Workers have closed the Chapman Drive Trailhead in Boulder Canyon to do about $1.2 million in improvements, including a new pedestrian bridge, more parking, a picnic area and a kiosk with maps and information.

Some residents aren’t happy about the project’s price tag and say the money could be better spent elsewhere.

The pedestrian bridge would add a separate walkway for recreationalists to cross Boulder Creek from Boulder Canyon Trail and enter the Chapman trailhead area. The existing arrangement has one bridge that cars, bikers and pedestrians use to cross the creek and access the trailhead. Some residents who frequent the area have said the new pedestrian bridge is unnecessary and feel the money could be spent better elsewhere.

Boulder resident Matt Hardy has been biking the trail for 15 years. He said there have been no issues or accidents with pedestrians sharing the bridge with motor vehicles and feels adding a pedestrian bridge is unnecessary.

“It just feels like there’s a lot of places the money could be used or maybe not used and be returned back to the citizens,” Hardy said.

Andrew Barth, communications manager for Boulder County, said the pedestrian bridge was initially part of a Boulder Canyon trail project completed by the Colorado Department of Transportation after the 2013 flood. CDOT was going to build the pedestrian bridge but could not fit it into its scope of work.

When the city decided to construct improvements to the Chapman trailhead, the opportunity came for the county and city to work together to split the cost of the overall project and install the bridge as well. Barth has heard from residents who are frustrated by the closure of the trailhead and others who feel the existing bridge is adequate.

“This bridge, while it might seem redundant, we hope it encourages more people to recreate in that area,” Barth said.

The cost of the pedestrian bridge will be about $800,000, and is budgeted for about $900,000 to account for any unexpected costs. The trailhead improvements will cost about $400,000. The city and county are splitting the cost of the project at about $600,000 each. The trailhead closed in early March and the project is underway.

“They’re going to do it, (and) it’s not going to make anything better,” Hardy said, adding, “It seems like a lot of lost money for not a lot of benefit for any of us.”

Hardy said he doesn’t understand why so much money is being spent on a bridge when the money could be used in other ways, like improving bike safety throughout the city by adding rumble strips. Or, he added, it could go to homeless initiatives or paying staff better.

Mark McIntyre, a member of the city’s planning board, has tried to encourage officials to reevaluate, cancel or rethink spending nearly $1 million on the bridge. He said he has questioned the need for a pedestrian bridge at Chapman and nobody has given him a great reason for it.

“There’s no bad time to stop a bad project,” McIntyre said.

Resident Terri Reh said there’s nothing wrong with the existing bridge and trailhead, and said that neither one needs improvements. Reh said there are many places and trails that need improvements, and Chapman is not one of them.

“In many ways, users really like the grass routes (and) basic feel of the location,” Reh said. “It is low-key and has plenty of parking. It really feels like Boulder is wasting money better spent elsewhere.”

Jeff Haley, deputy director of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks department, said the trailhead construction will transform Chapman to meet Boulder’s standards that are typical at every trailhead. It will expand parking, create horse trailer parking for equestrian use, a kiosk with wayfinding maps and information and a picnic area.

As for the bridge, Haley said, it’s needed because of the highway speeds, the blind curve nearby and people coming in and out of the wedding venue next to the trailhead. While some residents have been vocal in opposing it, Haley said he’s heard from people who live nearby who are excited about the new bridge.

“This bridge was just envisioned truly to have a separate trail and safe experience,” Haley said.

The bridge is scheduled to be complete by the end of May or early June, and the trailhead work will continue through the summer, according to a city webpage. Chapman Drive Trail and Boulder Canyon Trail will mostly remain open and the contractors will keep the area as open as possible during construction, according to a press release.

“It all goes back to creating a safe space for everybody who wants to recreate in the canyon,” Barth said.

For more information, visit bouldercolorado.gov/news/city-close-chapman-drive-trailhead-recreational-improvements.