Animas View Drive residents’ concerns about speeding were exacerbated in fall 2023 when a woman was struck by a vehicle and killed while walking along the road. Now, residents are concerned that temporary speed cushions installed on the road are only making things worse.
The city of Durango installed five temporary speed cushions – devices similar to speed humps, except wider, less steep and containing cutouts for emergency vehicles to pass through, according to the city – on Animas View Drive earlier this year to test if they would be effective at lowering speeds.
Residents didn’t distinguish between speed cushions and speed humps, but said at the Tuesday City Council meeting the features are going to get someone killed.
“This was an ill-conceived concept,” resident Karola Hanks said.
She said drivers will swerve around the speed cushions, driving into the dirt path where people walk adjacent to the road, and speed up in the stretches of road between speed cushions.
“Now we have this weaving, swerving process with people bailing to get away from cars,” she said. “Secondly, cars are now speeding between the speed humps. Including city staff vehicles. Including public transportation from the city.”
Animas View Drive: 2021 through the present
The city has contemplated ways to reduce speeding along Animas View Drive for years.
Tom Sluis, city spokesman, said City Council passed an ordinance in 2021 to reduce the speed limit on Animas View Drive from 35 mph to 25 mph at the behest of residents.
It also installed two speed radar feedback signs north and south of Oxbow and added flags to the new signs. Initially, drivers heeded the speed radar signals, and speeding was reduced. But after a couple of years, speeding became the norm again.
Katie Siegrist was struck by a 1987 Jeep Wrangler the evening of Sept. 14, 2023, while walking north on Animas View Drive. The Jeep was heading in the same direction and hit her from behind.
She was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction in critical condition and died from her injuries six days later.
The city held a neighborhood meeting with residents that November and hired Toole Design to evaluate options for increasing safety on the roadway. Sluis said signage, lighting, crosswalks, automated speed enforcement and speed cushions were recommended following an online survey and another public meeting in May 2024.
The temporary speed cushions were installed earlier this year at five locations. He said sight distance requirements, proximity to transit stops and existing lighting factored into where the speed cushions were installed.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers recommends speed cushions be placed 260 feet to 500 feet apart, he said. Because Animas View Drive is nearly 1.5 miles long, or 7,920 feet, and 13 speed cushions would need to be installed to cover the length of the roadway based on the ITE’s recommendation, the city chose five key locations to test the speed cushions.
“Responding to concerns about the speed cushions, multimodal staff have gone out and refreshed the paint on them and have ordered signage to warn people of the speed cushions,” Sluis said. “Additionally, staff requested another light be placed near one of the speed cushions and confirmed the other lights were operational.”
Resident Mike Olsen said he is a civil engineer with experience in transportation design and engineering. He compared speed humps to potholes – hazards on the road.
He said Animas View Drive is not equipped for the amount of traffic it receives, citing transportation engineering manuals and average trips per day metrics for single family residence neighborhoods.
Oxbow Park is the biggest traffic generator on Animas View Drive, he said, and speed humps or speed cushions are not adequate for the amount of traffic on the road.
“The city is obligated like any developer to fix the problem before it gets started,” he said. “Well, now we have a problem. And the problem cannot be fixed with speed humps. Those need to be removed.”
Hanks said Animas View Drive residents welcome speed enforcement cameras and a ticketing program to reduce speeding. Instead, it got speed humps – or speed cushions.
“This was not well thought out. This has decreased safety,” she said. “And please remember, we want to be that test. We said it in a public hearing. We want to be there. But those speed bumps need to go away before somebody gets killed.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
