Boulder City Council agrees to continue its support for trail connectors at Rocky Flats

Deborah Swearingen, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·3 min read

Apr. 16—Boulder intends to move forward with its plan to participate in a Federal Land Access Program grant for an underpass at Colo. 128 that will connect trails in Boulder and Boulder County with the trail system at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

Though there has been significant community pushback as well as numerous requests for a more in-depth study session or public hearing on the matter, the City Council on Tuesday agreed to proceed as planned. According to council members and city staff, that is largely due to a desire to honor Boulder's previous commitments.

"For me, I think it's important when we give our word on something as Council and nothing significant changes that we need to honor our commitments," Councilmember Rachel Friend said during the meeting.

Additionally, the city and the Council said it was important to consider the fact that the trails will remain open, whether or not the underpasses are constructed.

"Ongoing public access and use of the refuge trail system will continue whether connections are constructed or not," Boulder's Environmental Planning Supervisor Mark Gershman said on Tuesday.

The intergovernmental agreement between the county, city of Boulder, Westminster, Arvada and Jefferson County, if approved by all entities, will provide matching funds for the FLAP grant to design and build two trail crossings with a $3.9 million price tag. Boulder's share for the Colo. 128 crossing is estimated to be $95,000, less than the $250,000 the city agreed to contribute in 2016.

Rocky Flats, located 10 miles south of Boulder, opened for public recreation in 2018, 13 years after a decade-long $7 billion cleanup removed 21 tons of nuclear material from the former nuclear trigger plant. Rocky Flats produced plutonium triggers from 1952 to 1989, and 1,300 acres of the 6,200-acre site remain off-limits as a Superfund site.

Many Boulder residents do not believe it's safe to recreate on the site and were concerned that the City Council did not accept public comment when it provided direction to city staff.

"While I'm all for scenic recreation spaces and supporting our connection to nature that does include paths built on soil with radioactive plutonium and uranium just under the surface," Boulder resident Neshama Abraham wrote in an email to Boulder City Council. "Isn't it obvious: This land is not safe for human contact, let alone unearthing particles during construction and having citizens bike across it."

Broomfield City Council last October agreed to withdraw from the Rocky Mountain Greenway Partnership. While Boulder Mayor Pro Tem Junie Joseph said she supported the previous Council's decision, the fact that Broomfield withdrew was disconcerting for her.

Mayor Sam Weaver, however, noted that Broomfield owned land that might be developed near the Indiana Street overpass that complicated its decision.

While the Indiana Street soil samples did fall below cleanup standards of 50 picocuries per gram of plutonium, the rates were significantly higher than the samples at Colo. 128.

"Unless something is detected during construction then I think the chance of being hit by a car crossing this road is much greater than dying of cancer because of an exposure you got while you were on the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge," Weaver said.

The ultimate vision, initiated under former President Barack Obama's administration, is to have an 80-mile trail connecting the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Two Ponds and Rocky Flats wildlife refuges with Rocky Mountain National Park. .