The City of Fort Collins is moving forward with a $1.8 million intersection project at Timberline Road and Lincoln Avenue that will significantly change how people biking and walking move through the area.
The project comes just weeks after a crash at the intersection involving a driver and an e-bike rider. Twenty three year old Hezekiah Maes was seriously injured in the May 22nd crash and died from his injuries on May 25th.
According to the City, the project is intended to improve safety and reduce congestion at the closely spaced intersections of Timberline Road, Lincoln Avenue, and Mulberry Street. The work is being funded primarily through a federal Highway Safety Improvement Program grant and is scheduled to begin in mid summer 2026.
A key feature of the project is the installation of a raised median along Timberline Road at Lincoln Avenue. Once completed, all through movements and left turns across Timberline from Lincoln will be eliminated. Motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists will only be able to make right turns at the intersection.
For people traveling east or west on Lincoln, that means crossing Timberline will no longer be possible at the existing intersection. Instead, cyclists and pedestrians will be directed approximately 200 feet to the signalized crossing at Mulberry Street.
In an email to YGR, City of Fort Collins Civil Engineer Mark Laken acknowledged the change is not ideal for vulnerable road users.
“The City is aware that this is not the preferred or ideal infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians, since it requires some out of way travel, but given the limited budget for this project, it was the only feasible safe solution,” Laken wrote.
The project will also add approximately 650 feet of sidewalk and bike lane along the west side of Timberline Road.
Another major component is the construction of a “Michigan Left” configuration. Under the design, northbound motorists on Timberline who want to travel west on Lincoln will continue north past the intersection, make a U turn at a designated turnaround, and then turn right onto Lincoln.
While the design is intended to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion, it introduces a new conflict point for southbound cyclists traveling along Timberline.
According to Laken, the City plans to route pedestrians and less confident cyclists around the outside of the Michigan Left area using a sidewalk connection.
Project goals identified by the City include improving safety for turning movements, reducing congestion for northbound traffic turning onto Lincoln, and adding additional capacity for southbound traffic turning onto Mulberry.
The current conceptual cost estimate for the project is $1.8 million. Funding includes a $1.5 million Highway Safety Improvement Program grant and $120,000 from the City’s Community Capital Improvements Program sales tax fund. Additional funding will be secured as project design advances.
Construction is currently scheduled to begin in mid summer 2026.
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