The city of Durango is crafting a plan to reduce speeding and crashes, which could entail automated speed enforcement cameras, new law enforcement strategies, more curb extensions and other road and street features to slow speeders down.
Durango’s Multimodal Division will examine data about emergency services, existing traffic plans and speed data on city streets, in addition to seeking feedback from residents in public meetings scheduled for the spring and fall of 2025, according to an Engage Durango webpage about the project.
The data will inform what the city chooses to present to the public in three demonstration projects around the city in the summer and fall of next year.
The city will gauge the demonstration’s impacts on maintenance and emergency response and services, whether the features decrease speeding and to what degree, and whether the demonstrations would work on other Durango streets and roads. The city will then seek residents’ feedback on the demonstrative features, said the project description.
Specifically, the city will consider “engineering, education, and enforcement strategies, like curb extensions, automated enforcement, and other methods, following best practices,” according to the project.
Similar features to discourage speeding were discussed at a public meeting with Animas View Drive residents in September. Residents there are concerned with speeders along the narrow road, particularly after a Durango woman was struck by a motorist during a rainy night and later died from her injuries in September 2023.
Durango Multimodal Manager Devin King said then the city plans to install temporary speed “cushions,” or features similar to speed humps but more easily driven over at appropriate speeds, in the fall, in addition to Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible crosswalks at transit stops and automated speed cameras at a later time.
Such street improvements were not visible along Animas View Drive on Friday. But Animas View Drive resident Irma Collins said she had noticed radar speed signs had been put up at one point.
Still, she doesn’t feel it is safe to walk or jog along the shoulder of the road.
“I can believe somebody died there, because it's not well-lit and the shoulder is so tiny. I mean, you'd have to throw yourself into the mountain, you know, to steer away from oncoming traffic,” she said. “I deem it unsafe at night, you know, completely.”
She said residents there respect the 25 mph speed limit, but tourists don’t. Tourists drive the road to visit the Animas River Play Area and Oxbow Park and Preserve, and a bed-and-breakfast also attracts visitors to the area.
She recommended people stick to an adjacent walking trail, especially at night. But that’s easier said than done for residents of north Animas View Drive whose homes are a mile or so away from the trailhead.
Katherine Alarcon Rodriguez, also a resident of Animas View Drive, said the road is a nice, straight path to work out on, but she’d like more room on the shoulder.
She said she is less concerned with vehicle speeds – motorists will drive as fast or slow as they please as they already do.
Both Alarcon Rodriguez and Collins said they would appreciate a sidewalk on the shoulder of Animas View Drive to accommodate dog walkers and joggers.
The Durango Herald requested to speak with King, the city's multimodal manager, but the city of Durango instead issued a news release.
Durango Police Department Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop said in September that Animas View Drive residents, along with residents of East Third Avenue and Junction Street, have requested automated speed cameras.
He made a 2025 budget request to Durango City Council for $132,300 to acquire and install automated speed cameras along Animas View Drive and other areas in town.
According to the project description, the city will “consider the needs of competing roadway demands,” such as:
- Commuter behavior and patterns.
- Bicycle and pedestrian safety.
- Transit patterns.
- The impact of seasonal tourism and seasonal maintenance.
- Emergency response access to streets and roads and evacuation routes.
- How traffic and pedestrians navigate intersections.
The listed project cost is $307,800, with the city putting up a local match of $61,560 to the Federal Highway Administration’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant of $246,240.
cburney@durangoherald.com
