15-Minute City

Two cyclists riding down a street

Imagine being able to walk, bike or roll to the grocery store, school, park or your job — all within 15 minutes of your home. That’s the vision of a 15-minute city.

A 15-minute city is a community where everyone can meet their daily needs — like groceries, childcare, schools and transit — with a short walk, bike ride or roll. This approach to city planning reduces the need for cars, supports climate goals, improves air quality and helps create more connected, healthier neighborhoods.

Fort Collins' 15-Minute City Vision

Fort Collins City Council has made the 15-minute city a priority for 2024–2026. Our focus is on two key strategies:

  • Igniting neighborhood centers: Encouraging more daily services and amenities within neighborhoods
  • Shifting to active modes: Expanding options for walking, biking and rolling through implementation of the Active Modes(PDF, 18MB) and Vision Zero(PDF, 3MB) plans

These efforts support equity, climate action and quality of life across the community.

Vision and Goals

Vision:

Fort Collins is a 15-minute city where every resident can walk, bike or roll to their daily needs and services.

Goals:

  • Equity: Everyone, regardless of neighborhood or income, can access daily needs without a car.
  • Active travel: More trips happen by foot, bike or transit, reducing emissions and traffic.
  • Resilience: Residents spend less time traveling, improving well-being and access to opportunity.

What We Learned: 2022 Study

In 2022 the City conducted a detailed analysis to understand how close residents are to daily destinations using active modes.

  • Walking range: ¾ mile
  • Biking range: 3 miles
  • What we looked at: Speed, traffic stress, sidewalk and bike network connections

Key findings:

  • Childcare, parks, trails and schools are well spread across the city.
  • Jobs, universities and civic spaces are more limited to certain areas.
  • Our bike network has strong pockets but lacks citywide coverage.
  • Pedestrian access is more widespread but also uneven.

Equity Focus Areas

We identified six neighborhoods where residents face the greatest barriers to safe, convenient travel and access to daily needs. These areas were selected based on:

  • Poor pedestrian or bike connectivity
  • Health disparities
  • Affordable, senior or mobile home housing

By focusing on these areas first, we can make the biggest difference for our most underserved residents.

The documents on this page are provided for printing purposes. For assistance viewing or reading these documents, please contact the City's ADA Coordinator via email adacoordinator@fortcollins.gov or phone: 970-416-4254. 

What We're Doing Next

The City is using this data to guide policy, zoning and infrastructure decisions. We're building on existing plans — including City Plan, the Active Modes Plan and Transit Master Plan — to support the 15-minute city vision:

Make Neighborhoods More Complete

  • Encourage housing near existing services
  • Support mixed-use developments with jobs, housing and shops
  • Reduce barriers to building Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
  • Update zoning to allow more services in residential areas
  • Invest in redevelopment of key areas like Midtown and the Mulberry Corridor

Expand Active Travel Options

  • Prioritize pedestrian and bike projects in underserved areas
  • Add more trails, sidewalks and safe crossings
  • Improve connections to transit
  • Design safer intersections and update signal timing
  • Allocate more funding toward active transportation

Enhance Transit Access

  • Expand bus rapid transit (BRT) and transit frequency
  • Develop mobility hubs where biking and transit connect
  • Improve transit in low-density areas with innovative services

Increase Access to Nature and Parks

  • Monitor and improve walkable access to parks and trails
  • Fund neighborhood nature projects through Nature in the City
  • Require park and trail connections in new developments

Promote Awareness and Engagement

  • Install better bike and pedestrian wayfinding
  • Expand digital access to City services
  • Support local businesses in mixed-use neighborhoods
  • Educate residents about 15-minute travel options

Contact Us

Email

fcmoves@fortcollins.gov

Phone

970-221-6705

Hours

Monday-Friday | 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Physical Address

200 W. Mountain Ave.

Suite A

Fort Collins, CO 80521

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