Animas View Drive in north Durango is a fairly densely populated neighborhood. But the street, which used to be part of U.S. Highway 550, isn’t designed for residential use. The city of Durango plans to fix that.
Durango Multimodal Manager Devin King said the city will install temporary speed cushions, rubber speed hump-like features, this fall, with Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible crosswalks at transit stops planned for later.
King said the nifty thing about speed cushions is they are designed to allow vehicles to drive over them comfortably at certain speeds.
Speed humps are a bane to trolleys and emergency vehicles because they bottom out on a hump’s arch. But speed cushions are designed with slots that allow vehicles with larger wheel bases to straddle and drive over them unimpeded, he said.
“We’re getting some that are designed for 25 mph,” he said. “I’m in the process of looking to order those now and get them put out there as soon as possible.”
He said Animas View Drive will serve as a test to the usefulness of speed cushions. Part of that test is whether they will impede snow removal efforts. If they do, they may need to be removed over the winter.
The city doesn’t yet know when the ADA-compliant crosswalks will be installed. Crosswalks are required by law to have concrete foundations and curb ramps, and installation will take time to schedule, he said.
Speed cushions aren’t the only features to be tested on Animas View Drive. King said Durango Police Department intends to install automated speed cameras on the street too.
At a Durango City Council study session earlier in September, Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop said residents of East Third Avenue, Junction Street and, in particular, Animas View Drive have requested automated speed cameras.
“Citizens were asking what kind of technology can be used to help augment police department services,” he said. “... And specifically, during a couple of meetings with the Animas View Drive community after a tragedy in their neighborhood.”
In September 2023, Durango woman Katie Siegrist, 27, was walking along Animas View Drive around 7:45 p.m. when she was struck by a motorist, Olivia Burkhart. It was raining and the street was not well-lit at night, according to DPD. She was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction for treatment but later died of her injuries.
Dunlop was making a capital project budget request on behalf of Durango Police Department for $132,300 for three automated speed cameras and signage to be installed around town, including on Animas View Drive.
Police Chief Brice Current said City Council will consider DPD’s budget request in later meetings about the city budget.
He said residents showed huge support for automated speed cameras at two in-person meetings and an online Engage Durango forum. In an online poll, 43 of 62 respondents, or 70%, said they favored the cameras.
In another online forum open to a wider audience, 42% of respondents said they favored the cameras while 58% said they did not favor them. Dunlop said that forum was sidetracked at times by unrelated negative comments. Related opposition concerned questions about “big government, data storage” and how much revenue automated tickets would generate for the city.
The Colorado Legislature passed a bill about automated speed cameras last year, and it outlines how municipalities can use them, he said.
Per the Legislature, violations recorded by the cameras are classified as civil in nature – Dunlop said they are more like parking tickets versus speeding tickets – and caps fines at $40, with the exception of school zones. In school zones, tickets can be at maximum $80, he said. That includes any fees associated with the tickets.
He added signage would be installed to alert drivers there is a camera ahead.
“And it (the legislation) provides for a dispute process and regulates what kind of agreements we can enter into with third-party vendors to help manage the system,” he said.
Animas View Drive is designed more like a county road than a residential street, King said. It lacks sidewalks and the shoulder is “pretty much nonexistent,” with a ditch present in some segments.
“The character of the road has changed quite a bit since it was converted from being a highway,” he said. “The road is still essentially designed the same.”
As Dunlop had mentioned, residents of Junction Street are seeking traffic calming improvements of their own.
The city has a public meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Durango Public Library, according to a city news release.
At the meeting, residents can provide feedback on proposals to address traffic speeds, accessibility, pedestrian connectivity and bike lanes. The design features traffic medians, a mini-roundabout, new crossings and a shared-use path, the release says.
“This meeting will be the third and final for this project before it is constructed in the summer of 2025,” King said in the release.
cburney@durangoherald.com
