Summer Clear Creek Fun & Safety

City Introduces New Ways to Maximize Fun and Safety at the Creek

As Golden residents can attest, June signals the start of another busy summer season in Golden. This year, City officials anticipate activity levels that may exceed the norm for summertime in Golden. After many months of limited activities, interactions, and events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people will likely seek to get out and participate in the many customary activities they have missed. In Golden, that means outdoor recreation — especially, along and in the popular Clear Creek.

After years of continued growth in activity in the Clear Creek corridor, this year the City will be introducing new measures aimed at improving conditions in the corridor so that all may experience equal enjoyment of Clear Creek and adjacent trails and parks, regardless of one’s preferred activity.

Several months ago, City Manager Jason Slowinski pulled together a group of stakeholders to review management practices in the Clear Creek corridor. This working group — representing neighborhoods, civic organizations, the Golden Visitor’s Center, local businesses, outdoor recreation industry representatives, equipment rental companies, and Golden residents — met regularly since February discussing issues, challenges, and potential strategies, to address the issues caused by the growing popularity of Clear Creek. The group’s work focused on issues concerning water use and safety, trail use, traffic and parking, communications, enforcement of rules and regulations, and environmental concerns.

At the City Council meeting on May 11, the City Manager briefed the City Council on the work of the group and the likely changes in management practices expected during the upcoming 2021 summer season. Among the more significant changes you will likely see are: • The implementation of color-coded water safety protocols tied to actual water flow conditions; • The introduction of a Clear Creek

Ambassador program in an effort to better inform, educate, and establish new cultural norms around enjoyment of the Clear Creek corridor; • Better signage to communicate rules, expectations, and other important information; • The separation of certain uses on the adjacent Clear Creek trails in order to minimize user conflicts, to include a preferred path for tubers and a seasonal bicycle dismount zone; • An expanded Park Ranger program with focus on the enforcement of rule violations; and • A central online portal for visitor information related to Clear Creek

These changes, and many others, are based on recommendations of the working group. In addition, the group identified a number of other possible actions and strategies for consideration in future years.

Recognizing the important asset that Clear Creek is for the community, the City will be seeking feedback from residents and visitors related to these changes throughout the summer season. This feedback, along with other data points, will allow us to learn from these changes and will help guide future adjustments and recommendations.

For more information and further details on the strategies, visit www.guidinggolden.com.