The Parks, Open Space, Trails and Recreation Master Plan (Master Plan) recognizes the need to increase pedestrian and bicycle connectivity across the community. The Master Plan identifies a network of community trails to focus funding of Open Space dollars to effectively create a community wide trail system. On-street bike lanes are critical to achieve this goal. Therefore, in 2011 the Engineering Division worked with the Long Range Planning and Open Space Division to develop designs for on-street bike lanes on streets identified in the Master Plan.

The Master Plan states, “This is the first Parks, Open Space, Trails and Recreation Master Plan to be completed by the City of Centennial since the City was incorporated in 2001. As such, it establishes a far-reaching vision to transform the City’s “green space” system into its “outdoor living room,” where parks become the community’s social heart, where prairie drainage ways become the backbone of its open space, and where a rich network of pathways connect residents to the City’s amenities.”

As part of the Master Plan, extensive outreach to the public occurred through interviews, the City’s website, public open houses and surveys to determine what citizens wanted. More than 700 surveys and 100 interviews were completed. Chapter 8 in the Master Plan has specific information about recommended bicycle and pedestrian community trails.

The goals to enhance the community wide trail system including bicycle lanes, have been reinforced by public comments collected during the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) 2010 and 2011.

Funding Source and Allocation
All of the funds used for the City-wide Bike Lane Project are part of the Arapahoe County Open Space Tax. Funds from this tax can only be used for parks, open space, trails and recreation. The project is listed in the 2011 Annual Budget Capital Improvement Program, as recommended by the OSAB, at $75,000 per year through 2013.