Dear Action Line: Why is the left turn lane into Bodo on northbound U.S. Highway 550/160 almost three times longer than the left turn lane onto U.S. Highway 160 west just up the road? If my quick measurement is accurate, the Bodo turn lane onto Sawyer Drive is nearly 2,000 feet – over one-third of a mile! Yet, the busier U.S. 160 west turn lane – at an intersection that Colorado Department of Transportation reports say “sees 30k-40k vehicles each day depending on season” – is only around 700 feet long and often backed up into the shoulder. Why make one so unnecessarily long, and the other not long enough? – Mace
Dear Mace: Well, you certainly have a point there. The newfangled “continuous flow intersection” onto U.S. 160 west doesn’t flow so continuously when turning vehicles are backed up into regular traffic lanes. That intersection seems to work, but certainly doesn’t meet the time-honored standard for humanity lovingly known as “KISS” or “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” Just sayin’ it’s a bit complicated, especially for some of the, um, less-well-traveled folks.
As far as the short turn lane, well, life isn’t perfect, and we all try to work with what we have. There. Does that answer your question?
No?
Well, here’s an answer from CDOT. Those folks know a lot more than Action Line about roads and constantly monitor such things.
“It is hard to say exactly what the engineers who originally designed these auxiliary lanes were up against for constraints at the time of construction,” said Jen Allison, CDOT regional traffic and safety program manager. “Environmental restrictions, available right of way, utility conflicts, terrain and cost can all impact construction.”
At the continuous flow intersection, or CFI, Allison said, some of these constraints seem to limit the lane length.
“CDOT is aware of this lane stacking past the current lane length at certain times of the day, with the most critical time being in the evening,” Allison said. “We have applied small changes such as adjusting the signal timing at the CFI to try and mitigate these incidents. There are no plans to increase the length of that lane at this time. However, CDOT traffic staff are keeping a close eye on the level of service and capacity for all movements of the CFI.”
At the aforementioned Sawyer Drive left turn, Allison said, Turner Drive traffic entering the highway has an effect.
“It makes sense to designate each lane early to address any confusion for northbound commuters and commuters coming off East Turner onto Camino.”
She added that when comparing the two locations, “the simple reality could be that the CFI is constrained with the curved feature of the lane following the terrain.”
Or, as Action Line would oversimply, one place had a lot of room to work with, and one place didn’t.
Dear Action Line: It’s beginning to feel like spring, which means that the pile of Christmas trees dumped on the right immediately after you make the left turn from U.S. Highway 160 west onto Wildcat Canyon Road (County Road 141) are emerging from their deep freeze. They never appear to be picked up, and fall apart where tossed. Where did everyone get the memo to dump trees there? Was that a collection spot used in the past? – Spruce It Up
Dear Spruce: Is it feeling like spring? Maybe it will be by the time you read this? Action Line heard Bing Crosby say it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but that must have been a flashback. Time for Action Line to get checked again.
The pile is not huge this year, but it’s there. Action Line was not granted a response by the adjacent landowner, who probably figured Action Line’s call was some kind of scam. (Beware: The real Action Line will never, ever ask for credit card information, but will insist on a quick transfer via PayPal or Venmo.)
OK, this just in:
La Plata County Road and Bridge has picked up the few remaining trees and taken them to the landfill west of Bayfield to be mulched. Apparently the county does not do this every year.
County spokesman Ted Holteen suggested that people stop dumping trees there, which Action Line fully agrees with. There is a better way.
You might pin this on your calendar: Every year the city of Durango collects used Christmas trees for recycling at Santa Rita Park, located at 149 South Camino del Rio on your Google map. It’s for city residents, but here’s a guess that not all trees that show up are donated by city residents.
The city collect trees – sans tinsel and unwanted ornaments – until Jan. 31. If you’re keeping your tree around later than that, then you need to get a life. But now Action Line is just being mean again. Time to stop.
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Despite the snarkiness that might indicate otherwise, Action Line loves people. Adores them. Really. Each and every one of us. Never forget that.
