As construction arrives back into Durango (as though it ever left) with spring flowers, pollen and tourists, I’ve found myself once again questioning, why are we unable to effectively merge? Is it the independent nature of the West or an over pouring of kindness gone awry? Admittedly, I’m an East Coast trained driver, and although I’ve lived here for over 20 years, it’s hard to take the harsh and cold driving training out of me.

Now some intersections, such as the end of 3rd going into Florida, well, that takes some advanced “merging “skills. But how about the Roosa merge into Highway 160? Even though the driver has about 200 feet to effectively merge, it is more common to have the person in front of you come to a dead stop on top of the merging “speed hump” like a captain on the prow of his ship, charting a course into traffic. I’ve even been behind cars coming out of DW2 that are attempting to merge onto Highway 160, that wait, yes, wait for all the cars on the highway to pass, thereby eliminating the need to effectively use the quarter-mile merging lane.

I mean, where else but Durango would we wait for the traffic to stop on a highway to merge? Oh, wait, as soon as a car exits Twin Buttes, highway traffic comes to an immediate halt. Maybe that’s our new merging model. Just stop.

Dave Blau

Durango