Firestone project aims to keep employers, workers close

FIRESTONE — A new neighborhood to be built here may address the labor squeeze issue head-on — by putting employees and employers within walking distance of each other.

The concept is not a new one. Many planners in the last few years, including some working on high-profile projects in Longmont, Fort Collins and Broomfield, have espoused the “new urban/neo-traditional” neighborhood concept, where narrow streets slow traffic, garages face alleys and work and shopping are within walking distance.

While the 500-acre planned development two miles east of the Del Camino exit of…