Arvada To Host Largest Ribbon Cutting In City's History

ARVADA, CO — More than 150 people are expected to hold a 2,000-foot ribbon Friday for a celebration of the completed pedestrian area in Olde Town and the completion of Phase One of the Ralston Road Improvement Project.

The celebration is set to begin at 4 p.m. near the intersection of Grandview Avenue and Olde Wadsworth Boulevard. The massive ribbon will wrap around Olde Town's blocked off streets before its ceremonial cutting.

The decision to convert Olde Town into a pedestrian mall was made after streets were temporarily closed during the pandemic to support local businesses. Many community members called for a semi-permanent model, and a survey of nearly 1,800 people revealed the majority were in favor of permanent street closures.

Crosswalks and road striping were revamped and new planters, medians and traffic barriers were added.

"The semi-permanent changes in Olde Town are consistent with the City's overall response to the pandemic,"Arvada Mayor Marc Williams said in a statement. "By collaborating with our partners, by working decisively to address the needs of our business community and by learning from our experience during the pandemic, we make our community even stronger than it was before."

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The Friday event will also be held in celebration of the Ralston Road Reconstruction Project's Phase One completion. The first phase, which was completed in July, included reconstruction of Ralston Road between Upham and Yukon Streets.

Phase 2, which will improve Ralston between Yukon and Garrison Streets, began in June, and is expected to take two years to complete.