Dear Action Line,
I find myself in acute intellectual misery as I attempt to determine why most of the flashing yellow left turn lights have been eliminated along the 160 corridor near Durango.
Now we get to sit through an endless light cycle, pondering life’s mysteries, while we can see that there is no oncoming traffic for miles. Can’t we be trusted to determine whether a left turn can be made safely? I mean, what could possibly go wrong ... oops, answered my own question. – Lefty
Dear Lefty,
There sure are a lot of mysteries of life to ponder.
Why do skiers drive so fast on the way to Purgatory Ski Resort? We recently saw someone call it the Purgatory 500. We’re not in Indianapolis anymore. What’s going on between the city and county? I don’t even want to open that can of worms. Why is the line always so long at Zia Taqueria and Homeslice? Action Line gets hungry after speeding around town.
If one did want to get a burrito at Zia South, or any other fine Durango establishment that takes drivers along U.S. Highway 160, they might run into the very problem our left-turn-inclined Lefty is wondering about.
Lisa Ann Schwantes, regional communications manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation was able to fill us in.
CDOT says that the flashing signals have not been eliminated, but they have been altered.
It’s what they call a “permissive left turn,” where drivers are only permitted to turn left only after they have yielded to oncoming traffic. CDOT cites studies from the Federal Highway Administration that show the flashing yellow arrow is the “best alternative” for turning left (as opposed to a solid green circle, which can give people the wrong impression that they don’t have to yield).
Flashing yellows have been in the Southwest Colorado area since 2016.
“That length of time has allowed our engineers and technicians to investigate how effectively the flashing yellow arrows were operating,” according to CDOT. “The team also scrutinized local crash data and traffic volumes throughout the day. Lastly, they gathered comments and observations from local users (the general public, local agency partners, law enforcement and first responders). The team took the collected information and made some changes.”
Schwantes revealed that during the day, the state-owned signals generally operate with a green arrow only. The flashing yellow arrow only appears at night.
There you have it. Next time Lefty is traveling through the night, they can revel in this newfound knowledge about flashing yellow lights. Just don’t forget to yield or you’ll become roadkill. Is that too dark? Dark as the Durango night.
And Action Line will understand better next time we’re caught behind a red light when we’re trying to get lunch.
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301, via the USPS, whether you’re a Lefty or Righty.
