Recent Streetsblog DENVER posts about safety

Denver’s Regional Planners Target Timid Goal for Traffic Safety

By David Sachs | Jun 8, 2015 | 5 Comments

When it comes to improving traffic safety, the Denver Regional Council of Governments is following the lead of the Colorado Department of Transportation and setting the bar low. DRCOG, the regional planning organization responsible for doling out federal transportation funding, is working on Metro Vision 2040, a draft document meant to guide regional planning for the next 25 […]

Dangerous, Car-Centric Streets Put People at Risk, Not Density

By David Sachs | Jun 5, 2015 | No Comments

The Denver Post ran a commentary today by Aaron Schwartz, recounting a regular day gone wrong: A car crash injured his son and pregnant wife, who were walking near East Alameda Avenue and South Monaco Parkway. It’s a moving story that should impel change, but the culprit is not, as the headline suggests, “high density.” Here is Schwartz’s diagnosis: Denver […]

Mayor Hancock’s Sheridan Blvd Plan: Feel Good, Do Nothing

By David Sachs | Jun 2, 2015 | 3 Comments

Anyone who’s walked down Sheridan Boulevard knows it’s a dangerous street where dirt mounds replace sidewalks, drivers ignore the 35 mph speed limit, and crossing the street means dodging five lanes of traffic. It’s a nightmare for pedestrians and the Colorado Department of Transportation knows it. But that’s not stopping them from widening lanes nearby. Between 2010 […]

Quality Bike Infrastructure Decreases “Scofflaw” Riding

By David Sachs | May 29, 2015 | No Comments

Colorado Public Radio aired an enlightened story this morning that’s worth a listen (or read) for its treatment of the bicycle-versus-car narrative that permeates the Denver transportation discussion. Reporter Nathaniel Minor interviewed CU Denver Civil Engineer Professor Wesley Marshall, who is researching why people on bikes sometimes break traffic laws. Here’s a snippet: “Not all […]

The Legislature Killed Safe Routes to School Funding, So What’s Next?

By David Sachs | May 22, 2015 | No Comments

Pay raises for Colorado legislators, electronic traffic enforcement and student testing dominated state politics in the last session, overshadowing the casualty of a longstanding and successful program: Safe Routes to School. Some state funding remains for the 2015-2016 school year, but none for Denver. And after next year, no Colorado schools will have Safe Routes […]

The Blindspots in CDOT’s Latest Safety Campaign

By David Sachs | May 20, 2015 | 3 Comments

The Colorado Department of Transportation unveiled the conclusion to a provocative billboard campaign yesterday that reminds drivers and passengers to buckle up. You may have seen the ads around Denver over the last week with inscrutable phrases like “Brain Damage,” “Life or Death,” “Fatal Accident,” and “Windshield Ejection.” Those words are now crossed out with an image of a […]

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