Moratorium Installing Diverters on Collector or Arterial Streets

[Bryan Wilson]

Hello,

The City of Denver has installed a number of Neighborhood Bikeways around the City. This is great! Many of those Neighborhood Bikeways also included the installation of one or more diverters as a traffic calming measure to eliminate cut-thru traffic and generally reduce the overall traffic volume on the Bikeway. This is also great!

Here's the issue...

When a diverter is installed on a street that is identified as a collector or an arterial, the traffic naturally spills onto the adjacent streets. This creates excessive cut-thru traffic on streets that are typically identified as neighborhood or local streets. This is a disservice to those communities because it creates unnecessary noise & even dangerous situations.

The diverter installed on Franklin at 14th is an example.

The City of Denver Street types map indicates that Franklin St is a Residential Collector. https://www.denvergov.org/files/assets/public/community-planning-and-development/documents/planning-general/blueprint-denver/street_types_map.pdf

It's identified as a collector because it was intended to funnel traffic to Colfax Avenue & Park Avenue. The diverter causes an excessive number of drivers to use adjacent streets like Gilpin as a cut-thru to Colfax & right now, Park Ave.

Going forward, we need a moratorium on installing any diverters on a streets that have been identified as a collector or an arterial, unless neither of the adjacent streets are local or neighborhood streets.

Larimer St in the RiNo neighborhood is another example. Not only is the adjacent street a local street, but Lawrence is also a Neighborhood Bikeway. Requesting that this street also remain open to thru-traffic to limit the cut-thru traffic on the Neighborhood Bikeway as well as the surrounding community. Instead, we should implement other traffic calming measures on Larimer, like a road-diet or protected bike lanes and build out the bus stops for the ART District Connector.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Respectfully,

Bryan Wilson 

Posted on Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisionZeroDenver/s/IPE8grxL39 

[Bryan Wilson]

Hello Councilmember Watson & RTD Board Member Guzman,

It's my understanding that a block party is still scheduled for today on the 2900 Block of Larimer Street.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisionZeroDenver/comments/1s3gmvr/where_will_the_through_traffic_be_directed_for/

Here's a safety concern...

Where does the traffic go once it's rerouted off of Larimer? 

I think this question needs to be answered and also the impacts to the surrounding need to be taken into consideration. 

I've experienced drivers getting frustrated and driving recklessly through the neighborhood because once they are diverted off Larimer the very next street, which is Lawrence also has a diverter because it's a Neighborhood Bikeway.

I do love the idea of dedicating streets to pedestrians, but not at the expense of the safety for everyone on nearby neighborhood streets. 

Instead we should consider doing this on a street like Walnut, since it does not have a Neighborhood Bikeway adjacent to it.

We can then plan for protected bike lanes along Larimer, to prevent them from being obstructed by drivers and to prevent drivers from parking and obstructing the corner sight triangles.

Lastly, here's an accessibility concern ...

As you can see in the photo street is now part of the RTD ART District Connector. We need to ensure that it can easily navigate this corridor so that riders with limited mobility can access the bus stops.

This is another reason to have protected bike lanes and planned to build out the bus stops into the street like other stretches of Larimer. I've also observed drivers obstructing the bus stops, which prevents the bus from pulling to the stop and lowering the ramp appropriately.

Maybe your office can connect with the local RTD board member to help advocate for the constituents and patrons utilizing that route.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. 

Respectfully,

Bryan Wilson