Fort Collins prepares 20 mph neighborhood limits, pending council approval

Fort Collins is preparing to set a 20 mph speed limit on local neighborhood streets, a change that still needs City Council action.

Staff said lowering neighborhood limits from 25 mph to 20 mph would be relatively simple and need little additional analysis. The city's presentation schedules a Dec. 8 work session on street standards and next steps for neighborhood speed limits. Staff said speeding tickets probably would not increase because police enforcement levels were unlikely to change.

The Vision Zero priority aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by 2032, emphasizing safer street designs, lower speeds and community education for vulnerable road users. Staff said the city collects speed data each year on a handful of neighborhood streets and finds average speeds of 28 mph where the limit is 25 mph. The city's presentation reports a 40% decline in traffic deaths, from 10 in 2024 to six in 2025, with three deaths recorded so far this year.

“I would hate for this to be performative,” Mayor Pro Tem Julie Pignataro said, asking how much the lower limit would reduce serious injuries and deaths. Staff said serious injuries and deaths typically occur on the high injury network, not neighborhood streets. Lower neighborhood limits could foster safer behavior but were unlikely to substantially reduce serious injuries and deaths, staff said. A council member asked whether lower limits might make residents more comfortable letting their children bike through their neighborhoods.

The city's agenda summary reports more than $70 million committed to safer infrastructure this year. It lists 12 miles of new lanes and sidewalks in planning or design and four miles complete or under construction. Fall improvements are planned on sections of Laurel, Shields and Taft Hill. The presentation also lists intersection-safety work at Lopez Elementary and crossing improvements at Zach Elementary.

Councilmember Amy Hoeven urged the affordable and sustainable growth ad hoc committee to focus more on cost-burdened residents, including renters, saying “cost does not equal price” in market-rate development. Hoeven said lower development costs would not guarantee lower prices for residents and cited a figure of 10,000 homes in two years to drive rents down 7%. A council member said support for low-income renters and housing options for middle-class families were complementary, backing efficient market-rate construction and more budget money for the most vulnerable residents. A city representative said the Oct. 27 Housing Action Plan update would include a discussion of housing and rent cost burdens.

Development application time with the city is down 49% since 2022, the city's agenda summary says. A council member said more specific information on the development priority would help explain the work to constituents and the public. A staff member said a first draft of the work plan was expected by the end of October or the first week of November, then would be revised with council and ad hoc committee input. The proposed roadmap would rank projects by priority and map schedules, deliverables, owners and intended outcomes through the end of 2027, the staff member said.