By McKinnley Bartels

The reconstruction of 38th Avenue in Wheat Ridge will soon be underway.

The 38th Avenue Leadership Committee, which is comprised of local businesses, property owners, and residents, are coming together with other community members to come up with a plan to revitalize West 38th Avenue between Wadsworth and Sheridan, into a vibrant main street.

The first public meeting for this project was held on Thursday, Jan 14 at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center. City treasurer and special programs teacher Jerry DiTullio explains, “In fact, the first meeting there was so many people there that they had to do a second meeting of the first meeting.” There are two more meetings to come. Both will be held at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center on Feb 11 and March 10, from 6:00p.m.-8:00p.m.

This new plan, known as the Corridor Plan, is expected to impact local businesses in a positive way, unlike the first plan which was known as 2B. The previous plan would have been very disruptive and costly because the street was going to be torn up for 6-9 months. The curbs and gutters were going to be moved, along with the sewer and water lines as well.

The new plan will not include movement of curbs, gutters, or sewer and water lines. Instead, sidewalks, amenities and streetscape will be added, which means it won’t be as expensive.

Once the street is finished, it will look more like it does on 38th  Avenue between Sheridan and Harlan streets with more grass, trees, and possibly picnic benches, giving it a more beautified main-street look.

As of right now, the Corridor Plan will have no effect on traffic if the three lanes  that are there now are kept. But if another lane is added, it is believed that it will help traffic move more smoothly and faster during rush hour and when school lets out. At one point there was a notion that there would be a five-lane design between Pierce and Upham streets but that has now been taken out of the plan. The street will either stay a three or four lane design.

There is a lot more community involvement during this new Corridor Plan than there was during the first plan. As of right now there has been at least 637 people involved because of the online survey and the community meetings. People are also involved because some of the ideas that were in the 2B plan have been taken out, along with the financial aspects of it all.

Going further with this plan, the next steps are working on compromising about keeping structures such as the curbs and gutters in the same place and working towards beautifying the street.