Letter: 2-laning OCC 'will create more of a traffic mess during the summer' While the concept of slowing traffic and making Colorado Avenue is wonderful for Old Colorado City merchants [see "City primed for Old Colorado City with 2-lane avenue, bike lanes, reverse diagonal parking," posted on the Westide Pioneer website Sept. 30, 2015], it will create more of a traffic mess during the summer.Did you notice how heavy traffic on Cimarron was this last summer? Long lines of eastbound cars waiting to make a left turn onto 31st. Frequent back-ups at stop lights on 26th and 21st. Horrible during the weekend and rush hour traffic, but even problematic on weekdays, in the middle of the day. During those times, all four lanes of Colorado Avenue were being used. So now the city wants to make the avenue a slow little street. A two-lane Manitou Avenue works because Manitou is a destination, not a throughway to get to Highway 24. A two-lane Tejon through downtown works because there are multiple other north-south running streets as alternatives. But Colorado Avenue is not used just to get to OCC. Plenty of people live west of OCC and use Colorado Avenue as a commuter route - especially when Cimarron is backed up. Maybe they should fix Highway 24 before they jam up the only viable alternative! Kathy Bohanon (Posted 10/1/15; Opinion: Letters) Would you like to respond to this letter? The Westside Pioneer welcomes letters at editor@westsidepioneer.com. (Click here for letter-writing criteria.) |