Longmont's Sunset Street Bridge opened last Thursday afternoon! Boulder County residents have been eagerly awaiting its opening as there are only two low impact stop lights there between 3 St. and Ken Pratt and a right turn traffic light at Ken Pratt. On Hover there are 7 lights in the same distance and countless exits and entrances. The original bridge was damaged in the September 2013 flood and the Longmont community couldn't be happier to celebrate it's grand opening on Thursday, May 13th. WKRE Broker Associate and resident of Longmont, Dave Cooper joined in on the celebration and discusses his thoughts about the new Sunset Street Bridge below.
How does the new Sunset Bridge compare to the old Sunset Bridge?
If I remember correctly this bridge is about twice the span of the original and I would say somewhat higher single lane with bike paths on each side and a large bike and walking path below overlooking the beautiful South St Vrain .
How do you think this will affect the Longmont community?
The Sunset Bridge is one of only four north south accesses to the diagonal and during the flood of several years ago Longmont’s only access to the south was I 25. Only two of these collectors are major collectors with the Sunset bridge as the only one serving central Longmont which will have a significant impact on Hover traffic flow which is at or above capacity. And to some degree it will impact Main St. as well especially since South Main Street is under extensive construction limiting it to one lane for some time to come.
What are your hopes for the future of the City of Longmont?
Basically people are not moving out of Longmont, they are moving at a rapid case and this is a good example of how Longmont spends it funds, a really attractive and practical benefit to the community unlike the countless millions Boulder is spending Municipalization burdening the City with debt and zero benefit to the citizens. Longmont is a very run City, well balanced in all income levels with a really practical approach to running the City in a manner the benefits the City and the community as a whole. I am looking forward to it continuing down that path and the Sunset Bridge is only one of many examples of that approach. We moved out of Boulder County to Longmont about 5 years ago and we have never looked back once, it is a real American town.