My son wants to ride his bike to Animas High School. So he showed me a photo of the sign directing northbound bicycle traffic how to turn west to go on U.S. Highway 160. I don’t get it. How can you turn left by going straight? Moreover, how can one go right by making a left as the arrow shows? Sign me as Lane Turner
This sign certainly puts the “dire” in “directions.”
The best part, however, is the blue “INFO” sign in the background.
What a handy resource for anyone confused by left-straight/right-left.
So Action Line promptly perambulated to the place of perspicacity, otherwise known as the Durango Welcome Center.
Perhaps someone there had info on that sign.
The center was quite busy, with visitors asking about the usual questions:
Why did the ancestral Puebloans build Mesa Verde so far from the highway? At what elevation do deer turn into elk? Does the Durango & Silverton train go all the way to Silverton and back to Durango?
That sort of stuff.
At the front desk, our good friend Nora tackles such inquires with grace, kindness and aplomb.
But she was stumped when asked how a cyclist should go straight to turn left or turn left to go right.
“I’m a bike rider and this sign kind of scares me,” Nora said with a chuckle. “The best ‘info’ I have is to always wear a helmet.”
Her co-worker Kay was equally perplexed.
“That sign makes zero sense,” she said.
“Neither does Durango,” Action Line added.
For example, it seems that the only way to grow rich in Durango is by spending money you don’t have.
The entire local real estate industry is established on this premise.
Likewise, the way to become healthy is to hop in the car and head to the Rec Center, where you’ll drive around the lot several times to score a primo parking space so you won’t have to walk far after vigorous exercise.
Have you noticed how many cars that have “Buy Local” bumper stickers also have tags showing the vehicle was purchased from a New Mexico dealership?
Or how the train is the No. 1 tourism draw, but we line the tracks downtown with ugly parking lots, smelly grease vats, filthy trash dumpsters and the unsightly back ends of buildings.
Yet we get our knickers in a twist when some dolts “moon” the train.
So it’s natural that Durango would have signs that confuse in order to clear things up.
Presumably, the sign is supposed to help cyclists navigate the U.S. Highway 550/160continuous interflow intersection with its peculiar green “bike boxes” and shared lanes.
Most bike riders use the adjacent Animas River Trail, where you don’t have to contend with motorized vehicles.
Well, not so much.
The city now allows motorized e-bikes on trails.
Which fits perfectly with Durango’s contradictory quicks.
We invested millions on a nature trail so people can be away from busy roads.
So what’s the next logical step? Put a bunch of motorized bikes on the trail.
It’s how we roll.
Email questions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. You can request anonymity if you wonder if Durango will host the first-ever World E-Bike Championships.
