Crossing 17th Ave

[jjfolsom]

I am an urban planner that lives on the 1500 block of Madison Street in the very family oriented neighborhood of South City Park. On just the two blocks between Colfax and 17th Ave there are at least 20 children under age 16 including my 2 children. We all frequent City Park due to our proximity but it is very dangerous to cross 17th Ave most hours of the day unless we walk four blocks out of our way to the traffic signal at Steel Street.

The Steele St. crossing serves the central part of the neighborhood and the Fillmore signal serves East High and the west portion of the neighborhood; however, for people at the east end of the neighborhood, there is no safe way to cross 17th Ave to enter City Park.

A few potential solutions are:
A pedestrian activated signal somewhere between Madison, Monroe, Garfield, or Jackson St. Two local examples that you are probably familiar with are the one on 14th Ave. between civic center park and the Library/Art Museum complex and on 13th between the Library and the art museum addition.

A much less expensive solution that is quite common would be to build a short 1/2 block median in combination with a striped cross walk that provides a ‘pedestrian refuge’ so when crossing you only have to worry about one direction of traffic so you can at least get across one ½ of the street and wait safely for traffic to clear in the other direction.

By proposing this now, I'm trying to help us move toward a solution prior to a tragedy. With more and more families moving into this neighborhood and exciting improvements to City Park (like the addition of the electric fountain), I'm sure others feel the same way we do. Please let me know what I can do to help. Feel free to contact me with your thoughts and questions.

[grant]

Here is a reply by the City of Denver, Director of Traffic Engineering Services & City Traffic Engineer (sent September 30, 2008 10:09:12 AM MDT)

Mr. Slotta, Mr. Folsom, and Mr. Clayton,

Your concerns and suggestions regarding pedestrians crossing 17th Ave to and from City Park between Steele St and Colorado Blvd have been forwarded to Denver Traffic Engineering Services via both the Mayor's Office and Councilwoman Carla Madison's office. Our staff has requested new traffic counts and speed data to be collected on 17th Ave so we can evaluate the current situation and develop possible strategies that could be implemented in response to your concerns. Amy Rens of our staff will be taking the lead in investigating possible warrants for a new intersection or mid-block pedestrian activated traffic signal somewhere on 17th Ave between Steele St and Colorado Blvd. The signal warrant study will be based on national standards established by the latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Section 4C (Traffic Control Needs Studies). I am providing a link to Chapter 4 of the MUTCD so you can review the criteria that will be used in determining a warrant for new traffic signal:

mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2003/Ch4.pdf

With regard to the other pedestrian safety and traffic calming suggestions made for 17th Ave, our staff will evaluate the feasibility of these suggestions and provide recommendations within a few weeks. We will also coordinate our study efforts with Denver Parks & Recreation. Thank you for taking time to raise these concerns to City of Denver officials on behalf of your neighbors in City Park South.

Brian L. Mitchell, P.E., P.T.O.E.
Director of Traffic Engineering Services & City Traffic Engineer
[e-mail]

[cweber]

I'm glad this is being looked into, but another important point about the Steele St crossing is that for unclear reasons to me since the traffic lights are both overhead and on the curb and should be easily seen by vehicles (?is the western setting sun affecting the west bound traffic at times? ), there is BLATANT running of red lights there. I often think that the city would make a fortune on moving violations there, but there is not someone there to enforce it. I realize it would be costly to "hide" an officer near that crossing at certain times, but I cant say how many times I realized that I would have been struck by a vehicle if I had actually moved forward on foot or on my bike when I had green. Just recently, I was amazed that a car that was at the point of the mid block alley on 17th st, STILL went thru the red light. From my experience, most of these drivers also think they are driving a phone booth.

[Tom Morris]

I want to oppose putting a traffic signal at Garfield. The existing City Park master plan shows a realignment of the park road which now exits onto 17th avenue at Harrison. The realignment would exit at Garfield. Placing a signal light at Garfield would make Garfield Street a traffic carrying segment in the morning rush as drivers short circuit the traffic light at 17th and Colorado and use Garfield as a connection to Colfax. The increase in traffic would negatively effect the stability of residential Garfield.
I urge the neighborhood to ask for an island in the middle of 17th Avenue so that park users would only have to deal with two lanes of traffic at a time and protect the strollers, dogs, children and old folks from commuter traffic.

[rogerlawson]

With all due respect to Tom, the point is not about the inconvenience to the residents on Garfield, the POINT is about the ability of folks on the East side of the neighborhood to safely cross 17th on their way to the park. An island might make the crossing slightly safer, but it does not stop traffic. An island simply means you get to dodge traffic two lanes at a time instead of four. (Not much of an improvement). Inconvenient? Destabilizing? Are you kidding? If that's the only thing holding us up, put the d**n light on Cook Street, where I live. We gave up on inconvenient and stability a long time ago!
There's a vote coming at the March SCPNA meeting. I will be out of town, and according to our neighborhood by-laws, I cannot vote by proxy or absentee ballot; but I'm pulling for you East-Enders to get your stop light. You deserve the same kind of safe crossing that those at the West end have enjoyed for a long time.
And, while I'm at it: Yo! Denver traffic engineers: Back in October you promised to study the situation and have a report for us in a couple of weeks. It's March...how's that study comin along?

[Higinio Malavet]

I cross 17 th ave every morning to walk my dogs in the park.At 4 30 am I have no problems crossing ;D But between 4 00 pm and 7 pm week days it is near impossible. An island will not work because drivers will use it as a passing lane. A stop light will work , so will an overpass as the one on Colorado blvd and 13th. but the only reason that was built was because a child was injured while crossing co. blvd. on his way to class at the school on the east side of the blvd at 13th= 14th. We need a safe solution to cross 17th before a fatal accident occurs. Higinio

[BonnieClarke]

And, while I'm at it: Yo! Denver traffic engineers: Back in October you promised to study the situation and have a report for us in a couple of weeks. It's March...how's that study comin along?

RogerLawson asked this in in March; I am asking again in April. I like the "island" idea - which will NOT be used as a passing lane if it is several inches higher than the roadbed.
Add a planter for summer flowers? It's a half way solution but I believe a lot cheaper than a traffic light. It may not "calm" traffic but it does ease the crossing.

I'd love to see some red light enforcement along that stretch of 17th Avenue, too. I now wait for the green and walk signal, and then wait further for the last cars to clear before I venture out. It's not supposed to be that tedious.

[laughaloud]

I am a parent, runner, cyclist, and dog owner. I live on the 16th block of Madison Street. There are 7 children on the street (with two more on the way). There are more than a dozen dogs on our block (with dog owners who presumably walk their dogs in the park). We had one adult neighbor hit by a car and severely injured while attempting to cross 17th Ave (2 years ago). All this is to say, WE NEED TO HAVE A SAFER & CLOSER WAY TO CROSS 17th AVE! Why can't we have a light in one of the alleys (like they frequently have 13th and 14th Ave?). Also, can we work on reducing the speed limit to 30 MPH b/t CO BLVD and York? No doubt, people will still go 40+, but at least they won't be going 50+ MPH.

Update: Yesterday, my neighbors' two beautiful dogs escaped through a poorly latched front door and were struck and killed crossing 17th Ave. While this doesn't appear to be the fault of the driver, I can't help but wonder if there had been a light b/t Steele and CO BLVD to slow traffic, or had there been a slower speed limit, perhaps this tragedy could have been diverted, or the trauma would not have been so great that the dogs might have survived. PLEASE let's do something before a similar incident occurs again. Let's work to protect or pets and children.

[Sagar]

Build a walk overpass

[nola]

I haven't seen anyone post anything about this in years, but I do know there was a fatality on 17th last summer/fall from a pedestrian trying to cross. It makes me sad that it was almost predicted by the concerned residents above. Is anything happening? I live on Harrison and know there desperately needs to be a way to cross the street not just for the neighborhood but for people who walk from Colfax to the Park.

[denrican]

Living on Harrison , the same problem continues especially with increased traffic. A pedestrian median still seems like the best idea presented here in 2008.