Posts tagged closures
Reconstruction of Neva, Niwot roads begins Monday
Jul 24th
Popular roads’ to get face lift and wider shoulders
Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County will begin reconstruction of Neva and Niwot roads between U.S. 36 (Foothills Highway) and North 63rd Street on Monday, July 30. Construction is anticipated to last through the end of November.
The project will replace the roadway and add four-foot shoulders to the entire stretch. The road is expected to remain open to all traffic, including cyclists, for the majority of the project. However, users should expect variable road surfaces including milled asphalt and dirt-road conditions, lane closures, and significant delays until construction is complete. Some daytime road closures are anticipated.
“The Neva-Niwot corridor is a popular and scenic cycling route and an important access route for many county neighborhoods,” Transportation Director George Gerstle said. “The road is in need of significant repairs and this project will improve the road and enhance safety for all everyone who uses it.”
Schedules are subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances. Visit www.BoulderCounty.org/Transportation or call 303-441-3900 for updates and more information.
City to lift some seasonal raptor closures early
Jul 20th
The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) department will lift the following raptor closures effective Monday, July 23: Third Flatiron, The Matron, Skunk Canyon, Bear Creek Spire, Flagstaff Mountain, Fern Canyon, and The Sphinx.
The following closures will remain in effect through Tuesday, July 31, to continue to protect nesting raptors: Back Porch and The Box, Mickey Mouse Wall, Kolb, and Coal Creek. OSMP will also be lifting seasonal closures established to protect ground-nesting birds on the originally scheduled date of Tuesday, July 31. However, the property known as Superior Associates—north of the Coalton Trail—will remain closed through Oct. 31 because of the presence of nesting burrowing owls.
This year marked another successful season for raptors nesting on OSMP. Below is a table detailing what OSMP staff and volunteers recorded this season:
| Species | Number of Nesting Attempts | Number of Successful Nesting Attempts | Number of Fledglings |
| Peregrine Falcon | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Prairie Falcon | 4 | 4 | 17 |
| Golden Eagle | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Bald Eagle | 2 | 2 | 3 |
This year was the most productive year for Peregrine Falcons since OSMP monitoring began in 1984. Volunteer raptor monitors are an integral part of the success of the monitoring program. Thank you to all the volunteer raptor monitors!
OSMP relies heavily on the public to respect the closures and the cooperation of visitors to these areas is greatly appreciated. OSMP would specifically like to highlight the cooperation among the Boulder climbing community with respect to these closures.
Bear Canyon Trail re-opens; other Flagstaff Fire closures remain
Jul 7th
City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks officials today announced the re-opening of the Bear Canyon Trail following last week’s fire closure. Bear Canyon Trail above west of the Mesa Trail will be open, effective immediately, up to where hikers can connect to Green Mountain via the Green-Bear Trail. Travel is limited to on-trail only. Fern Canyon, Bear Peak West Ridge and Shadow Canyon trails remain closed.
Because much of the area that burned is on very steep slopes, contained very large trees, and was largely inaccessible to fire crews, some areas of active fire may continue to smolder for some time. Dangerous conditions continue to exist, especially along the eastern edge of the fire and in Fern and Shadow canyons.
“We had a spot fire in upper Shadow Canyon,” Stone said, “and smoldering trees can topple over and ignite at any time. Burning logs and debris can roll downhill on such steep slopes and start new fires. So we still have to be somewhat cautious about opening all of the area around the fire even though these areas may not actually have burned.”
Open Space and Fire Department staff will continue to assess the fire potential and risks to the public over the next few weeks. The city will strive to strike a reasonable balance between risk and access to these popular natural areas.
A map of the continued closures is attached to this release.
For information, visit www.osmp.org or call 303-441-3440.
