City officials expect Greeley’s population to double by 2060.
That’s another roughly 115,000 people expected to call Greeley home in about 35 years.
Another 115,000 who will need a place to live. Another 115,000 who will need a place to work. And another 115,000 who will need to get from one place to another.
To keep up with that growth and maintain — at least in part — the city’s small-town feel, Greeley Public Works Director Paul Trombino III said the city must focus on connectivity. That means both keeping the city connected within its own boundaries as well as to other communities in the region.
Greeley is in a unique space for a city of its size in northern Colorado, Trombino said. Though the population has boomed over the past 15 years — Greeley has grown by more than 20,000 people since 2010 — there is still plenty of room to expand.
“The growth is not creeping up on us,” Mayor John Gates said. “So we shouldn’t screw it up.”
Greeley’s growth boundaries stretch as far west as Weld County Road 17 to Johnstown and Windsor, as far north as Colo. 392 and as far east as the Weld County Parkway just past the Greeley-Weld County Airport. The city of Evans limits just about all of Greeley’s potential to expand south.
“When you look at our city, we’re not small,” Trombino said. “I like to say we’re still growing into our shirt.”
But what does getting around the city look like as that shirt starts to grow snugger and snugger?
The city has a handful of projects planned to address the growth, specifically focusing on keeping the connection between different areas of the city. That requires making all parts of the city accessible to everybody.
“When you think about transportation, it’s sort of this inner-woven web that keeps us connected,” Trombino said. “It keeps the city wrapped together so we’re integrating the neighborhoods.”
Starting small — both literally and figuratively — the city plans to launch a micromobility pilot project in July. Micromobility is short-distance transportation provided by lightweight, usually single-person vehicles such as electric bikes and scooters.
Greeley’s project is exactly that. The city plans to work with a vendor to set up rentable electric bikes and scooters on the east side of town, making it as easy as possible to get between the University of Northern Colorado and downtown.
“If on your first visit to the city, you’re bringing your kids to UNC,” Trombino said. “Imagine being able to get on a scooter and ride from campus, right downtown and see all the assets the area has to offer in a very short time.”
City officials will test the micromobility program for one year before assessing whether any modifications may be needed moving forward.
“Nobody wants to see micromobility become a negative,” Trombino said.
Moving west, the city will focus on one of its main attractions: the CenterPlace Shopping Center. On the west and east sides are two main roads for traveling north and south, 35th and 47th avenues. A neighborhood full of young families lives south of the shopping center. And to the north lies the city’s largest high school: Greeley West.
The U.S. 34 Bypass south of CenterPlace acts as what Trombino likes to call a “river” by separating the neighborhood from the high school. The highway, in fact, separates much of south Greeley from the rest of the city.
“I always ask people if they’ve ever walked across U.S. 34 at 35th Avenue,” Trombino said. “Because I have, and it doesn’t feel great, right? It doesn’t feel inviting as a pedestrian.”
Insert the public-transit-oriented Mobility Expansion for Regional Growth and Equity — or MERGE — Project.
The city plans to build a regional mobility hub between two grade-separated interchanges at 35th and 47th avenues, which will pass under the highway. The city will also install a walking tunnel under the newly lifted highway, connecting that neighborhood south of U.S. 34 to CenterPlace.
“We’re really bringing a neighborhood that kind of feels separate and connecting it to the city,” Trombino said.
The project is expected to carry a $131.2 million price tag — $74.4 million of which will go to building the interchanges. There is no timetable for construction to begin, but the city has applied for funding through a handful of different grant and loan programs.
While removing two stoplights from U.S. 34 will cut down on travel time for cars driving across the city, transportation officials hope the new transit center will really unlock travel for area residents.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt as we grow, (public transit) is definitely going to be more effective,” Gates said. “And as more cars get on our road, there is going to be people who are much more inclined to take transit than they would now.”
Currently, all Greeley-Evans Transit buses begin and end every day at the transit center, 101 11th Ave., in the northeast corner of the city. The mobility hub will serve as another take-off point for buses. It will also allow the city to add and rework current bus routes, making the whole system operate more efficiently.
“So think of all of the transit system,” Trombino said holding his hands together in a ball. “Now unfold it like a piece of paper, and now all of a sudden, I can connect all parts of the city way easier.”
E-scooters and e-bikes are also anticipated to find a home near the mobility hub following the pilot program. Greeley Mobility Coordinator Hanna Johnson said micromobility vehicles can work with the bus system to make travel as smooth as possible.
“For example, let’s say you’re taking transit and your last bus stop is a half-mile walk to your final destination,” Johnson said. “Having an option like a scooter or a bike helps make that connection a little more seamless and a lot easier.”
The second mobility hub also opens up a whole new batch of possibilities to connect Greeley to other cities in the region.
A Greeley-Evans Transit bus — called the Poudre Express — already runs several times a day between the University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State University. It is free with a student ID and $1.50 for anyone else.
But that’s just the beginning.
The North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization created a plan called LINKNoCo aimed at connecting Greeley, Loveland, Fort Collins and surrounding communities through transit services.
As part of Phase 1, Johnson said, the organization assessed about 15 “premium corridors” in the region and found U.S. 34 to be the most viable option for expanding regional transit. The group has moved to Phase 2 — hammering out the details such as what funding and vehicles are needed.
“We want any type of added service to U.S. 34 to be reliable and fast,” Johnson said. “So it will be seen as a viable option compared to driving and people will use it.”
Trombino said the city hopes to have daily buses running between Greeley and Loveland by 2026.
As part of the proposed MERGE Project, a central-loading bus stop will allow riders to come up from the tunnel underneath U.S. 34 and load the bus from the center of the highway.
“That’s important from a transit perspective,” Johnson said. “Because you don’t have to go all the way into a parking lot. It just creates a lot of efficiencies on our end.”
Ultimately, whether it is connecting Greeley to other cities in the area, connecting opposite sides of the city or even just connecting one neighborhood with the rest of the city, “it’s all about connecting,” Trombino said.
Greeley infrastructure planning
Greeley Public Works Director Paul Trombino III said city staff and officials want community members’ involvement as the city commences new infrastructure projects.
For more information on Greeley’s micromobility pilot program that’s slated to kick off in July, go to speakupgreeley.com/micromobility-pilot.
For more on the Mobility Expansion for Regional Growth and Equity Project, which consists of building interchanges on U.S. 34 at 35th and 47th avenues as well as a second mobility hub , go to greeleygov.com/services/pw/merge.
More information on the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization’s LINKNoCo Project is available at nfrmpo.org/transit/linknoco.
