To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Gini Pingenot, Director, Open Spaces
Prepared By:
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Michele Frishman, Grants and Acquisitions Manager, Open Spaces
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Subject:
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Joint Project Request for Bridge Replacement over Cherry Creek
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Open Spaces requests that the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) award $135,000 to the Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club (Rapids), which is leading the replacement of a public pedestrian bridge over Cherry Creek at the Gates Soccer Complex. This request was presented in study session on September 8, 2025.
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Alignment with Strategic Plan: Good Governance - Understand and respond to community needs, interests, and values.
Background and Discussion: This request for Dove Valley Working Group funds is intended to assist in the replacement of a public pedestrian bridge across Cherry Creek south of Arapahoe Road. The previous bridge was installed in 1999 and was destroyed by flooding in 2023. It was located at an important connection point for the Cherry Creek Trail, the next phase of the Fremont Avenue Trail, and the north and south fields of the Gates Soccer Complex on City of Aurora property.
Since the old bridge was destroyed, anyone trying to reach the Cherry Creek Trail from the south, as well as users of the soccer complex, either has to cross the creek using boulders installed for this purpose, or they have to drive or ride around the entire complex. Besides potential safety issues at the boulder crossing, it is not ADA-accessible.
Open Spaces has been aware of the need to replace the old bridge since the early days of the Dove Valley Working Group. In January 2025, the working group received a request for funding to install a new bridge.
As the underlying property owner, the City of Aurora has approved the bridge replacement project. Construction is expected to begin in November and to be completed within three months. In addition to th...
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