Open Space, Parks, Trails and Recreation Plan

Centennial, Colorado

CAI worked with Wenk Associates to develop the first ever parks and recreation plan for the City of Centennial, CO. Our role was to establish a network of pathway facilities that will connect the city together and help to create a sense of place within the community.

With a population of approximately 103,000 and a land area of 28 square miles, Centennial’s incorporation as a city in 2000 was the largest incorporation in U.S. history. The City now contains a variety of open space and recreation corridors managed by several special districts. Surveys and public input have shown that trail connectivity and connections through the City of Centennial and across jurisdictional borders are a top priority for the Open Space, Parks, Trails and Recreation Plan.

To accomplish this goal, Charlier Associates applied our methodology for developing primary bicycling corridors that can meet both recreational and transportation needs. The plan identifies a system of 13 primary corridors, at least 2.5 miles in length (the national average bicycling trip length). Our approach, which was fully supported by citizen input into the planning process, was to expand the definition of “trails” to include six types of on- and off-street bicycle facilities that can link together existing pathways that parallel various drainageways in the City. We worked with the newly formed Open Space Advisory Committee to prioritize key missing links to be considered for funding through the City’s new open space grants program.

This project is significant to the greater south Denver region as two major regional trail projects route through Centennial. The 66-mile Highline Canal Trail snakes along the City’s western edge and the Cherry Creek Trail routes through the middle of Centennial. Completion of missing links on the Cherry Creek Trail are desired to connect Downtown Denver and the Cherry Creek State Park south to Castlewood Canyon State Park to create a continuous regional trail approximately 40 miles in length. The establishment of new on-street east/west routes will link these two projects within the City of Centennial.

City of Centennial, CO Plans Website