The Colorado National Monument Loop is one of the most popular road cycling routes in western Colorado if not in the entire state. This 40 mile loop is enjoyed by literally thousands of cyclists with a wide range of abilities every year. The vast majority of the route is safe and pleasant to ride. There is, however, one exception: a one mile section of Colorado State Highway 340 east of the Fruita entrance to Colorado National Monument.

This section of road experiences a significant amount of motorized traffic commonly traveling at interstate speeds, yet has no bike lanes, very poor shoulders, and poor sight distances. In most places the white line marking the right side of the travel lane is painted adjacent to the edge of the pavement.

The safety of cyclists on this segment of road is greatly endangered: close passes are not uncommpon and conflicts between motorized and non-motorized users of this road frequently occur. It is our opinion that, unless this road is improved, it is only a matter of time before a very serious or even fatal accident between a motorized vehicle and a cyclist takes place.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has scheduled this road for maintenance paving in 2014. Their original plan was to add two foot wide bike lanes at that time; however budget constraints prompted CDOT to cancel plans for bike lanes and to divert those funds to projects that CDOT regarded as a higher priority. Based on informal comments made by CDOT personel, it appears that CDOT did not feel that there was sufficient community or local government support to proceed with this project as originally planned. It is our concern that CDOT decision makers do not fully appreciate the serious nature of the problems created by this section of Highway 340 nor do they appear to realize the degree to which the community supports and encourages that these road improvements be made.

The intention of this petition is to demonstrate to CDOT and to the Regional Transportation Planning Office (RTPO) of Mesa County that there is significant support in the community for the addition of bike lanes to this section of Highway 340 and to encouraged CDOT and the RTPO to place a much higher priority on this matter in the planning and prioritizing of future projects.