Greeley Public Works is set to take a big step forward in its plans to provide the city’s residents with a restored Poudre River where they can engage in several recreational activities.
In 2023, the public works department received funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to improve the Cache la Poudre River north of Greeley. The river had begun to degrade in recent years.
The department recently completed the first phase of its two-phase Poudre River Restoration Initiative. The initiative is a massive project that aims to add recreational opportunities to the community and reinvigorate and restore the river.
“This is an opportunity to look at the Poudre River corridor and understand how we can balance the many opportunities that this natural resource provides while considering the complexity of an urban river,” Public Works Planning Manager Victoria Leonhardt said when presenting the initiative’s progress to the city council.
Phase 1 focused solely on gathering information from the public and businesses around the river, which is essential given that most of the land around the river is privately owned. Public works staff interacted with the public several times over 2024, hosting three pop-up events and conducting an online survey to gauge what the public wanted most from the river.
Based on the more than 900 responses gathered from the community over the past year, the community strongly expressed a desire to improve access to the river and its connection with the rest of Greeley. Public works staff has found that most new developments indicate that Greeley is shifting in a southwestern direction, and it wishes to pull Greeley back toward the river through this project.
“I think the river is a gift to all of us here in the community,” said Murdoch’s store manager Sean O’Brien, whose store is right on the bank of the river. “I don’t think we’ve been protecting it the way we should be.”
Public works staff also found that the community wanted to ensure that the project prioritized urban safety measures, such as street lights and other features that would make the area by the river safer. O’Brien believes this is the biggest factor keeping people away from the river.
“It’s a beautiful area with ducks and geese, so why aren’t there kids or people around? I’ll tell you why: It’s not safe. That’s what we’ve got to fix,” O’Brien said.
With Phase 1 complete, the department is moving on to the project’s next phase, where it will conduct additional studies, building upon previous studies on the river and past plans, to develop a new master plan. City staff are planning two additional pop-up events in March and June that have yet to be finalized, as well as another digital survey.
Public works staff expects to present a fully developed plan by the end of August.
Councilman Dale Hall asked public works staff whether they could expect this master plan to include immediately actionable projects or if it would be more of a framework for building upon. Leonhardt confirmed that the master plan would include projects that could begin upon approval but added that it would also serve as a framework for any future projects the city may undertake.
“The plan will also include a financial strategy on how to use the available funds that will be attached to the project as well,” Public Works Director Paul Trombino added.
Councilwoman Deb Deboutez was enthusiastic and hopeful about this project, saying that it would be very catalytic for the Greeley community.
More information about the initiative, online surveys and future pop-up events can be found at speakupgreeley.com/poudre-river-restoration.
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