DENVER (KDVR) — Neighbors with homes on a stretch of 13th and 14th avenues in Denver are asking for more from the city for safety after a series of crashes.
“These people treat 13th and 14th like it’s a highway,” said Ty Tomlinson, who spoke with FOX31 and Channel 2 back in September of 2021 after the light pole in front of his home was hit.
What is Denver doing about 13th, 14th avenues?
The City of Denver released information Friday about the changes it is making to that stretch on both roads:
In response to recent crashes, complaints from residents about speeding, and requests from the District 5 Council Office to address traffic issues along E. 13th and E. 14th Avenues between Colorado Boulevard and Yosemite Street, Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure has placed six (6) electronic message boards along these corridors (three on each road) to draw people’s attention to the speeds they are driving and to encourage people to slow down. The boards display a Halloween-themed message currently that will be updated next week and changed periodically the next few weeks.
City of Denver
But those with homes on the side of the busy road — like Eric Haglund, who had his garage destroyed in July of this year — worry the signage isn’t enough.
“We wake up at night and wonder if the next one is going to hit our house,” Haglund said.
Another neighbor off 14th Avenue and Grape Street, who interviewed with FOX31 and Channel 2 back in November of 2021, explained that during a recent meeting they had with the city they discussed enforcement, education and engineering.
“Education is for those who actually want to be educated, who care. The problem is the street racers don’t care,” the neighbor, Scott Derhak, said.
All three neighbors said they believe the roadways need major changes in engineering, like making both streets two-ways and adding additional stoplights.
“I think it’s going to come down to infrastructure, speed bumps and dips,” Haglund said.
Safety improvements scheduled
The City of Denver also shared the following information Monday:
They are an interim measure until other safety improvements, which are scheduled to be implemented along these corridors to slow drivers down, can be constructed. DOTI has already changed the light timing along these corridors to help address speeding concerns. The lights are timed to move drivers safely and efficiently at the speed limits that are posted. Going outside posted speeds is inefficient, as it puts the speeding vehicle outside of the “platoon” of cars that’s generally being paced to reach the lights on the green.
The message boards will be supplemented by regular Denver Police Department speed enforcement activities. There are also four pole-mounted driver feedback signs installed on E. 13th and E. 14th Avenues that indicate how fast people are driving to raise driver awareness of their speeds.
Additional safety enhancements planned for the corridors include improvements at 21 intersections along E. 13th and E. 14th Avenues between Broadway and Yosemite. DOTI will be adding paint and posts to these intersections to shorten pedestrian crossing distances, which is anticipated to have a secondary effect of calming traffic, including slowing vehicle turning speeds from 13th and 14th Avenues onto neighborhood streets.
The 21 intersections receiving pedestrian crossing improvements are:
• On E. 13th Avenue (12 intersections): Grant Street, Logan Street, Pennsylvania Street, Pearl Street, Washington Street, Gilpin Street, Williams Street, High Street, Cherry Street, Krameria Street, Uinta Street, Verbena Street
• On E. 14th Avenue (9 intersections): Gilpin Street, Williams Street, High Street, Josephine Street, Colorado Blvd, Cherry Street, Krameria Street, Uinta Street, Verbena Street
DOTI also recently made safety improvements at 13th and Syracuse, installing larger signal heads on the side-mounted traffic signals and adding a second overhead signal on the westbound approach to the intersection. This intersection was the site of a fatal crash in August; another fatal crash occurred at Syracuse and 14th Avenue in April.
City of Denver