to Soccer Field Road.

Having additional dedicated bike lanes is one of the many recommendations in the city’s Long Range Transportation Plan that was updated in 2015.

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The newest lanes are meant to create a separate, safe space for bicyclists traveling along Pitkin, which is an important north-south bicycle route through the central part of town, Allen said.

“It will also facilitate cross-town bicycle travel via the new 14th Street bicycle and pedestrian bridge and the 12th Street Ditch trail,” she said.

The city has been asked by several residents to spruce up the 12th Street underpass beneath Grand Avenue with better lighting and some other minor upgrades. That, too, is viewed as an important nonmotorized passage, especially during the upcoming 95-day Grand Avenue bridge detour that will begin on Aug. 14.

In the meantime, the city is looking for feedback on the planned Pitkin Avenue bike lanes, in accordance with city policy that requires neighborhoods to be advised of proposed traffic changes.

Questions and comments can be directed to Allen through Wednesday via e-mail at tanya.allen@cogs.us, or by calling 970-384-6437.