Mayor: No Pedestrian Improvements Currently Planned for Nationway

Despite two recent vehicle vs. pedestrian crashes on Nationway, one fatal, Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins says the city "doesn't have any plans at this point" to add more streetlights and/or sidewalks along the road.

"(Staff) are looking at what happened in both events," Collins said Friday in his Mayor's Minute column (see below). "I will be following up with our engineering department to see what they learn and what changes they feel need to be made in the future."

"Talking to our police department on the crashes, they stress if you are going to be out walking at night, please wear light colored clothing and stay out of the travel lanes," Collins added.

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Cheyenne has seen two fatal vehicle vs. pedestrian crashes this year -- the March 24th crash on Nationway and the Jan. 7th crash on Yellowstone Road.

"Three significant pedestrian accidents, and two fatalities since I have become Mayor is three too many," said Collins.

The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – April 9th
CHEYENNE – This week starts our meetings with department heads to discuss the upcoming budget. It is an opportunity for them to share their vision for how the departments should look in the next budget year. I so appreciate the great group of directors we have and wish I could grant all their requests. This budget year is going to be a real challenge as our economy slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic slowdown. I must present my budget recommendations to the City Council by the first of May.
Wednesday afternoon I joined Governor Gordon and Cheyenne Frontier Days CEO, Tom Hirsig, to announce that the 2021 CFD show would happen at its normal time. CFD has worked with the University of Nebraska and their world-renowned experts to ensure the plan will allow visitors and volunteers to safely attend. It has been a long year, and we need a mental health lift that comes with getting back to normal activities. The “Daddy of ‘Em All” is just what the doctor ordered.
Thursday evening CFD announced the lineup for this year’s show. Garth Brooks, Thomas Rhett, Cody Johnson, Maren Morris, Kane Brown, Eric Church, and Blake Shelton will grace the big stage in Frontier Park. I love country music and can’t wait to join all of you at the concerts.
Monday morning, I attended a breakfast to learn about affordable housing tax credits and how Cheyenne could use them to make a difference in the amount of quality, affordable housing we can offer our residents. I want to thank Kevin and Lori for a great breakfast and for the exciting information they provided. Remember, the affordable housing task force is still taking applications, so if you have an interest please apply at www.cheyennecity.org/boards.
The DDA presented a project for our upcoming 6th penny sales tax. They are interested in rehabbing the alley ways between 16th and 17th street to beautify them and make them drivers of economic development for our community. They are also hoping to get the money to finish the lighting project along 17th street. We are going to be learning about all the 6th penny projects over the next week. The deadline to get our list to the County Commissioners is April 28th. Please give your City Council members your feedback on the list of projects.
I am a little nervous as I write my column this week. I have been invited to Powers Field to cut the ribbon for the new turf field that was recently installed. What I did not realize is throwing out the first pitch in front of the best baseball team in Wyoming was part of the deal. Now, I grew up playing baseball and softball, but it has been years. I can just see all the blooper highlights of first pitches gone wrong. Hoping to get Micky Powers, whom the field is named for, to be there for support. Update next week on how it went!
We had four staff members from Senator Lummis’ team stop by this week. It was great to see Chris Land, Darrin Munoz, Tyler Lindholm, and Brendan Ames. Brendan did great work for the city, and we are hoping to see him representing the United States in the summer Olympic games. You see, not only is Brendan great at economic development, but he is also one of the fastest hurdlers in the world. Good luck this summer, sir, and thank you Senator for all you do for Cheyenne and Wyoming!
I have been Mayor now for three months. I have told you I am having a blast representing all of you. It is truly an honor and so much fun. It is busy, and a person cannot do it without help. We have a great group of employees that make me look good. I just hired my Chief of Staff, Andy Worshek, to help me keep on top of this busy life. Andy is a retired Master Chief from the Navy and is the last piece of my administration. Our kids grew up playing soccer together, and I know we will be a great team. He came to Cheyenne as the Chief of the Boat for the USS Cheyenne, fell in love with our beautiful city, and moved here upon retirement. I love that story.
This week’s question comes from Joy Greenwald, she is a reporter with Townsquare Media. She writes:
“In light of the March 24th and April 2nd vehicle vs. pedestrian crashes on Nationway, is the city looking at implementing any pedestrian improvements such as continuous sidewalks and more streetlights?”
Joy, I have reached out to our staff, and we do not have any plans at this point. They are looking at what happened in both events, and if there are things we need to do in the future. Talking to our police department on the crashes, they stress if you are going to be out walking at night, please wear light colored clothing and stay out of the travel lanes. I will be following up with our engineering department to see what they learn and what changes they feel need to be made in the future. Appreciate the question. Three significant pedestrian accidents, and two fatalities since I have become Mayor is three too many.
Please continue sending questions my way by emailing media@cheyennecity.org. I’ll continue to answer them in my following Mayor’s Minute column.

10 Cheyenne Frontier Days Souvenirs Found on eBay

2021 is the 125th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days. It's crazy when you stop to think about it that means the Daddy of 'Em All has been around longer than the internet, sliced bread, and cars!

Over that century-plus of Old West celebrations, millions of people have visited Cheyenne, Wyoming. Many of the people took home souvenirs of their days cheering on the rodeo participants and exploring Wyoming.

Many years later those souvenirs have made their way onto the online auction site eBay. Collectors from around the world are reading bits and pieces of Cheyenne's history of tourism. Here are a few of the treasures we found recently.