Dear Action Line: Here’s a question I see debated online: When a driver is eastbound on College Drive immediately upon turning from Camino del Rio and takes a left into the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot, is this legal? There are two sets of double yellow lines and a total of three lanes of westbound traffic to cross. It just seems terribly stupid and dangerous. There is a similar situation a few blocks down, although on a less busy street, where eastbound motorists on Ninth Street turn left into the south City Market parking lot. Maybe this can be clarified and even prevent a wreck. – Suzanne

Dear Suzanne: This question didn’t exactly stump the Durango Police Department, but it sent them to Colorado statutes and prompted a lot of discussion among officers and engineers. The answer that Action Line ultimately got comes in the form of a question.

Remember that scene in “Marathon Man” when Laurence Olivier, playing a former Nazi dentist, tortures Dustin Hoffman in a dim, nearly empty room somewhere in New York City?

Some of you are nodding your heads. Some of you unfortunate human beings have never seen this movie, and you are completely puzzled. You must see this great movie!

“Marathon Man” came out in 1976, and some scenes have imprinted in viewers’ heads. These scenes will haunt you, make you further despise Nazis, and you will never look at a dentist hovering over you with sharp tools the same way again.

Olivier, as he probes and drills into Hoffman’s unnumbed mouth, wants to know if it’s dangerous for him to access a stash of his dead brother’s illegally and ruthlessly obtained diamonds. So he asks:

“Is it safe?”

So, readers, there’s the answer.

When you pull up to make that left turn into Wells Fargo, even if Laurence Olivier isn’t threatening you with a plaque remover from the passenger seat, ask yourself:

“Is it safe?”

You probably are waiting for an explanation. Let’s give it a shot.

“Everything I’m reading,” said Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop with the Durango Police Department, is that making this type of turn is legal “as long as it’s done in a safe manner.”

Dunlop led Action Line through several sections in the Colorado Revised Statutes – making left turns into or out of an alley (it’s fine if you yield properly), about yielding to a pedestrian (please, please do this) – and came to CRS 42-4-1010: Driving on Divided or Controlled-Access Highways. Subsection (1) says you can’t drive across barriers except at established crossings. But it continues:

“However, this subsection (1) does not prohibit a left turn across a median island formed by standard pavement markings or other mountable or traversable devices as prescribed in the state traffic control manual when such movement can be made in safety and without interfering with, impeding, or endangering other traffic lawfully using the highway.”

So, that’s the answer. It’s OK to make the left turns into Wells Fargo and City Market if you can answer in the affirmative:

“Is it safe?”

Whether it’s a safe turn might change depending on time of day and amount of traffic, Dunlop said. If traffic is minimal, if the turn won’t interfere with other vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists, “then by all indications it is allowed,” Dunlop said.

If it doesn’t look easy and safe, then find a different way in – make an approach that doesn’t involve crossing traffic.

Dunlop said one standard he uses is this: “If someone is honking because you’re clogging up traffic, you shouldn’t make the turn.”

Here’s another way of looking at it: Making that turn likely won’t earn you a traffic violation. Unless, that is, you cause an accident. Then an investigation would determine fault, and the turning vehicle is likely to be held responsible, Dunlop said.

So, in conclusion:

Make that turn and watch “Marathon Man.” Both at your own peril.

A long, long time ago, very slightly incorrect information appeared in an Action Line column. So long ago and so minor that it barely bears correcting. But let’s do it anyway.

It was, um, last week’s column, and, um, well, Action Line was only two years off. That’s not really very long, is it, geologically or universe creationally speaking?

So, the work on County Road 251 is about to begin, and may have already begun by the time you read this. Action Line, because of miscommunication with a city source, reported that construction might not begin until 2026. The city has a lot of projects going on this spring and summer, and apparently the source and I got each other confused.

County Road 251 is that stretch of road between Holly Avenue and County Road 250 that is the continuation of 32nd Street as you’re heading east. The project, which will resurface the road, add a landscaped median, sidewalk and bike lanes, is being paid for by a joint city of Durango/La Plata County sales tax. The city will annex this section of road. County Road 250 from Metz Lane to Florida Road will also be improved as part of the project.

F&M Construction of Bayfield is set to begin the project as soon as traffic control plans are approved by the city of Durango’s Engineering Division, Barney Bunker, the city’s construction project manager with Public Works, said last week.

The project will go through the summer and into the fall, and it’s possible will continue into 2025, Bunker said.

During construction, parts of the road may be closed off to through traffic, but driveway access will remain open, and all delivery services and trash and recycling will be maintained.

Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Sir Laurence Olivier, who died in 1989, won a supporting actor Golden Globe for “Marathon Man.” One critic called his performance “coldly terrifying.”