The city of Lakewood is asking for its residents’ input this week on a new project to create a safer and more comfortable West Colfax Avenue for pedestrians and drivers.

The West Colfax Safety Project will transform a 1.5-mile stretch of the road between Sheridan and Wadsworth boulevards, addressing safety issues. According to the city, the road segment has the most traffic injuries and deaths in Lakewood.

From January 2015 to December 2019, the segment of road had 820 car crashes, resulting in 283 serious injuries and six deaths. That’s an average of one crash every other day.

Of the crashes, 98 involved a pedestrian or cyclist, accounting for 74 of the serious injuries and five of the deaths.

“Safety improvements, particularly for pedestrians, are urgently needed,” the city said in a release, calling the project an “opportunity to build a safer and better functioning West Colfax that will also be an asset to the community and local businesses.”

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The project was granted $10 million by the Colorado Department of Transportation as part of the state’s Safer Main Streets Initiative — the largest amount awarded in the program. The city of Lakewood will match the funds.

The project will repurpose outside lanes, creating consistent sidewalks, pedestrian crossings and bus pullouts. It will also improve street lighting, reduce conflicts with turning vehicles, update traffic signals and lengthen turn lanes.

The city’s public input survey asks residents about design decisions including sidewalk improvements, landscaping, visual elements, bus stop designs, bus stop amenities and pedestrian lighting, signage and crossing signals.

The project is in partnership with CDOT, RTD, the Lakewood-West Colfax Business Improvement District and numerous businesses and community members.

The survey closes Thursday and is available at lakewood.us6.list-manage.com.

Additional information about the project can be found at lakewoodtogether.org/westcolfax.