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2-1 Transportation Master Plan 2.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS 2.1 Current Land Uses The City of Brighton, the county seat of Adams County, Colorado, lies at the northerly edge of the Denver metro area. The City currently has a population of approximately 20,905 (2000 census). The City has been experiencing rapid growth, growing 47.2% from 1990 to 2000. This growth rate has been greater that the statewide growth rate (30.6%) and the six-county Denver Metro area growth rate (29.9%) for this same period. This growth in Brighton has taken place as agricultural land is being converted into housing and commercial uses. Much of the recent residential and commercial development is occurring east and south of the downtown area. This includes Bromley Park, a 2,600-acre housing and commercial development bounded east of 40th Avenue between Baseline Road, 144th Avenue, and I-76, as well as the Bromley Park Industrial area, the K-mart distribution center and the Adams County Justice Center on Bromley Lane just west of I-76. On the west, there is the Platte River Ranch residential development at the west end of Bromley Lane as well as intensification of commercial uses along US 85. Commercial development in the downtown area is concentrated along Bridge Street and Main Street. Bromley Lane is a fast growing commercial corridor including a Wal-Mart Center, King Soopers, and food, retail, and auto commercial uses concentrated at and near the Bromley/US 85 intersection. Significant residential development is also planned to the south of Bromley Lane. Brighton also has industrial and manufacturing uses along US 85 and Baseline Road. In addition, Brighton has a strong connection to agriculture as evidenced by large amount of farm land in and around the City. Sakata Farms at the intersection of Sable Boulevard and Bromley Lane is a widely recognizable part of the Brighton community. 2.2 Existing Roadway Network Major regional roadways serving Brighton include: • US 85. US 85 has served as the primary access to the City in the past and will continue to provide a large percentage of the City’s regional access in the future. Although I-25 is the primary route for interstate traffic, US 85 provides connectivity to communities throughout northeast Colorado. US 85 carries a wide variety of traffic types including interstate commerce, agricultural traffic and intercity commuters. US 85 also provides for north-south access for traffic internal to Brighton. • Currently, US 85 is a four-lane expressway with signalized intersections at 104th, 112th, 124th, Bromley Lane, and Baseline Road (WCR There are grade separated interchanges at I-76 and at Bridge Street (SH Additionally, there are unsignalized intersections at 120th, 132nd, 136th, 144th, Denver Street, WCR 2.5, and WCR 4. The current Average Daily Traffic (ADT) on US 85 is approximately 27,000 vehicles/day just north of the I-76 interchange and 20,000 vehicles/day north of Brighton. ---PAGE BREAK--- 2-2 Transportation Master Plan • I-76. I-76 is a four-lane interstate highway connecting I-70 to the west with I-80 to the east. I-76 also intersects I-25 just north of downtown Denver and US 85 just south of Brighton. Currently, there are interchanges on I-76 at US 85 (3/4 interchange), Sable Boulevard (SH 136th, 144th, Bromley Lane, and Baseline Road. There are additional grade separated crossings of I-76 at 104th, Peoria Street, Buckley Road, Bridge Street, and WCR 4. Frontage roads are in place on both sides of I-76 between Baseline Road and Bromley Lane. The current ADT on I-76 is approximately 17,000 vehicles/day just north of US 85 and 11,000 vehicles/day north of Brighton. • Bridge Street (SH Bridge Street provides Brighton with direct access to I-25 and the northern portion of Thornton as well as Broomfield and Boulder. Currently, Bridge Street is a two-lane roadway west of US 85 and east of 27th Avenue. Between US 85 and 27th Avenue, Bridge Street is a four-lane facility. The current ADT on Bridge Street is approximately 14,500 vehicles/day just west of town and 24,000 vehicles/day east of US 85. • Weld County Road 2 (WCR Weld County Road 2 (WCR also know as Baseline Road due to its location directly on the 40th Parallel, is a two-lane east-west roadway extending to Highway 7 near I-25 on the west and to well east of I-76. WCR 2 has a signalized intersection with US 85 and an interchange with I-76. • Sable Boulevard/4th Avenue (SH Sable Boulevard becomes 4th Avenue north of Bromley Lane. This two lane roadway connects with SH 2 at I-76 where it continues to Commerce City. The current ADT on Sable Boulevard/4th Street is approximately 12,000 vehicles/day at I-76 and 9,000 vehicles/day at Bridge Street. • Brighton Road. Brighton Road is a two-lane roadway running roughly parallel to US 85 between Bromley Lane and 96th Avenue. Brighton Road serves as an alternate to US 85 and as a frontage road providing access to businesses along US 85. • Main Street. Main Street is a two-lane facility commencing at Bromley Lane just east of US 85 and traveling north to Fort Lupton. There is a short segment of Main Street with four lanes just south of Jessup. Main Street is also a major commercial street with much of it through the downtown area with on-street parking. Internal to the City, Bridge Street and Bromley Lane are the major east-west thoroughfares. Bromley Lane is a four lane facility just east of US 85. East of Sable Boulevard, Bromley lane is a two-lane facility with a center left turn lane. Except for the facilities mentioned above, all other roadways in the City have two lanes with the exception of a segment of 27th Avenue. Traffic engineers define the quality of traffic flow on a roadway or intersection congestion as “level of service (LOS).” Level of service considers such factors as speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, and comfort and convenience. Six levels of service are defined using letter designations, from A to F, with LOS representing the best operating conditions and LOS the worst. Each level of service represents a range of operating conditions. LOS typically represents a roadway’s capacity, with LOS representative of stop-and-go conditions. ---PAGE BREAK--- 2-3 Transportation Master Plan Figure 2-1 shows existing levels of service calculated at various locations in the Brighton area. These calculations are based on existing lane geometrics and US 85 traffic counts from the US 85 Access Control Plan. Traffic volumes on non-US 85 intersections are taken from the A.M. and P.M. existing peak hour traffic calibration models. As the figure shows, existing peak period levels of service are generally high within the city (LOS or better), with the exception of the Bridge Street corridor near US 85 where recurring peak period congestion occurs. 2.3 Transit Service Transit service to and within Brighton is provided by the Regional Transportation District. Current fixed-route bus service includes: • Route 120. Currently, this weekday bus service operates on a one-hour headway commencing at the Adam County Justice Center on Bromley Lane, going north on Himalaya to Bridge Street, west to 4th Avenue, south to Bromley Lane and west to Brighton Road. From Brighton Road, the route continues to 120th Avenue and connects the Wagon Road park-and-ride lot in Westminster, the North Front Range Community College, and the Broomfield park-and-ride lot. • Route 145X. This route starts at the 42-space 1st and Strong RTD park-and-ride lot and goes to Denver International Airport (DIA) via 4th Avenue. On weekdays, there are six departures to DIA currently with service concentrated in the morning. From DIA to Brighton, there are five daily trips concentrated in the morning and evening hours. On weekends and holidays there are five trips per direction. • Route R. This weekday route connects Brighton with downtown Denver. The start of the Route is similar to Route 120. Four of the six southbound buses start at the Adam County Justice Center with the remaining two starting at East Gate. The route goes down Bridge Street to the 1st and Strong park-and-ride lot then continues south on US 85 to Denver. There are seven northbound buses with all but the earliest bus continuing to the Adam County Justice Center. In addition to the fixed route service described above, Brighton is also served by call-a-ride service operated by the RTD.