Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said his administration will reduce speed limits on five roads and make other street fixes during a Wednesday press conference meant to highlight the government’s response to the consistent scourge of traffic deaths on city streets.
As of Wednesday, 49 people have died walking, biking, driving and motorcycling in Denver this year, according to local officials. Seattle, a denser city with a similar population, saw 14 people killed in traffic all of last year.
In the wake of two high-profile deaths of people on bikes, Hancock labeled Denver’s traffic death count a “public health crisis.”
“Our culture is shifting,” Hancock said. “We are an automobile culture that is changing to a more multimodal culture and all of us have to have to get on board with that. I know culture change is hard. We are creatures of habit, but the reality is is that we’ve got to get — we’ve got to share our roads … we all have to begin to shift and be more aware.”
Over the next few months, the city will lower the speed limit:
from 35 to 30 mph on West Evans Avenue from Federal Boulevard to Huron Street
from 35 to 30 mph on Cherry Creek Drive South from University Boulevard to Colorado Boulevards
from 35 to 30 mph on First Avenue/Steele Street/Cherry Creek Drive North/Alameda Avenue from University Boulevard to Colorado Boulevard
from 40 to 35 mph on Peoria Street from 47th Avenue to 39th Avenue
from 45 to 40 mph on 56th Avenue from Quebec Street to Tower Road
Denver police will also up speeding enforcement in risky areas for pedestrians and add six officers to its enforcement team.
Lower speed limits — new signs and some enforcement — can make streets safer, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. But street design — slimmer roads, more bike facilities, and highly visible crosswalks — dictate driving speeds, according to the National Association of Transportation Officials.
New speed limits aren’t the only things Denverites can expect over the next few months.
Denver Public Works representatives said it will install the following over the summer and fall:
In-street pedestrian crossing signs at 10 locations
High-visibility crosswalks throughout downtown
Stronger barriers to buffer people biking from cars on the 15th Street and Larimer Street bike lanes
Five signs alerting drivers of their speed in real time
Meanwhile, Denver is on track to have one of its worst years for traffic deaths in recent memory.
“Every year we start the year excited about the possibility of improving those numbers,” Hancock said. “And this will not be one of them.”
For the full article + more information, go to Denverite.
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